Simoni retires as one of the all-time favourite Ticats

He was a great player.

On Thursday, the Pennsylvania native announced his retirement from playing — and his transition to working in the front office as brand and community ambassador. Which has basically been his part-time job for the past decade.

“So easy transition, right?” he quips.

You’d think.

It’s hard to think of another Ticat who’s been more comfortable in the social side of the business as in the football side of things. As easy working a room full of fans as breaking up a jet sweep.

You might be interested in

• Dec 31, 1969
• Comments

• Dec 31, 1969
• Comments

Though he was pretty good at that stuff, too.

Over 11 years in black and gold after arriving in a trade from Edmonton - sorry Edmonton, you lost that one - he’s carved out a unique place in this city’s lore as few others have.

He didn’t win a championship here. Came close a few times but it never happened. That surely stings.

“It was tough not winning the Grey Cup,” he says. “We play a game to win a Grey Cup.”

But he did everything else.

Lawrence was often the most impactful player on the field. Three times he was the East nominee as defensive player of the year. He was an East all-star five times and a CFL all-star three times. He’s the franchise leader in total tackles (734), defensive tackles (727) and tackles in a single game (17). All this in just 154 games with the Ticats.

To be clear, that’s not a small number. We say “just” because it seems like he’s been around a whole lot longer than that.

A big part of this comes from the fact that he hasn’t simply been everywhere on the field. He’s done a million community events, shaken a million hands, signed a million autographs, spent time with a million sick kids and flashed a million, million-dollar smiles. 

There’s probably not another contemporary Ticat who more people in this town can tell their friends they’ve met. That matters.

The CFL at its best is a big league with a small-town attitude. Elite athletes, world-class performances, big crowds and national TV coverage filled with athletes who aren’t making more in one game than the average person will earn in 10 years. Incredible action with accessible players.

Lawrence personified that. He was a dynamic player and is a down-to-earth guy.

That said, he’s 35 now. That’s an age when the grind of a hard game tends to show in performance.

“It’s a young man’s sport, for sure,” he says. “I’m extremely blessed to be able to play football for as long as I did.”

It wouldn’t have looked right to see him wearing another uniform – we had our fill of that seeing Brandon Banks in Argos’ double blue – but bringing him back as a player would’ve used up precious salary cap space that might be more valuable on a younger man.

So keeping him in the fold in a non-playing function becomes the best option. He’s still part of Hamilton. He’s still part of the Ticats. And hopefully he still gets to sip out of the Grey Cup wearing black and gold someday. Just won’t be in shoulder pads. C’est la vie.

But what about that idea that he’s among the all-time favourites? Is that fair? After all, recency bias is a real thing and some might wonder if his legacy is exaggerated right now because it’s fresh.

Nope. It’s legit.

He was – he is – special. As an athlete and as a human. Performance combined with behaviour over a prolonged period sets him apart.

As a result, here’s betting that if you ask fans their favourite 20 years from now, he’ll still be among those most often cited. Meaning when you scan the seats at Tim Hortons Field in 2044, there will still be a whole lot of 21 jerseys being worn.

He might even be among them.