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The mood went from electric to sombre with many of his peers hoping for the best because Ray is that rare guy who has always conducted himself with humility, professionalism and grace.

There will be no fairy-tale ending to Ray’s Hall of Fame career, a closure that seemed to be his destiny last season when, under first-year Argos head coach Marc Trestman, he made the right plays in the game’s biggest moments en route to Toronto’s improbable championship.

Ray’s list of achievements — including two Grey Cup wins each for two franchises — are long and his place in CFL lore firmly secured.

But if he had departed following that snowy night in Ottawa last November, his story would have been much more uplifting than the sadness that has now descended on Ray and the CFL as a whole.

Players, people, of Ray’s ilk don’t come along very often, and when they do they quickly stick out for all the right reasons. He’s an average guy who cuts his own hair, or what remains of it, a face of the franchise who rides the GO Train to home games, a family man, one of the most respected and loved teammates the Argos will ever see, a leader who never raises his voice.

Ray is a throwback from an era when there was no such thing as agenda or ego.

Doug Flutie had the greatest burst of any quarterback the Argos have ever seen or will likely see when he orchestrated back-to-back Grey Cups before the Buffalo Bills came calling.

Damon Allen had his moments, Matt Dunigan, Condredge Holloway and you can flip the era and go way back for those inclined.