Bob Evans (footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Owen Evans | ||
| Date of birth | August 1881 | ||
| Place of birth | Wrexham, Wales | ||
| Date of death | 8 March 1962 (aged 80) | ||
| Place of death | Coventry, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 1⁄2 in (1.79 m) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1895–189? | Olympic Juniors | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| – | Stansty Villa | ||
| 1898–1903 | Wrexham | ||
| 1903–1908 | Blackburn Rovers | 104 | (0) |
| 1908–1909 | Croydon Common | 57 | (0) |
| 1909–1913 | Coventry City | 127 | (0) |
| 1913–1914 | Birmingham | 3 | (0) |
| 1914–19?? | Nuneaton Town | ||
| National team | |||
| 1902–1914 | Wales | 10 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Robert Owen Evans (August 1881 – 8 March 1962) was a Welsh international professional footballer who won ten caps for his country and made 107 appearances in the Football League playing for Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham.[1] He played as a goalkeeper.
Career
Evans was born in Wrexham. He played local football before joining Wrexham F.C. in 1898.[2] Wrexham were champions of The Combination for three successive seasons, from 1900–01 to 1902–03,[3] and Evans played in two Welsh Cup finals for the club, on the losing side in 1902 but victorious in 1903.[4][5]
His performances for Wrexham and for his country earned him a move to the Football League when First Division club Blackburn Rovers paid a fee of £150 for his services in April 1903.[2] He spent five seasons at Blackburn, playing 104 league games.[1] He then moved into the Southern League, spending the 1908–09 season with Croydon Common, for whom he played 8 games in the Western League, 12 in the United League and 31 in the South-Eastern League as well as 12 in the Southern League,[6] and then four years with Coventry City. He returned to the Football League with Birmingham,[2] played the first three games of the 1913–14 season, conceded nine goals, and relinquished the starting place to Bert Crossthwaite.[7] Evans finished off his playing career at non-league club Nuneaton Town.[2]
Evans made his debut for the Wales national football team while a Wrexham player, on 22 February 1902 in a 3–0 defeat against Ireland at Cardiff Arms Park.[8] He won ten caps in total,[1] of which the last five came in 1911 and 1912 while a Coventry City player.[9][10] Evans' international appearances were restricted by having to compete with Leigh Richmond Roose, who was an automatic first choice for his country for many years.[11][12]
Evans died in Coventry in 1962 at the age of 80.[2]
References
- 1 2 3 Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData (Tony Brown). p. 85. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 85. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
- ↑ Abbink, Dinant (23 July 2006). "England – The Combination". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 16 June 2009.
- ↑ "Welsh Cup Final 1901/02". Welsh Football Data Archive. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
- ↑ "Welsh Cup Final 1902/03". Welsh Football Data Archive. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
- ↑ "Robert Owen Evans" (PDF). Croydon Common FC. Alan Futter. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
- ↑ Matthews, p. 160.
- ↑ "Welsh International Matches 22 February 1902". Welsh Football Data Archive. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
- ↑ "Welsh International Matches 28 January 1911". Welsh Football Data Archive. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
- ↑ "Welsh International Matches 13 April 1912". Welsh Football Data Archive. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
- ↑ "Leigh Roose". BBC Wales. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
- ↑ Richards, Thomas. "Roose, Leigh Richmond". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. The National Library of Wales. Retrieved 16 June 2009.