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Geroy Simon, the overlooked star, hangs up cleats after career-capping Grey Cup performance

andrew bucholtz

Saskatchewan Roughriders' slotback Geroy Simon officially announced his retirement Wednesday after 15 CFL seasons, and he left as the league's all-time leading receiver in both yards (16,352) and receptions (1,029). It was unusual to see Simon in Rider green in 2013, as he'd spent most of his career with the B.C. Lions (12 years there from 2001-2012 after breaking into the CFL with Winnipeg in 1999), but it proved a good fit. While Simon struggled with injuries and didn't play a huge part for Saskatchewan during the regular season, he still had 40 catches for 565 yards and three touchdowns, and he was huge in the Grey Cup, making three catches for 67 yards and a game-high two receiving touchdowns. It was a performance that suggested he might be able to hang around longer, despite hitting age 38 last September, and his decision to not come back (which was probably at least partly about not wanting to take a pay cut) was a little surprising. However, it proved a great way for one of the CFL's best receivers ever to end his career. As he said at a press conference Wednesday, the CFL was a fantastic place for him, if not one he'd expected to land in:

"Growing up, I never thought I'd be in Saskatchewan," Simon said. "I never thought I'd be anywhere in Canada. But I've grown to love this country and this country's grown to love me. I've had so many great experiences. My goal growing up was always to play in the NFL, to be a starter in the NFL, and fortunately that didn't happen, because when I was in the NFL, I was miserable. Coming to Canada gave me fulfillment. It gave me an opportunity to play a game that I love so very dearly from the day I could even touch the football. It's been a great ride."

Simon is one of those classic examples of an incredible football player who managed to slip through the cracks. Listed at 6'0'' and 198 pounds, he was never terribly physically imposing (a major strike against most receivers, especially in the NFL, although that's starting to change thanks to the success of Wes Welker, Danny Amendola and others), and he wasn't blazingly fast; his incredible pass-catching and route-running talents required more detailed observation to recognize. He was passed over in the NFL draft despite a solid Division I career at Maryland, and although he did spend some time with his home-state Steelers on the practice squad in 1997, he didn't last too long.

Even Simon's CFL debut was inauspicious. He recorded just 306 receiving yards in 1999, and while he stepped that up to 725 in 2000, that wasn't enough for Winnipeg to keep him in free agency. B.C. came calling, but that also got off to a slow start; the Lions weren't sold on him at first, only starting him for six games in 2001. Things took off from there, though, with Simon leading the team in receptions in 2002 and earning his first of six league and seven conference all-star nods in 2003, but success was never guaranteed for him. In fact, as Sportsnet's Arden Zwelling explored in 2012, Simon almost didn't get a college scholarship:

Geroy Simon was once a kid from Johnstown, Penn., a small rust-belt town known mostly for being severely flooded eight times. It was not known much for football until Simon came along. As a senior at Greater Johnstown High, Simon caught over 2,000 yards—despite weighing just over 150 lb. “He was different,” says Brian Mangiafico, Greater Johnstown’s all-state quarterback. “He worked real hard, but he was about as big as my little pinky.”

Simon made so much noise that year that the University of Maryland made an exception for him, offering him their final scholarship in 1992. Simon returned the favour, setting ACC records with 77 catches, 891 yards and five touchdowns in his sophomore season. Suddenly, big colleges started paying attention to little Johnstown. “It’s like he turned the light on,” says Mario Hardison, who played receiver and running back with Simon at Greater Johnstown. “Now there are kids going to Division One schools left and right.”

Simon was a trail-blazer in Johnstown, but he's also inspired many everywhere else's gone. Countless receivers across the CFL have learned from his work ethic, his route-running skills and his incredible hands, and players at every position can admire his perseverance. Someone who's certainly learned from him is his son, Gervon; Simon wasn't always close to him, but football helped bring them together, and Gervon, a versatile guy who's played on both offence and defence, has earned a scholarship to Army. Beyond that, CFL players and fans everywhere can take inspiration from the off-the-field work Simon's done, including the campaign he ran last year to give winter coats to kids in need. He'll be staying with the Roughriders in an off-field role, and that's a good thing. The CFL hasn't seen the last of Superman yet.