The Terry Evanshen Trophy is a trophy awarded to the

Canadian Football League East Division The East Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League, its counterpart being the West Division (CFL), West Division. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the East Division and its clubs are descended from ...

's Most Outstanding Player, chosen from the nominees of each team in the division. Either this trophy winner or the winner of the

Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy The Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy is a trophy awarded to the Canadian Football League West Division's most outstanding player, chosen from the nominees from each team in the division. Either this trophy winner or the winner of the Terry Evanshen T ...

will also receive the Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Player Award. The Evanshen Trophy was named for

Terry Evanshen Terrence Anthony "Terry" Evanshen (born June 13, 1944) is a motivational speaker and former star receiver in the Canadian Football League. CFL Drafted by the Montreal Alouettes, Terry went on to have an outstanding career in the CFL playing for ...

, who was a star wide receiver for the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes ( French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Cana ...

, the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...

, the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fie ...

and the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the CFL East Division, East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based i ...

. After his retirement from football, Terry Evanshen was involved in a car crash in 1988 that nearly killed and caused him to have severe brain damage, which caused him to have memory loss. Evanshen was able to successfully overcome his battle with memory loss and lives a full life. In 1994, the CFL adopted the Terry Evanshen Trophy to be awarded annually to the Most Outstanding Player of the East Division. The Terry Evanshen Trophy ended up replacing the

Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy The Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy is a Canadian football award recognizing the most outstanding football player of the Quebec Student Sport Federation (RESQ) The trophy was originally presented to the player who best exemplified skill, sportsmanshi ...

which was officially retired in 1994 at the request of the Russel family (it was re-established in 2003 to recognize the players in the Quebec conference of

U Sports football U Sports football is the highest level of amateur play of Canadian football and operates under the auspices of U Sports (formerly Canadian Interuniversity Sport). Twenty-seven teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athletic confe ...

, with the winner being nominated for the national

Hec Crighton Trophy The Hec Crighton Trophy (sometimes referred to as the Hec Crighton Award) is awarded annually to the most outstanding Canadian football player in U Sports. The trophy is named after the late Hec Crighton - teacher, coach, referee, and author of t ...

). As part of the failed American expansion in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, the trophy was awarded to the Most Outstanding Player of the South Division.

Terry Evanshen Trophy winners

Bold indicates a player who went on to win the

CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award The Most Outstanding Player Award is annually awarded to the best player in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Terry Evanshen Trophy winner from the East Division, and the Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy winner from ...

''See

to view other recipients of the Most Outstanding Player of the East Division.

References

CFL Publications: 2011 Facts, Figures & Records CFL Publications: 2012 Facts, Figures & Records CFL Publications: 2013 Facts, Figures & Records CFL Publications: 2014 Facts, Figures & Records {{CFL Most Outstanding Player East Canadian Football League trophies and awards