Born:
March 31, 1913
New Jersey
Died:January 15, 1968
California
Boys Technical High School,
Brooklyn, N.Y. 1931
RCA Institute, N.Y. 1932
Pratt Technical Institute, N.Y. 1934
Bob Simmons came west to California in
1937 and settled in Santa Paula. He
began competitive target shooting with
both pistol and rifle in Ventura and Santa
Barbara counties. Starting in 1940 he
won hundreds of medals as he
progressed through local, state, regional
and finally, national matches. Throughout
the 1950s and 1960s Bob participated in
the National Championships held annually
at Camp Perry, Ohio. Camp Perry has
been the home of the National Matches,
considered America's "World Series of
Shooting Sports", since 1907. By 1950,
Bob was a member of the California
State Pistol and High Power Rifle
Team. In 1956 he set a national
accuracy record for'four-man team pistol
competition. He scored 1156 points out of
a possible 1200. He was captain of
California's pistol team in 1960 and a
member of the eight-man High Power
Rifle Team, which won a gold medal in
1966. He was also awarded a
Distinguished Medal in rifle shooting. Bob
was an adventurous type; he enjoyed
acting and flying. He flew solo in a Piper
Cub across the U.S.A. in the 1940s.
COMMUNITY
Bob earned his degree in Radio and
Sound Engineering in 1934 and after
moving to California, opened up Bob
Simmons Radio and T.V. in Santa
Paula. He was an active member of the
community and coached pistol and rifle
target shooters for many years. His four
children stil live in Ventura and Santa
Barbara counties.
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Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame
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