Dave Dickenson and Geroy Simon have made one more connection.

From 2003-07, when the current Stampeders head coach was quarterback of the BC Lions, Dickenson filled the air with footballs, with Simon being his most frequent target. More often than not, Simon secured the catch.

Now the dynamic duo is hooking up one more time – in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Dickenson was part of the Hall’s 2015 class while Simon was announced as part of the 2017 group of inductees on Wednesday in Regina as part of CFL Week.

Dickenson and Simon formed a supremely productive tandem on the Left Coast, leading the Leos to four first-place finishes in five years. They went to the Grey Cup twice, taking home the title in 2006.

Photo by Johany Jutras

The partnership was created in 2003 when Dickenson returned to Canada after some time in the NFL and chose to reunite with his former Stampeders boss Wally Buono, who was now running the Lions.

“I had seen Dave play for a few years, before we became teammates,” remembers Simon, “and I was ecstatic when I found out he was going to be signing with the Lions. From day one, we clicked and had a great run. We won a Grey Cup together, broke a lot of records together and we had tons of success as individuals and as a team.”

Simon had played four seasons in the CFL before Dickenson became his teammate – two with Winnipeg and two with BC – and had never accumulated more than 754 receiving yards or seven touchdowns. In 2003, with Dickenson flinging footballs his way, Simon racked up 1,687 yards and 13 scores.

In 2006, Simon posted career highs of 105 receptions, 1,856 yards and 15 touchdowns to win the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player award.

“I always say Dave is probably the best quarterback that I ever played with on any level,” says Simon, who now serves as BC’s director of Canadian scouting and player personnel assistant. “You see the success he is having as a head coach. He is taking those same characteristics and qualities as a player into the next phase. He’s doing a great job. It’s not surprising to see.”

The admiration is mutual.

“Geroy was a guy who elevated his performance when he was on the field for games,” says Dickenson. “He enjoyed the bigger stage. He kept working to get better, even when he was MOP. He backed up his swagger with his performance.

“One of the great things he had was that he had a great change of speed in his route-running. He set his routes up as well as anyone I’ve been around. He was a great example of a football player whose 40 time doesn’t match his on-field speed.

“Maybe he wasn’t that fast (when running 40-yard sprints) but I never really felt like he got caught by opposing players in actual games. When I saw man-to-man defence, I always felt he would get open no matter what route he was running.”