Friends and fans remember late Ticats legend Angelo Mosca as a 'real Hamiltonian'
CBC
When Lou Molinaro was at Hamilton's Raculmatese Club some 10 years ago, his hand disappeared for a brief moment.
"Angelo Mosca's hand was like the size of two baseball gloves put together," said the 57-year-old Hamiltonian, recalling his first handshake with Mosca.
"It was humongous, but it was meaty and you could feel the toughness in that hand. I mean it literally soaked up yours, you couldn't even see yours, [his hand] went all the way around it."
Molinaro said he was starstruck when meeting the larger-than-life athlete and hometown hero in a downtown club for Hamilton's Italian men. It would be the first of many run-ins between them.
And Molinaro is just one of countless people who will remember Mosca for his handshake and so much more.
Mosca was 84 when he died on Saturday after a long fight with Alzheimer's disease.
The five-time Grey Cup champion, Canadian Football Hall of Famer and professional wrestler had a fierce reputation, but locals who knew him off the field and outside the ring saw another side of Mosca.
"He was just a really sweet gentleman too, the contrast of this tough guy," Molinaro said.
Peggy Chapman, 51, remembers being a CHML reporter and producer during the 1990s when she was trying to get an interview with a Tiger-Cats player.
"They were all in the locker room and I was too shy to go in. There was no on there to ask and as a young, female journalist, I didn't know the rules at another stadium," she said.
Enter Mosca.
"He just grabbed me by the arm and brought me in and said, 'Who do you need?' and he got me the players ... that was just him. He didn't think twice about helping out."
Chapman said her last encounter with him was in 2015 producing promotional videos for the Hamilton Bulldogs. She said he was respectful and gentle.
She said she regards him with the same pride as she does Lincoln Alexander.
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