Terry Evanshen was one of the best receivers in CFL history, and was inducted into the Hall-of-Fame in 1984. Tragically, he doesn't remember any of his great career, including his one season with the Argonauts in 1978.
On July 4th, 1988, Evanshen was involved in a terrible car accident just outside of Oshawa. He was left near-death and experienced massive memory loss, which would change his life forever.
"I was at the wall and the good Lord didn't want me in; he pushed me back," said Evanshen. "It wasn't my time yet."
While Evanshen was fortunate enough to escape with his life, his memory was left behind at the accident. When he talks about his career now, it is only from recollections of what his former teammates and family have told him.
"I have to develop the new Terry now, and build up my new memory bank," said Evanshen, who still experiences some short-term memory loss. "Once the brain cells die, they're gone."
Luckily for Evanshen, he had a great support group at home. His wife of 30 years, Lorraine, whom he has known since his youth growing up in Montreal, was a pillar of strength, as were his daughters Tracy Lee, Tara and Jennifer.
"I wasn't a nice person for five years (after the accident)," admitted Evanshen, who during that time went through intense rehabilitation and developed some new perspectives. "There is another purpose in life for me now, and that is to reach people who are involved in tragic situations."
He does that through a variety of charity speaking engagements, where he relates his harrowing experiences to captivated audiences. Evanshen currently gives about one speech a month, but feels he is physically and mentally ready to do one a week.
As for football, Evanshen keeps in touch with the game as much as he can, and is able to provide a worthy critical voice when asked.
"I still have an instinct for the game, that wasn't taken away from me," said Evanshen, who won the Schenley Award as the league's most outstanding Canadian in 1967 and 1971. In his one year with the Argos, which came near the end of his career, he had only 11 catches for 136 yards and one touchdown.
He is particularly excited about the upcoming year in the CFL, especially with the rebirth of his first team, the Alouettes, in his hometown of Montreal. The Argos open the regular season in Olympic Stadium on June 27th.
"I think it's terrific that Montreal's back in," said Evanshen, who thinks the entire Eastern division will look like it did when he was playing. "Each team has a very good quarterback, and they'll bring the level of performance up from everyone else."
This page, and all contents, are Copyright © 1996 by Toronto Argonauts Football Club, Toronto, Canada.