Victoria-raised Simon Keith, the first athlete to play pro sports after a heart transplant, will receive the Order of Canada. Keith was among the 99 new appointments announced Thursday. He will go in as a member.
“I am honoured and this is incredibly humbling,” said Keith, from Las Vegas, where he runs the Simon Keith Foundation, advocating for organ donations.
“Which is OK because we are Canadians and are supposed to be humble. My mom and dad got on that boat to Canada [from England] and changed the course of all our lives.”
Keith was struck down almost mid-stride in 1984 with a heart ailment while with the University of Victoria Vikes. He required a heart transplant at age 21. Many believe the star player out of Mount Douglas Secondary would have been on Canada’s team in the 1986 World Cup and in 1990 and 1994 qualifying if not for the virus that attacked his heart despite his vigour and youth.
Keith attended the World Cup this year in Qatar.
“Always mixed emotions for me watching World Cups knowing I missed a chance early in my career,” Keith, 57, said.
“However, I definitely got the better end of the deal having my surgery and all that it has brought me and wouldn’t change a single thing.”
Keith’s first heart transplant began to fail after 32 years and he required another and received a life-saving heart and kidney transplant in 2019.
“The support from Victoria, Canada; Las Vegas, Nevada; across the U.S. and the planet has simply been incredible,” Keith said, at the time.
“There are no words for what we have felt as a family as we have travelled down this most unique journey. Of course, our deepest and most heartfelt thanks belong to the donor and their family. Without the simple yet significant act of registering their wishes to donate, none of this would be possible.”
Keith founded the Simon Keith Foundation in 2011 and it has raised millions of dollars.
“I will spend every day honouring the heroes and families who have saved me,” Keith said.
“By sharing my story and the stories of those who’ve made it possible, I hope it inspires others to give the gift of life. Jeff Mallett [a soccer teammate from Victoria and co-founder of Yahoo! and part owner of the MLB’s San Francisco Giants] told me that ‘your story means nothing unless you can drive results in the real world’ and that always stuck with me.”
Keith joins hockey star Sidney Crosby of Cole Harbour, N.S., in joining the Order of Canada with this class.
Other Islanders cited are Budd Lionel Hall, professor emeritus at the University of Victoria’s School of Public Administration, for his contributions as a pioneer in the field of community-based research, and for his advancement of knowledge building and research capacity around the world. Crosby and Hall will be going in as officers. Actor Eugene Levy is among two newly named companions.
Appointees will be invited to an investiture ceremony at a later date to receive their insignia. The dates of these ceremonies will be announced.
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