Football Hall of Famer Evanshen honored for triumph over injury

TORONTO - Terry Evanshen, a Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductee, was honored on November 30, 1995, by the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry Foundation of Toronto with the "Courage to Comeback Award."

The award honors individuals from Ontario "who triumph over illness, injury or addiction, and use the experience gained during the recovery to help others."

Mr. Evanshen, who lost most of his memory and suffered serious internal injuries in an automobile accident in 1988, has ever since led a determined struggle to recover. Family members were strangers to him. The past was non-existent. Cognitive rehabilitation has helped him in the recovery process.

Mr. Evanshen now spends his time giving inspirational talks.

Mr. Evanshen's career in the Canadian Football League spanned 14 years, from 1965 to 1978, and included play for Montreal, Calgary, Hamilton and Toronto. The wide receiver, known as the "Flea," caught 600 passes and fumbled only three times.

Twice he was honored as the league's Most Outstanding Canadian player. His most productive season was in 1967 when in 16 games he caught 96 passes for 1,662 yards; 17 of the passes were for touchdowns.

In 1984, at age 40, he became the youngest player inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 7, 1996, No. 1, Vol. LXIV

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