Resolving To Be Great: The CFL All-Time Leaders - Geroy Simon
By Chris Lawton
It’s a New Year and 2026 has opened its doors to the world. To quote Taylor Swift, (no not that one), “This is a new year. A new beginning. And things will change.” People are making their resolutions and looking to the future. For some though it is also a time for reflection and as a lover of the history of the game I think it’s a perfect opportunity to look to the past for inspiration too.
It's LEGENDS NIGHT 🏆
— BC LIONS (@BCLions) August 23, 2019
Join us as Geroy Simon and Darren Flutie will be added to the #BCLions Wall of Fame when we take on the @Ticats at @bcplace 🦁 🐯
Plenty of ticketing options including kids for $10 courtesy @LondonDrugs
BE THERE 🎟 🎟 | https://t.co/fjayl4KZcx pic.twitter.com/xdLWGGbHlf
Which is why here are Touchdown Towers we thought we would look at some of the greats of the CFL past. Unlike Dickens’ Ghost of Christmas Past however, we are not here to look back at the decisions that led to disaster but rather at the great players who sit atop the CFL all-time lists, and as a bonus check out where the 2025 league leaders sit in comparison to them from an all-time perspective.
We started out with a look back at the career of the CFL all-time rushing leader, Mike Pringle. This time it is all about the CFL all-time receiving leader, Geroy Simon.
Early Career
Geroy Simon came out of Maryland college, and following short periods around the Bengals and Eagles was signed for part of the 1997 season onto the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad. From there Simon landed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The next year he was on their practice roster for the whole season before being released.
Geroy Simon broke into the CFL in 1999 and spent two seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. There he was behind Milt Stegall as the star receiver, so his numbers were solid without being spectacular. In those two years he had 85 catches for 1,031 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Simon became a free agent after the 2000 season, but didn’t sign with BC until October of 2001, picking up 14 catches in 6 games. 2002 was another good, but not great season with 50 catches in 17 games. Then, while with the Lions, his CFL career burst into life.
Geroy Catches On In A Big Way
From 2003 onwards fans got to see Geroy light it up. That season he had 94 catches covering 1,687 yards and 13 touchdowns. He was named both a Western and a CFL All-Star for the first time in his career.
Proving it wasn’t a flash in the pan, he was even more spectacular in 2004. 103 catches for 1,750 yards, and 14 TDs led to a second West and CFL All-Star selection. At the time he was only the third BC Lions player to have 100+ catches in a season. Plus, he broke Darren Flutie’s BC single season receiving yardage record.
The following season he ‘slumped’ to 89 catches, 1,322 yards and 10 touchdowns. The fact that this was now a ‘down’ year just demonstrated the rarified heights he had begun to operate at.
His best season came in 2006. That year he caught 105 passes for 1,856 yards with 15 TD’s to earn his third West and CFL All-Star selections and was also named the Outstanding Player in the CFL. To cap it all the 13-5 Lions went on to win the Grey Cup that year.
From 2003 to 2011 he had nine consecutive 1000+ yards receiving seasons, and didn’t fall below 70+ receptions. 2011 proved truly special for Geroy Simon. That season, while the Lions recovered from an 0-5 start to finish 11-7 and won the Grey Cup, he had a record-setting campaign. His 88th touchdown as a Lion meant he became the Franchise record holder.
In 2012 he had 54 grabs for 700 yards and 2 touchdowns. The most significant moment coming in June, in a game against Winnipeg, when he passed Milt Stegall to become the all-time CFL career reception yards leader. A distinction, as of 2025, that he still holds.
Squeezing Out One Last Season
After the record-setting 2012 season he became surplus to BC’s requirements. It was clear he would be in a reduced role if he did stay. Lions GM Wally Buono let Simon put feelers out and he landed in Saskatchewan. The Saskatchewan Roughriders were happy to deal for Simon, sending receiver Justin Harper and a third-round draft pick to BC for Simon.
In his final season he missed the first 3 weeks of the season with an injury. He would go on however to become the third player to ever pass 1,000 receptions. As well as becoming the first ever CFL player to have 16,000 career receiving yards.
