Bill MacGregor's battles on the football fields were legendary, but the cumulative effects of those decades on the gridiron has dramatically altered what should have been his golden years.
The 2013 BC Football Hall of Fame inductee was regarded as the father of Abbotsford football and launched the Abbotsford Senior High School program in the 1970s. He helped lead the Panthers to a provincial title in 1984 and then went on to found the Abbotsford Air Force junior team in 1987.
MacGregor then restarted the Panthers football in 2006 after it folded and was a big part of the creation of the Robert Bateman Secondary School football program in 2009. Along the way he was a vice principal at Abbotsford Senior, a principal at Rick Hansen Secondary School and served two terms as an Abbotsford city councillor.
But the MacGregor of today is one that would likely be unfamiliar to his players, students and political observers. Several years ago he was diagnosed with dementia and his deterioration has been ongoing during that time. His wife, Pam MacGregor, now takes care of him full-time and he continues to have issues with memory and recognizing people from his past.
It's believed that MacGregor also suffers from Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) due to his years of playing high-level football when he was younger. He played for both the Vancouver Meralomas club team and SFU Clan and went on to be drafted by the BC Lions in 1973. He suited up for the Lions in two preseason games before walking away from the game as a player 鈥� but the damage was done.
It was during her journey caring for her husband that Pam MacGregor reached out to longtime friend Kim Laureen. She sought out Laureen's advice on how to write a book about her husband's challenges and Laureen suggested a documentary.
That painstaking work will be on display this Saturday (Sept. 21) at 7 p.m. when the Losing Coach Mac documentary is aired at the Abbotsford Arts Centre.
Laureen, also an Abbotsford resident, has created two other documentaries for her company known as Fresh Independence Productions. She and her daughter Megan Nicole run the operation. Laureen said she remembered MacGregor's impact on her children when they were in the Abbotsford school system.
"He was a principal that cared so much," she said of his time at Rick Hansen. "It didn't matter if you were in the smoke hole or a kid on the starting lineup for football or someone in the arts 鈥� he found a way to bring out the best in people. He's so loved by people, but he wasn't a soft and fuzzy guy 鈥� he was tough."
Laureen said the family began noticing uncharacteristic behaviours from MacGregor as he aged and the dementia began to grip him more.
"There were personality changes and that was where the heartbreak comes," she said of his struggles. "Nobody knows why things were the way they were and it was such a challenge for the whole family."
She added that a lack of knowledge and awareness of both dementia and CTE contributed to how hard it was for everyone involved. Over the years, more and more is being discovered and understood about both diseases. CTE cannot be officially confirmed until after death and a thorough investigation of the brain, but most associated with MacGregor believe his years of physicality related to football make that diagnosis a certainty.
Laureen said it was difficult at times to interview MacGregor. He now stutters frequently and doesn't always remember people or the things that happened in his life. She said a lack of concussion protocol likely contributed to the issues he deals with. Laureen added that at times he wrestles with the effects of his playing career.
"You do hear Bill say we knew all the risks and we took them on," she said. "But then in another moment he says he knows what caused this and that sometimes he wishes he had made another choice. Sometimes he is regretful."
Laureen said filming concluded in June and that she is pleased to show the finished product, which clocks in at two hours and 40 minutes. She said that the entire MacGregor family will be at the showing in Abbotsford, including the 75-year-old Bill. Laureen said she hopes that the film can appear on a streaming platform of some sort after its theatre run and added that she has much more footage that could also be added.
Laureen said her next documentary is going to be called Beauty Full and take a look at how women constantly try to remain youthful and the things that women of all ages do to their body to try and search for happiness. It will likely not be finished for a few years.
For more information on the film company, visit
