Bob Evans (footballer)

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.[2] He played as a goalkeeper.

Bob Evans
Personal information
Full name Robert Owen Evans[1]
Date of birth August 1881
Place of birth Wrexham, Wales
Date of death 8 March 1962(1962-03-08) (aged 80)[1]
Place of death Coventry, England
Height 5 ft 10+1⁄2 in (1.79 m)[1]
Position(s) 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
International career
1902–1914 Wales 10 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Evans was born in Wrexham. He played local football before joining Wrexham in 1898.[3] Wrexham were champions of The Combination for three successive seasons, from 1900–01 to 1902–03,[4] and Evans played in two Welsh Cup finals for the club, on the losing side in 1902 but victorious in 1903.[5][6]

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.[3] He spent five seasons at Blackburn, playing 104 league games.[2] 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,[1] and then four years with Coventry City. He returned to the Football League with Birmingham,[3] 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.[3]

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,[2] 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]

Personal life

Evans died in Coventry in 1962 at the age of 80.[3]

References
  1. Futter, Alan. "Robert Owen Evans" (PDF). Croydon Common FC. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  2. Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 85. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
  3. Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 85. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  4. Abbink, Dinant (23 July 2006). "England – The Combination". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 16 June 2009.
  5. "Welsh Cup Final 1901/02". Welsh Football Data Archive. Archived from the original on 15 April 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
  6. "Welsh Cup Final 1902/03". Welsh Football Data Archive. Archived from the original on 15 April 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
  7. Matthews, p. 160.
  8. "Welsh International Matches 22 February 1902". Welsh Football Data Archive. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
  9. "Welsh International Matches 28 January 1911". Welsh Football Data Archive. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
  10. "Welsh International Matches 13 April 1912". Welsh Football Data Archive. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
  11. "Leigh Roose". BBC Wales. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
  12. Richards, Thomas. "Roose, Leigh Richmond". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. The National Library of Wales. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
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