Sim Iness, the second of five children born to Oklahoma sharecroppers, was born in 1930 in the small town of Keota, Oklahoma. Falling on hard times during the precursor to the Dust Bowl, the Iness' migrated west in search of a better life in the land "flowing with milk and honey", California. Riding in the back of a dilapidated Model A truck loaded with mattresses, the Iness' settled in the agricultural heartland of California's San Joaquin Valley and the picturesque town of Tulare.

Working on countless farms and in labor camps throughout his entire childhood and teenage years, Sim Iness was first able to use athletics as an escape from a hard day's labor. As a sophomore in high school, he began participating in football and both the shot put and discus events for track and field. The idea of college never being set in his sights due to his family's finances, Sim, with the help and inspiration of his high school coach, poured his heart and soul into being the best discus thrower that he could be.

The summer of 1948 gave the town of Tulare, California the remarkable distinction of having two recent high school graduates compete at the Olympic Trials, for a shot on the first Olympic squad since 1936. While fellow classmate and teammate Bob Mathias made the Olympic team in the Decathlon, Sim placed fifth in the Trials in the Discus competition, narrowly missing the Olympic team.
In the four years to follow, Sim was able to pursue further education by attending college due to the generosity of the people of Tulare who set up a scholarship fund in his name. Competing at both Compton Community College and then the University of Southern California, Sim honed his discus skills; eventually setting every meet, school, junior collegiate, American and National collegiate record possible.

In 1952 in top form, Sim once again traveled to the Olympic Trials, this time placing 1st and securing a spot on the United States Olympic Team, along with hometown friend and teammate Bob Mathias. At the XVth Olympiad, held in Helsinki, Finland, Sim, ever the underdog and not favored to place at all, smashed the existing Olympic Record on his first throw, and continued to do so throughout the remainder of the competition. Sim walked away not only with the Olympic Record, but with the gold medal as well, beginning a 20 year reign of U.S. Discus gold medalists in the Olympics. A year after the Olympics Sim raised the bar even further by setting the World Record, being the first person ever to eclipse the 190' barrier. 

After temporarily dropping out of college in order to support a wife and newborn daughter, Sim graduated USC with a Masters Degree in Physical Education. Truly idolizing his high school track coach Virgil Jackson, Sim began his lifelong pursuit as an educator and quietly moved back to his home roots of the San Joaquin Valley, settling in the city of Porterville. First teaching and coaching at Porterville High School, Sim later moved to Porterville College where he served as a teacher, coach, and counselor. Remaining humble throughout his entire life, when he retired in 1994 after 40 years as an educator, it was a fact that many of his students who he helped raise up throughout his career were not even aware that the man who was teaching them was in fact an Olympic gold medalist.
 

Sim Iness passed away quietly in his home in Porterville, California in 1996, leaving behind a life full of memories to all those he met, as well as a void in society and its true meaning of a gentleman.