The Homeless Husky: Tim Meamber, Then And Now

In the now discolored TV interview clip, Tim Meamber looks like the Incredible Hulk. Well, back then, he was.

Meamber had movie star looks. He was cocky for sure. Certainly he was much more healthy.

In his crowning football moment, Washington's then senior linebacker and team co-captain is shown alongside teammate Fred Small peering into a TV camera and lobbying for sportswriters to vote the Huskies No. 1 in the polls. They had just beaten Oklahoma 28-17 in the 1985 Orange Bowl to finish 11-1.

Today, Meamber is a 57-year-old man, living homeless in Arlington, Washington.

He's weighted down by myriad health issues, suffering from Parkinson's disease and possibly chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the latter a brain disease caused by a head injury and found in more and more football players.

He needs ankle surgery to fix a replacement procedure that wasn't done properly, causing him great discomfort when he walks. He could use new dentures.

"It's life, you get used to it," Meamber said of his situation.

He sleeps in a truck with his dog Mona in and around the small Snohomish town, 40 miles north of Seattle, wherever they can find a spot where they won't get rousted.

Meamber survives on a $1,000 a month disability check, medicare and food banks throughout the area.

He's been a drug addict for three decades and he's doing his best to deal with that obstacle.

Husky Maven/Sports Illustrated tells the Tim Meamber story in a series of articles shown on this site.