A career that took decades to be inducted into Cooperstown will now be celebrated for generations, as long as statues stand outside the ballpark the Cardinals call home.

Ted Simmons’ No. 23 will be retired by the Cardinals during a ceremony July 31 that begins with the unveiling of a bronze statue of “Simba” alongside the “Wizard” and other Hall of Fame peers at Busch Stadium.

The team announced the decision Thursday morning and Simmons, when reached by telephone, said, “This is incredible stuff. This is way beyond my greatest expectations. Way beyond my fondest dreams.”

Club chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., and team president Bill DeWitt III made the club’s plan known face to face to Simmons and his wife, Maryanne, recently and Simmons said his first sentences might have been “You’ve got to be joking me. I can’t believe this is true.”

It will be the first number retired officially by the team since Tony La Russa’s No. 10 went on the wall in 2012. The Cardinals have adopted internal guidelines of considering the retirement of numbers for players elected to the Hall of Fame who spent a substantive part of their career with the club.

There are several numbers that have been informally retired, including No. 5 for Albert Pujols, a threetime MVP with the Cardinals.

The honor for Simmons comes the year he’ll be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Simmons was elected by a veterans’ committee for the honor and was set to be a part of Cooperstown’s Class of 2020 with Larry Walker, Derek Jeter, and revolutionary union leader Marvin Miller. The ceremony for that class was delayed by the pandemic and will be held in conjunction with the 2021 inductions Sept. 8, with a crowd in Cooperstown, N.Y.

“The most recent protocol. . .is that anybody and everybody who is interested in going to Cooperstown,” said Simmons. “That’s pretty much my understanding.”

Simmons spent 13 of his 21 seasons with the Cardinals and set many of the offensive numbers catcher Yadier Molina, the last No. 4 for the team, chased. Simmons debuted at 19 and hit .285 in his career with 248 home runs and 1,389 RBIs. He was an eight-time All-Star during his career, and six of those selections came as a Cardinal.

The switch-hitting catcher continues to rank in the franchise’s top 10 for home runs (172), RBIs (929), and total bases (2,626).

After his playing career, Simmons continued to influence and give to baseball as a scout, coach, and front office executive with multiple teams.

The ceremony on July 31 will begin at 2 p.m. St. Louis time with the unveiling of the statue done by artist Harry Weber. It will be the first new statue placed outside of the current Busch ballpark, and it will be the first statue commissioned to honor player since 2002 when the team dedicated the Ozzie Smith statue.

The number retirement ceremony will be before that evening’s game against Minnesota.

Many fans in attendance will receive a Simmons bobblehead.

“Ted Simmons is one of the finest players to wear the Birds on the Bat and will forever be a part of Cardinals history,” DeWitt Jr. said in a statement.

The last Cardinals player to wear No. 23 was Marcell Ozuna in 2019 before he became a free agent. Simmons was elected to the Hall a couple of months later.