GLOVES OF A GRIDION GLADIATOR

These padded gloves belonged to Ron Simmons, the dominant defensive tackle whose fierce play anchored the Seminole defense during the program’s meteoric rise in the late 1970s. Worn during a time when Simmons was rewriting the playbook for how a defensive lineman could control a game, these gloves were tools of disruption. From 1977 to 1980, Simmons recorded an astonishing 483 tackles, a feat nearly unheard of for a defensive lineman. Simmons’ legacy would later be immortalized with induction into the College Football Hall of Fame and the retirement of his No. 50 jersey at FSU.