'Simoni Lawrence Day' Celebrated by City of Hamilton
The city of Hamilton showed their appreciation for former Hamilton Tiger-Cats linebacker Simoni Lawrence by dedicating an entire day to him on Wednesday.
Lawrence announced his retirement from football last week after 11 seasons in the CFL. February 21 was picked as the date because he wore No. 21 throughout his Tiger-Cats career.
The day began with Lawrence making an appearance on the Morning Live show in Hamilton. He then headed to Hamilton City Hall at noon, where the mayor of Hamilton Andrea Horwath presented Lawrence with a key to the snowplow they brought with his name on it.
Thank you to everyone who took part in this little project to help make it a heartfelt surprise for Simoni đź’›#TheGraduation21 https://t.co/E4goJIzYEM
— Hamilton Tiger-Cats (@Ticats) February 22, 2024
Tim Hortons Field hosted a graduation ceremony for Lawrence late Wednesday night. Fans came out to show their appreciation for the former CFL All-Star by taking photos with him and signing a guest book.
“Such a great day yesterday. Thank you to everyone involved. I am thrilled and grateful! BEST FANS EVER Now, let’s get to work! Go @Ticats Go @ForgeFCHamilton Go @cityofhamilton #21,” Lawrence said in a post on X Thursday morning.
Such a great day yesterday. Thank you to everyone involved. I am thrilled and grateful! BEST FANS EVER Now, let’s get to work! Go @Ticats Go @ForgeFCHamilton Go @cityofhamilton #21
— Simoni Lawrence (@Simoni_Lawrence) February 22, 2024
Lawrence posted 734 total tackles in his 11-season CFL career, all of which was spent with the Tiger-Cats except for his rookie year with Edmonton in 2012. He owns the Hamilton franchise record for defensive tackles (727) and single-game tackles (17), and he earned three All-Star selections, along with four CFL East All-Star honors.
Hamilton named Lawrence as the team’s Brand and Community Ambassador for the Hamilton Sports Group last week. While he won’t be playing on the field anymore, he will still be in the city of Hamilton, helping the team and community.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats LB Simoni Lawrence Retires from CFL
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Anthony Miller has been covering professional spring football since 2019 including XFL, USFL, and CFL. He was a local news reporter in Texas before transitioning to sports. Other sites he writes for includes College Football Network and NTZ Network.