Oscar Award Winning Actor J.K. Simmons Is A Huge Tigers Fan
By: Mike Sullivan
@mikesullivan
Longtime actor J.K. Simmons, who recently won an Oscar for best supporting actor in the film "Whiplash," did a phone interview on the Rich Eisen show today.
His two favorite teams may come to a surprise to most people: Ohio State, and the Detroit Tigers.
Simmons was born in Metro Detroit because his father was a junior-high teacher in Grosse Pointe Woods, which is how he began loving the Tigers.
However, when J.K. was 10 years old, his father accepted a teaching position at The Ohio State University, and the family moved to Columbus.
Simmons said, "Of course all my new pals were either Reds or Indians fans, but I stuck with the Tigers and they rewarded me with one of the all-time great World Series in 1968 when I was 13."
Eisen then asked Simmons if Al Kaline was his favorite player.
Simmons quickly responded, "Al Kaline, Willie Horton, Norm Cash, (Mickey) Lolich, all those guys. Those were great teams."
JK also told Eisen, a University of Michigan alum, that he's glad Jim Harbaugh is now in Ann Arbor:
"Believe me, I'm happy to have that rivalry rekindled because let's face it, it's been a one-way street."
In my opinion, it's cool to see a well-established actor like Simmons support his hometown teams and talk highly about the Tigers.
