Billy Evans

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Billy Evans
Born Feb. 10, 1884
Chicago, Illinois
Died Jan. 23, 1956
Miami, Florida

William George Evans (February 10, 1884 - January 23, 1956) was an American umpire in Major League Baseball, working in the American League from 1906 to 1927. He later became a key front office person for three teams and president of the minor league Southern Association. In addition to his inside role in the sport, Evans authored countless articles,[1] as well as a book, Umpiring from the Inside. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, the third umpire ever selected.[2]

Contents

[edit] Formative years

Evans was born in Chicago, Illinois, but relocated with his family to Youngstown, Ohio, after Evans' father accepted a management position at a Carnegie steel plant. Evans proved to be a standout athlete at Youngstown's Rayen School and went on to play football and baseball at Cornell. After two years, his law studies and college sports career came to a halt, however, with the sudden death of his father.[3]

Evans returned to Ohio and accepted a job as a sports reporter at the Youngstown Daily Vindicator.[4] In 1904, while covering a baseball game between the Youngstown Ohio Works club and a team from Hermitage, Pennsylvania, Evans was approached by the manager of the local club, ex-major leaguer Marty Hogan, and asked to fill an umpire vacancy.[5] His performance earned him a spot as a full-time league umpire. The following year, Evans received a spectacular career boost from another Youngstowner, ex-ballplayer Jimmy McAleer, who was so impressed with the young man's ability that he recommended Evans to American League president Ban Johnson.[6]

[edit] Major league career

At 22 years of age, Evans was the youngest umpire in major league history; furthermore, he was among those very rare umpires who broke into the major leagues with no prior professional experience.[7] He was an umpire for six World Series: 1909, 1912, 1915, 1917, 1919 and 1923. Working in an era during which most major league games used no more than two umpires (and sometimes only one), Evans single-handedly umpired seven double-headers in eight days during the 1907 season. He was the base umpire for Charlie Robertson's perfect game on April 30, 1922.

Unlike many umpires, Evans never made claims to infallibility. "I missed a lot of decisions", he once said. "At the time of making such a decision there was no doubt in my mind as to its correctness. However, a second or two later I felt that I erred and wished I could change my original ruling".[8]

[edit] Later years

Baseball Hall of Fame
Billy Evans
is a member of
the Baseball
Hall of Fame

Evans retired from umpiring following the 1927 season to become the general manager of the Cleveland Indians. According to Baseball America, Evans was the first front-office executive of a major league team to be officially called a "general manager." For the next eight years, he served in that role until budget cuts forced him out in 1935. He soon found work as chief scout and head of the Boston Red Sox's farm system, but left on October 8, 1940 after the team sold future Hall of Famer Pee Wee Reese to Brooklyn Dodgers over his objections.[9]

Shifting sports, Evans returned to Cleveland to become general manager of the Cleveland Rams for the 1941 season. Although the team struggled on the field, it was a financial success, but after failing to come to terms on a new contract, Evans left and spent the next year writing before accepting the position of league president of the Southern Association on December 3, 1942.[10]

During his four years leading the league, the Association thrived despite many other leagues shutting down due to World War II. In his first year, attendance increased by nearly 300,000, and while it dipped slightly in 1944, the threshold of one million people attending league games was again reached the following year.

On December 16, 1946, Evans accepted a contract offer from the Detroit Tigers to become their general manager.[11] One of his first moves was dramatic--selling aging superstar Hank Greenberg to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Over the next four years, the team had two runnerup finishes to the New York Yankees, but after dropping in the standings during the 1951 season, Evans announced his resignation on July 28 in favor of Tiger legend Charlie Gehringer.[12]

Nearly a year later, Evans had unofficially retired, then was injured in an automobile accident in Monroe, Michigan. After recovering, he remained in good health until January 21, 1956, when he suffered a massive stroke while visiting his son in Miami, Florida. Evans died two days later at the age of 71.[13]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Billy Evans Dies in Miami at 71; Major League Umpire 22 Years", The New York Times, January 24, 1956.
  2. ^ Evans Obituary Accessed 2007-03-10
  3. ^ Jon Baker, "In Valley's History, Evans Was an Early Scrapper", The Valley Voice, Youngstown, Ohio, July 1-7, 2005.
  4. ^ Evans Obituary Accessed 2007-03-10
  5. ^ Jon Baker, "In Valley's History, Evans Was an Early Scrapper", The Valley Voice, Youngstown, Ohio, July 1-7, 2005.
  6. ^ Jon Baker, "In Valley's History, Evans Was an Early Scrapper", The Valley Voice, Youngstown, Ohio, July 1-7, 2005.
  7. ^ Evans Obituary Accessed 2007-03-10
  8. ^ "Billy Evans, Renowned Baseball Figure, Dies", Youngstown Daily Vindicator, January 24, 1956.
  9. ^ Evans Obituary Accessed 2007-03-10
  10. ^ Evans Obituary Accessed 2007-03-10
  11. ^ Evans Obituary Accessed 2007-03-10
  12. ^ Evans Obituary Accessed 2007-03-10
  13. ^ "Billy Evans Dies in Miami at 71; Major League Umpire 22 Years", The New York Times, January 24, 1956.

[edit] External links

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