CFL.ca Staff
With files from Ticats.ca
HAMILTON – The Hamilton Tiger-Cats announced Tuesday that Angelo Mosca will be honoured by the club with the retirement of his jersey number, 68, at the team’s August 27 game with Montreal at Tim Hortons Field. Mosca joins Bernie Faloney, who had his uniform number 10 retired by the Tiger-Cats in 1999, as the only players in the 146-year history of the organization to have their numbers retired.
“Angelo Mosca has had a larger-than-life impact on the city of Hamilton, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and the Canadian Football League, so it is entirely fitting that we bestow our highest honour upon him by retiring number 68,” said Bob Young, Caretaker of the Tiger-Cats in a press release. “We invite our fans to join us at the stadium on Angelo Mosca Night for a memorable evening of celebrating all that Angelo has meant to our community and to our organization.”
Numerous tributes and celebratory elements are planned for Angelo Mosca Night, highlighted by an on-field ceremony. All fans in attendance will receive a commemorative item featuring Mosca’s iconic number 68. Copies of “Tell Me To My Face” will be sold at the stadium, with proceeds from that night’s sales to benefit the Alzheimer Society Foundation of Brant, Haldimand, Norfolk, Hamilton, Halton. Mosca announced in February that he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
Mosca shares the CFL record with Ticat John Barrow for having played in nine Grey Cup games, winning four Grey Cup championships with Hamilton and one with Ottawa. The five-time all star played for the Tiger-Cats in 1958 and 1959, and again from 1963-72, appearing in 168 regular season and 19 playoff games. Mosca also played with Ottawa (1960-61) and Montreal (1962). He was enshrined in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Hamilton Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.
Following his retirement from the Ticats in 1972, Mosca embarked on a successful career in professional wrestling that lasted more than a decade.