Friends Of The Riders Touchdown Lottery Comes To An End

A major fundraiser for the Saskatchewan Roughriders is coming to an end.

Citing his age and the fact the team’s bottom line is no longer an issue, Friends of the Riders Touchdown Lottery founder Tom Shepherd says after 33 years the lottery has come to an end.

Shepherd says it was a tough decision because of all the work he put into it, but the time was right.

“It was a great labour of love for me, but at the age of 76 it was time.” Shepherd said. ” I loved every second of it, and I drove many people crazy, but again I loved every second of it.  Another factor was the fact the team’s bottom line is no longer a concern which it was when it started.

The lottery helped the Riders through some tough financial times when it started and got to the point where nearly 22.6 million dollars was raised with more than 32 million in prizes being handed out to Rider fans and CFL fans across Saskatchewan and Canada.