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CATCHING UP WITH...WATERTOWN HALL OF FAMER JOHN SIMOURIAN
By Frank Santarpio
Watertown TAB & Press
Wicked Local Watertown
Oct 09, 2009 @ 03:19 PM
WATERTOWN --
As a Watertown High student-athlete, John Simourian knew how to
succeed in and out of the classroom. Success still follows him around.
The 1953 Raider graduate and 1993 Watertown High Athletic Hall of
Famer, who started Lily (named after his mother) Transportation
Corp. in 1958, remains chairperson and CEO of the one of the largest
transportation and distribution services in the country. It is a
multimillion-dollar operation.
For those who remember Simourian, that kind of remarkable success is
not a surprise.
"He was so focused and so smart," said Bob Kaprielian, Watertown
High Athletic Hall of Fame chairperson and teammate of the 1952
Class B Raider championship football team. "I believe the incredible
discipline and focus he developed from sports has carried him through
life and has made him what he is today."
Simourian was the leader and catalyst of the 1952 state championship
team. He quarterbacked the Raiders to the title and earned
all-scholastic honors. What was even more remarkable is he never
played quarterback until high school.
Well-regarded Raider coach Joe Zeno lost his previous signal caller
to graduation and told Simourian he would be the guy. The former
running back took the new assignment in stride.
"I was actually honored when I was asked," Simourian remembered. "I
looked forward to the challenge."
Simourian didn't just tackle challenges on the gridiron. He also
played three seasons of ice hockey and was even better at baseball.
Simourian captained the 1953 Raider baseball squad while also enjoying
two all-scholastic seasons. He was also given the prestigious Fred
Ostergen award his senior year, which was given to the most outstanding
player in all of Eastern Mass. His class, not surprisingly, voted
him the school's best athlete.
Nine questions with John Simourian
1. What Watert ach, Joe Zeno. He was the best coach at any level or
any sport.
2. Who was your favorite athlete growing up?
A. I had three. Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Doak Walker.
3. What is the last book you read?
A. "The Elephant and the Dragon" by Robyn Meredith.
4. What is your all-time favorite movie?
A. "Casablanca"
5. What is your all-time favorite song?
A. "September Song" by Kurt Weill and "Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison
6. What is your favorite vacation spot?
A. Woods Hole, Mass.
7. What is your favorite food?
A. Armenian and French foods are my favorites.
8. What person would you most liked to have met?
A. Jesus Christ
9. If there was a moment in life you could go back and change,
what would it be?
A. I wouldn't change a thing.
There were no athletic scholarships back then, but Simourian wouldn't
need anything like that to get to college. As a member of the National
Honor Society and one of Watertown High's top academic students,
Simourian was accepted to continue his education at Harvard University.
As a student-athlete in Cambridge, Simourian continued to excel. As
a student, he would once again be one of their top students while
achieving remarkable athletic accomplishments.
As a member of the baseball team, the first baseman was named
to the all-New England team three years in a row from 1955-1957
while also claiming All Eastern Mass. Intercollegiate honors his
senior year. Later, he would be recruited by the Milwaukee Braves
organization.
As a valuable three-year member of the Crimson football team, the
quarterback was named the team's MVP his senior season, while also
being given the Bingham Award for being the school's best athlete
that season.
As a Harvard athlete, Simourian was well respected by all of his
teammates. One of those guys was the late Senator Ted Kennedy, who
played on the offensive line on one of Simourian's teams.
Simourian admired Kennedy and was saddened to hear of his rece id. "He
was a friend, and I enjoyed staying in touch with him throughout
the years."
After graduation, Simourian became an officer in the Navy, and then
went to Harvard Business School before becoming the president of
Lily Transportation in 1961, just three years after the founding of
the company.
Simourian, though, knows how valuable playing sports in Watertown
was to his success.
"Sports are a very good teacher in life," Simourian said. "You
experience ups and downs and wins and losses, and that is what you
have to expect in life. Sports also taught me the value of teammates
and to never underestimate their importance. Sports also teach you
to work hard. You need to work hard to succeed, and sports certainly
helped me learn that."
Simourian first became interested in sports as a very young Watertown
lad. Back then, there were no video games or iPods to occupy the
time. It was good old-fashioned physical activity, and Simourian
seemed like a natural.
"As a kid growing up in Watertown, that is what you did,"
Simourian recalled. "Everyone seemed to play ball. It was fun back
then. The biggest difference in sports today is that there is no
specialization. People in my day played different sports. Today it
seems like most people are just interested in playing one."
Along the way in his remarkable journey, Simourian married (Michelle)
and had two children. He is incredibly proud of both of his kids,
who both played sports in high school, and feels extremely fortunate
for the household he was gifted with. His son, John Simourian II,
a graduate of Bates College, became president and chief operating
officer of Lily Transportation in 1986.
"I have a great family and a great wife," Simourian said. "I always say
an important way to become successful is to choose your mate wisely."
As chairman of his company, Simourian remains busy at work but also
finds time to enjoy activities like working out, swimming, jogging
and traveling. He continues to look back at his life with no regrets.
"I happy and successful, you need some breaks along the way and some
great people behind you. I have been lucky enough to have both."
Simourian doesn't have much time to go back to Watertown much these
days, though he will occasionally take part in the Watertown-Belmont
Thanksgiving game. However, he will always be grateful for growing
up in the area.
He said his favorite part of being a Watertown athlete was "playing
sports in such a great place with such great people."
