Tiger-Cats’ Daly gets prized football back
KITCHENER — Mike Daly was caught up in the moment.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats defensive back was full of adrenalin and fresh off his first career touchdown in the Canadian Football League when he tossed the ball into the stands at Tim Hortons Field in celebration.
Soon after, the regret sunk in. “It really didn’t set in that it was my first touchdown until later in the game or else I probably wouldn’t have thrown that thing away,” said the Kitchener native, who scored off an interception in Hamilton’s 40-10 victory against the B.C. Lions at home last Saturday.
When Daly returned to the sidelines, special teams and defensive assistant coach Craig Butler questioned his move.
“He asked me why I didn’t keep the ball,” Daly said. “I was like, ‘maybe I should have.’ ”
So the former Forest Heights Collegiate Institute student turned to Twitter to locate the pigskin.
“TigerTown! Let’s see if we can do this! In my blind excitement I threw away my first CFL TD ball. I will trade a signed jersey of any player of your choosing! Please help me out TigerTown!” his message read.
Teammate Shamawd Chambers, a former Wilfrid Laurier University receiver, also offered to chip in with a signed jersey and some sports cards.
Help streamed in immediately. One supporter isolated a frame from the television broadcast of the
game that seemed to show a bearded man in a brown shirt and black hat with the ball. And the hunt was on.
“Luckily enough the guy’s nephew reached out to me and said it was his uncle Dougie,” Daly said.
As it turned out, uncle Dougie lived in London and happened to be passing through Kitchener, where Daly still lives.
The pair met at the Sportsworld Arena and made the exchange on Monday night.
“The ball is in my basement, next to the ball from my first (CFL) interception,” he said.
The major was Daly’s first in nearly a decade. The last time he ran into the end zone was with the local minor football club the Twin Cities Predators back in 2009.
“I took a missed field goal return for a touchdown,” he said. “I didn’t keep that ball. I think they grabbed it right out of my hands right after.”
Daly is in his fifth — and most productive — season with the Tabbies. Through 14 games, he has 46 tackles and three picks to go along with the touchdown.
The 28-year-old is a bit of a late bloomer on the gridiron. He grew up playing hockey and rugby and didn’t play football until Grade 10. But he’s blossomed ever since, starring for Forest Heights and McMaster University before joining the CFL.
The Ticats lost in the Grey Cup during Daly’s rookie season and haven’t been back since. The team is currently second in the East Division with a record of 7-7.
“There are really only a few guys left from that Grey Cup team,” he said. “We had a little taste of it. We know that if we keep playing mistake-free that we’re easily good enough to get back there.”
It took Daly 65 CFL contests to collect his first touchdown. But he’s already ready for the next one.
“Hopefully it’s in the next game,” he said. “If it is, the ball is going into the stands for sure. And I won’t be asking for it back.”