Background
Evans grew up in South Bend, Indiana and attended James Whitcomb Riley High School. Evans was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and moved to Detroit before his family settled in South Bend, Indiana.
Evans grew up in South Bend, Indiana and attended James Whitcomb Riley High School. Evans was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and moved to Detroit before his family settled in South Bend, Indiana.
Evans attended James Whitcomb Riley High School in South Bend, where he played football, baseball, basketball and track. Evans attended the University of Notre Dame, where he played at left halfback for the school"s football team starting as a sophomore in 1940.
He went to the University of Notre Dame and played halfback and fullback on the school"s football team starting in 1940. After graduating from college, Evans joined the United States Army Air Corps during World World War II, where he stayed until his discharge in 1945. He then signed with the Browns, a team in the new AAFC, where he played for one year.
He subsequently played for the Buffalo Bills, the Chicago Bears and the Chicago Rockets in 1947 and 1948.
Evans moved to Cleveland after his playing career and owned a dry cleaning business. He died in 2007.
He was named an all-state halfback in his senior year.
He moved to fullback the following year, when Notre Dame went undefeated under coach Frank Leahy. Evans led the team in rushing yards and scoring in 1941.
Evans was considered shy but tough.
Before a game against the University of Southern California ( University of Southern California) in 1941, Bill Riordan, a teammate, poured a bucket of water over Evans"s head Evans tried to retaliate but crashed into a wall and split his knee open. He concealed the injury from Leahy and played in the University of Southern California game, but needed 11 stitches afterward.
After graduating in 1942, Evans was drafted by the Chicago Bears of the National Football League.
His professional football career, however, was delayed by service in World World War World War II While in the air corps, Evans played for the Randolph Field Ramblers, a military team at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. In 1945, Evans became the fourth player signed by the Cleveland Browns, a team under formation in the new All-America Football Conference, which was to start play in 1946.
Evans was the first player to score points for the Browns in their inaugural exhibition game on August 30 against the Brooklyn Dodgers at the Akron Rubber Bowl. He scored a touchdown on a seven-yard pass from quarterback Cliff Lewis.
He later intercepted a pass and returned it 83 yards for another touchdown.
Later in the season, Evans twisted his knee and was sidelined for more than a month. Before the beginning of the 1947 season, Evans was sent to the Buffalo Bills in a special draft designed to help the AAFC"s weaker teams. He played for the Chicago Rockets and Chicago Bears in 1947 and 1948.
Evans came back to Cleveland after his football career and owned a dry cleaning business called Handee Cleaners in the city"s West Park area.
Evans died in 2007 of bone cancer.
Evans signed up for the United States Army Air Corps and flew P-51 Mustangs with the Flying Tigers, a unit that defended China against Japanese incursion during the war.