Jack Evans (footballer, born 1889)

Jack Evans

Personal information
Full name	John Hugh Evans
Date of birth	31 January 1889
Place of birth	Bala, Wales
Date of death	1971
Place of death	Cardiff, Wales
Playing position	Outside-left
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
	Bala Wanderers	?	(?)
	Welshpool	?	(?)
1908–1909	Wrexham	?	(?)
1909–1910	Cwmparc	?	(?)
1910–1926	Cardiff City	356	(58)
1926–1928	Bristol Rovers	?	(?)
National team
1912–1923	Wales	8	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

John Hugh "Jack" Evans (31 January 1889 – 1971) was a Welsh professional footballer and Wales international.

Career

Evans was born in Bala. As a youngster he worked as an apprentice printer while playing for local side Bala Wanderers, despite his three older brothers playing for Bala Press. He joined Wrexham in 1908 but sustaind a serious shoulder injury and was told he may never play football again. He decided to move to South Wales to continue his work as an apprentice printer and began playing for Cwmparc and was spotted by Cardiff City, becoming the first player to be officially bought by the club when he signed for six shillings. He made his first appearance for the club on 1 September 1910 in a friendly match to mark the opening of Cardiff's new ground Ninian Park against Aston Villa, with Evans scoring the first ever goal at the ground in a 2-1 defeat.

In 1912 he became the first ever Cardiff City player to receive a call-up for the Wales squad when he was called up to replace Ted Vizard for a match against Ireland. In 1913 Evans converted to Judaism, which caused much controversy. Evans possessed a cannonball shot which was eventually nicknamed the "Bala bang" on account of the fearsome power he put into his shots. His shots were so ferocious that one goalkeeper once broke his wrist attempting to stop the ball and a Manchester City goalkeeper was knocked out cold by another shot. He was a regular for Cardiff during the decade, only leaving the club to serve in World War I before returning. A consistent scorer he went on to score 52 goals in 170 Southern league appearances before moving into a more orthodox position for Cardiff's entry into the football league in 1920.

Evans eventually left Ninian Park in 1926 to join up with former Cardiff teammate Joe Clennell at Bristol Rovers, where he spent two years before retiring.^[1] He died in Cardiff.

His shirt and runners-up medal from the 1925 FA Cup Final, as well as his first cap for Wales, are now displayed in the boardroom of Cardiff City after being bought at auction by one of the clubs directors, Steve Borley.^[2]

Honours

Cardiff City

• FA Cup finalist - 1925

References

• Hayes, Dean (2006). The Who's Who of Cardiff City. Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-462-0.

1. "Jack Evans" BBC Retrieved on 13 March 2008
2. "Thank Evans for Wembley return" South Wales Echo Retrieved on 28 May 2008