I will always have great memories from Watertown. Those were some of
the best days of my life."
By Frank Santarpio
Watertown TAB & Press
Wicked Local Watertown
Oct 09, 2009 @ 03:19 PM
WATERTOWN --
As a Watertown High student-athlete, John Simourian knew how to
succeed in and out of the classroom. Success still follows him around.
The 1953 Raider graduate and 1993 Watertown High Athletic Hall of
Famer, who started Lily (named after his mother) Transportation
Corp. in 1958, remains chairperson and CEO of the one of the largest
transportation and distribution services in the country. It is a
multimillion-dollar operation.
For those who remember Simourian, that kind of remarkable success is
not a surprise.
"He was so focused and so smart," said Bob Kaprielian, Watertown
High Athletic Hall of Fame chairperson and teammate of the 1952
Class B Raider championship football team. "I believe the incredible
discipline and focus he developed from sports has carried him through
life and has made him what he is today."
Simourian was the leader and catalyst of the 1952 state championship
team. He quarterbacked the Raiders to the title and earned
all-scholastic honors. What was even more remarkable is he never
played quarterback until high school.
Well-regarded Raider coach Joe Zeno lost his previous signal caller
to graduation and told Simourian he would be the guy. The former
running back took the new assignment in stride.
"I was actually honored when I was asked," Simourian remembered. "I
looked forward to the challenge."
Simourian didn't just tackle challenges on the gridiron. He also
played three seasons of ice hockey and was even better at baseball.
Simourian captained the 1953 Raider baseball squad while also enjoying
two all-scholastic seasons. He was also given the prestigious Fred
Ostergen award his senior year, which was given to the most outstanding
player in all of Eastern Mass. His class, not surprisingly, voted
him the school's best athlete.
Nine questions with John Simourian
1. What Watert ach, Joe Zeno. He was the best coach at any level or
any sport.
2. Who was your favorite athlete growing up?
A. I had three. Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Doak Walker.
3. What is the last book you read?
A. "The Elephant and the Dragon" by Robyn Meredith.
4. What is your all-time favorite movie?
A. "Casablanca"
5. What is your all-time favorite song?
A. "September Song" by Kurt Weill and "Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison
6. What is your favorite vacation spot?
A. Woods Hole, Mass.
7. What is your favorite food?
A. Armenian and French foods are my favorites.
8. What person would you most liked to have met?
A. Jesus Christ
9. If there was a moment in life you could go back and change,
what would it be?
A. I wouldn't change a thing.
There were no athletic scholarships back then, but Simourian wouldn't
need anything like that to get to college. As a member of the National
Honor Society and one of Watertown High's top academic students,
Simourian was accepted to continue his education at Harvard University.
As a student-athlete in Cambridge, Simourian continued to excel. As
a student, he would once again be one of their top students while
achieving remarkable athletic accomplishments.
As a member of the baseball team, the first baseman was named
to the all-New England team three years in a row from 1955-1957
while also claiming All Eastern Mass. Intercollegiate honors his
senior year. Later, he would be recruited by the Milwaukee Braves
organization.
As a valuable three-year member of the Crimson football team, the
quarterback was named the team's MVP his senior season, while also
being given the Bingham Award for being the school's best athlete
that season.
As a Harvard athlete, Simourian was well respected by all of his
teammates. One of those guys was the late Senator Ted Kennedy, who
played on the offensive line on one of Simourian's teams.
Simourian admired Kennedy and was saddened to hear of his rece id. "He
was a friend, and I enjoyed staying in touch with him throughout
the years."
After graduation, Simourian became an officer in the Navy, and then
went to Harvard Business School before becoming the president of
Lily Transportation in 1961, just three years after the founding of
the company.
Simourian, though, knows how valuable playing sports in Watertown
was to his success.
"Sports are a very good teacher in life," Simourian said. "You
experience ups and downs and wins and losses, and that is what you
have to expect in life. Sports also taught me the value of teammates
and to never underestimate their importance. Sports also teach you
to work hard. You need to work hard to succeed, and sports certainly
helped me learn that."
Simourian first became interested in sports as a very young Watertown
lad. Back then, there were no video games or iPods to occupy the
time. It was good old-fashioned physical activity, and Simourian
seemed like a natural.
"As a kid growing up in Watertown, that is what you did,"
Simourian recalled. "Everyone seemed to play ball. It was fun back
then. The biggest difference in sports today is that there is no
specialization. People in my day played different sports. Today it
seems like most people are just interested in playing one."
Along the way in his remarkable journey, Simourian married (Michelle)
and had two children. He is incredibly proud of both of his kids,
who both played sports in high school, and feels extremely fortunate
for the household he was gifted with. His son, John Simourian II,
a graduate of Bates College, became president and chief operating
officer of Lily Transportation in 1986.
"I have a great family and a great wife," Simourian said. "I always say
an important way to become successful is to choose your mate wisely."
As chairman of his company, Simourian remains busy at work but also
finds time to enjoy activities like working out, swimming, jogging
and traveling. He continues to look back at his life with no regrets.
"I happy and successful, you need some breaks along the way and some
great people behind you. I have been lucky enough to have both."
Simourian doesn't have much time to go back to Watertown much these
days, though he will occasionally take part in the Watertown-Belmont
Thanksgiving game. However, he will always be grateful for growing
up in the area.
He said his favorite part of being a Watertown athlete was "playing
sports in such a great place with such great people."
I will always have great memories from Watertown. Those were some of
the best days of my life."