PLAYER #134 - GREG HOLMES (1982-85)

Greg Holmes hadn't played football in the CFL for a decade, and it seemed to have become a distant memory for him, a life that was lived a long time ago.

But as he was reminiscing on the phone the other day, the memories slowly came back to him and the laughter and good times returned. The name of a teammate, a certain game or a big play would open up the reluctant ex-Argo, who admitted to being burned by the media in the past.

"It was a really good experience, it's what I wanted to do as a kid," said the Mississauga native, who attended Lorne Park Secondary School and later Carroll College in Wisconsin. "I sacrificed a lot to get there, but I would never take it back."

A quick, speedy receiver, Holmes alternated with Geoff Townsend at one of the receiver spots for the Double Blue. The two grew up good friends and even ran track together, but it was a speedster on the other side of the field, all-time Argo Terry Greer, who saw most of the passes.

"The thing about Terry Greer was that he was such a great guy too," said Holmes, who also admired the team's main slotback, Paul Pearson. "Those two guys really stand out in my mind. (Pearson) was such a down-to-earth guy, and he really worked so hard. Paul was like a fox, he was just so crafty, eh!"

The talented receiving corps, along with MVP quarterback Condredge Holloway, led the Argos to a Grey Cup appearance in 1982, when they lost to the Eskimos 32-16. They lost again to the Eskies in 1987 by a score of 38-36, a trend that the Argos will hope to reverse on Sunday. In fact, the last time the Double Blue beat the Eskies in the Grey Cup was in 1952, which was the last championship for the Argos until Holmes and his friends brought home the mug in 1983 after an 18-17 win over the B.C. Lions in Vancouver, a drought that lasted 31 years.

"You don't sit around with a Geoff Townsend and say: 'Hey man, we have to win, we haven't won it for 31 years'," laughed Holmes, mimicking a mock desperation. "It was a lot of fun. They put you up in a great hotel and you were treated like a king. (When we got back to Toronto), it was great at the airport, and the parade downtown was just fabulous."

Holmes' career had its share of bumps and bruises, but he remembers one hit in particular at a game at Ivor Wynne Stadium that earned him the respect (or wide-eyed wonderment, depending on the perspective) of his teammates.

"(QB Bruce) Threadgill threw it a bit past me and the Hamilton safety just totally destroyed me," recalled Holmes, living every receiver's worst nightmare across the middle. "I had to be taken off on a stretcher with a contusion of the lung."

He survived long enough to play until 1985 with the Argos, and in 1986, he joined the Saskatchewan Roughriders for a year.

After football, Holmes moved back east to work as a youth counsellor for kids with behavioural problems. He currently lives in Milton and works out of Brampton with an organization called "Cornerstone".