Following a 40 catch, 565-yard season with 3 majors, Simon signed off in style. He caught 2 touchdown passes in his last game, the 2013 Grey Cup, as Saskatchewan won 45-23.
During Simon’s career he played in 238 regular season games, 17 playoff games and 4 championship games winning a total of 3 Grey Cup Championships.
He was selected as a CFL Western All-Star 7 times (2003-2004, 2006-2009 and 2011). He was named a CFL All-Star 6 times in his career (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2011). As well as being awarded the CFLPA All-Star nod 4 times (2003, 2004, 2006, 2008).
Simon received two team nominations for Outstanding Player in 2006 and 2009, ultimately winning the CFL Most Outstanding Player Award in 2006.
He was elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2017. At the time of his retirement, he was the CFL all-time leader in receptions and career yardage. While the first has been surpassed, the latter has not.
Comparing Greatness: Simon Versus The 2025 League Leader
As we have seen, Geroy Simon had a remarkable, and deservedly recognised CFL career. But how does the 2025 single season leader compare and just how far would they have to go to match up to Simon?
The 2025 CFL receiving leader was Keon Hatcher of the BC Lions with 102 receptions for 1,688 yards and 9 touchdowns. That takes his career totals to 305 catches for 4,779 yards and 22 touchdowns.
That comes after five seasons in the league and was Hatcher’s most productive season so far. For comparison, at the same time in his CFL career, Geroy Simon had made 243 catches for 3,654 yards and 23 touchdowns. It looks like Hatcher is on course to emulate another BC great. However, Simon became uber productive and reliably had big seasons for the next nine years after this stage of his career, so Hatcher still has a way to go. In fact, from a career perspective he would need to add another 724 catches, 11,573 yards and 81 touchdowns to catch up. Good luck Keon!
Hamilton vs Toronto
The 2023 Labour Day Classic at Tim Horton’s Field marks the 52nd matchup between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts on Labour Day. That is since the Tabbies were introduced as a merged team. You could argue it is a rivalry that goes back further. Because the Argonauts faced the Hamilton Wildcats in 1948 & 1949 before they merged with the Hamilton Tigers to form the Tiger-Cats.
But taking things from 1950 with the merged Hamilton team, the tabbies won the first game 13-6 in 1950, while the Argos took the latest game 28-8 in 2022.
The contest was not played in 1962, 1965–1966, 1969–1970, 1972–1974, 1976–1977, 1979, 1981–1986, 1990, 1995, 2011, 2013 and during the cancelled 2020 season. It is a series that has been played without interruption on Labour Day since 2014 (cancelled season aside), and before Toronto won last year Hamilton were on a seven-game winning streak in the fixture dating back to a 13-12 win in 2014. This snapped the longest winning streak in the history of this particular Labour Day contest.
Overall Hamilton leads this series 36-14-1 against the Argonauts.
BC vs Montreal
BC has faced a Montreal team in these fixtures thirteen times. They faced the Alouettes in 1980, and during the absences of an Ottawa team played Montreal on a further 12 occasions between 1997 and 2015. This is a series BC was leading 7-6 when the RedBlacks arrived in 2016. Which led to a return of the traditional Ottawa/Montreal rivalry.
BC won the first of these matchups 14-6 in 1980, and the latest 25-16 in 2015. This year, while the RedBlacks take a bye, this lesser known Labour Day game will add to its short history.
It will be fun to see the latest chapter in the story of these games play out on the CFL fields across the upcoming Labour Day weekend. If you get the chance to watch one of these games, I hope you are able to soak up all the atmosphere they bring.
CHRIS LAWTON
CFL ANALYST
Chris originally started following the NFL with the ‘first wave’ of fans when it was shown on Channel 4 in the 1980’s. He has been a keen supporter of the Miami Dolphins since 1983. Chris first encountered the CFL in 2016 and instantly fell in love with the Canadian game. He has been writing about the CFL 2017. Chris has a degree in history, postgraduate degree in librarianship and can be found on twitter as @CFLfanUK