Photo Courtesy: Richard R. Barron | The Ada News

The childhood game of Simon Says requires players to listen closely and only follow the commands prefaced by the phrase “Simon Says”. After two-plus decades of coaching high school baseball including the past 18 years as the head coach of the Roff Tigers, Ead Simon tips his cap to say goodbye going out on an impressive winning note.

With a 12-2 win over Red Oak, Simon’s Tigers captured the Class B state baseball championship with a perfect 33-0 record. Add wins in their final 26 games from the fall season where Roff won the Class B crown, Simon’s teams end the 2020-2021 baseball schedules with a 59 game winning streak. Only the impact of Covid or Mother Nature’s weather picture could beat the Tigers. Allowing the Tigers head coach to leave the game at the top.

“It doesn’t get any better than this,” Simon said in his comments following his last game. “I don’t think you could write any better.”

Simon’s decision as a teenager to one day become a high school baseball coach proved to be divine. Counting both fall and spring seasons, Simon has coached a total of 41 seasons of high school baseball in Oklahoma including his first five years at Allen.  His teams reached the state tournament a total of 36 times winning 11 state championships, seven runner-up finishes plus making out the lineup card for 10 additional state semifinal contests. Altogether that’s 28 final four appearances.

Simon leaves the dugout for the final time with a head coaching record of 1,120 wins and 300 losses. 

It’s an understatement to say to Ead Simon…job well done my friend.

Trading his ball cap for the office attire, there’s little doubt the future of Roff schools will be any less successful as Simon becomes the Pontotoc County school district’s Superintendent of Schools where more than likely it won’t take long to understand the instructions prefaced by “Simon Says.”