For the few who were around high school football during the fifties or have an interest in Dade County history this name will be immediately recognized. He passed away this week. Jackie and his best friend Jim Roundtree were legendary. They grew up together. They were both running backs. Jim went to Miami Jackson and Jackie went to Miami Edison. Very few old timers (That would include me) if pressed to name the top ten football players of the fifties would definitely include these two. These were the days ofhe big four teams Miami High, Edison, Jackson, and Gables.The games were played in the Orange Bowl and the crowds ranged from twenty thousand to fifty thousand. The bigger crowds when they played each other. They were all members of the big ten conference which included teams like Jacksonville Lee, Jacksonville Jackson, Tampa Edgewater, Tampa Plant, Orlando Edgewater and others. Until the early fifties no Dade county team had ever beat Miami High. Jackson with Roundtree (Also Joe Brodsky,and Lee Corso) changed that beating Miami High in 1951? And Edison with Jackie Simpson beat them in 1952. Legend has it that Simpson played the second half with a serious leg injury. Jackie and Jim who passed away a couple of years ago both went to Florida and played in the pros Jim in the CFL and Jackie with the Colts among other teams. Dade County has a rich high school football history. These two are major parts of that history and seldom is one mentioned without the other.