Felix Evans

Felix Evans Jr. (October 3, 1910 – August 21, 1993), nicknamed "Chin", was an American baseball pitcher in the Negro leagues. Known for his curveball, Evans played from 1934 to 1949 with several teams, most prominently for the Memphis Red Sox.

Felix Evans
Pitcher
Born: (1910-10-03)October 3, 1910
Atlanta, Georgia
Died: August 21, 1993(1993-08-21) (aged 82)
Pompano Beach, Florida
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Negro league baseball debut
1934, for the Atlanta Athletics
Last appearance
1949, for the Birmingham Black Barons
Teams

Career

Evans was born on October 3, 1910, in Atlanta, Georgia, and attended Booker T. Washington High School.[1] After dropping out of school in ninth grade,[1] he began a professional baseball career with the Atlanta Athletics in 1934.[2] Evans, a right-handed pitcher, primarily utilized a curveball, that some of his teammates referred to as a "mountain drop," which he threw at three different speeds.[1] He moved to the Atlanta Black Crackers in 1935.[2] Evans returned to high school in 1936 at age 25 and earned all-state honors as a football player. Evans appeared in at least two documented games for the Black Crackers in 1937.[3] That winter, he played for Habana in the Cuban League, losing five of the six games he pitched.[4]

By 1938, he began playing college football for Morehouse College, seeing time as a halfback and quarterback from 1938 through the 1941 season.[5][6] He returned to the Black Crackers, know a member of the Negro American League, for the 1938 season, but was released when he could not travel with the club.[2] Evans joined the Jacksonville Red Caps and amassed a winning streak, before Atlanta reacquired him a month later.[2] He pitched one game in a league championship series against the pennant-winning Memphis Red Sox in a losing effort. The series was canceled after a disagreement between the two clubs, with Memphis winning both games up to that point.[7][2]

Evans remained with the Black Crackers in 1939, appearing in at least four documented games,[8] before the club moved to Indianapolis and operated under the name Indianapolis ABCs for the remainder of the season.[2] He was sold to the Baltimore Elite Giants that July, before being released a week later and singing with the Newark Eagles. He ended the year with the Ethiopian Clowns, and remained with the Clowns in 1940. While with the Clowns, Evans appeared under the name "Kalihari" as part of the team's gimmick of using African nicknames for players.[2][1] He jonied the Memphis Red Sox that season.[2] Evans opened the 1941 season with the Black Crackers,[9] before returning to Memphis to appear in at least two games for the Red Sox that year.[10] Evans continued pitching for Memphis until 1948, but did return to the Black Crackers for a time in 1943.[11]

His most productive season came in 1946 while playing for the Red Sox, posting a 15–1 record prior to the East–West All-Star Game break and started the game for the West All Star team.[12][13] Evans allowed one hit in three innings and was the winning pitcher in a 4–1 victory for the West.[2][14]

Evans started the 1949 season with the Red Sox before being signed by the Birmingham Black Barons in June, in what would be his final season.[15][16][2]

Despite primarily working as a pitcher during his career, he also appeared in games in all three outfield positions, as well as shortstop and first base.[17]

References
  1. "Evans' 'Sunday pitch' threw Negro League batters a curve". The Palm Beach Post. July 13, 1992. p. 25. Retrieved February 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Riley, James A. (1994). The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues. New York: Carroll & Graf. pp. 268–269. ISBN 0-7867-0959-6.
  3. "1937 Atlanta Black Crackers at Seamheads". Seamheads.com. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  4. Figueredo, Jorge S. (2003). Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, 1878-1961. McFarland & Company. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-7864-6425-8.
  5. "A Star Passer". Detroit Tribune. November 4, 1939. p. 9. Retrieved February 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Moody Paces Wolves As Morehouse Falls". Pittsburgh Courier. October 25, 1941. p. 18. Retrieved February 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "1938 NAL Championship Series at Seamheads". Seamheads.com. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  8. "1939 Indianapolis ABCs/Atlanta Black Crackers at Seamheads". Seamheads.com. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  9. "Black Crackers Open Here Today". The Atlanta Constitution. April 20, 1941. p. 44. Retrieved February 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "1941 Memphis Red Sox at Seamheads". Seamheads.com. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  11. "Wellmaker Pitches At Ponce de Leon". The Atlanta Constitution. May 9, 1943. p. 27. Retrieved February 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. Felix 'Chin' Evans Biography. NLBPA Archives. Retrieved on December 14, 2018.
  13. "An All-Star For All Ages". The Palm Beach Post. July 13, 1992. p. 23. Retrieved February 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Western Clubs Cop Negro Tilt". Columbus Telegram. August 19, 1946. p. 6. Retrieved February 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Twenty Players Expected For Initial Drills". Pittsburgh Courier. March 12, 1949. p. 24. Retrieved February 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Black Barons Edge New York Cubans". Pittsburgh Courier. June 18, 1949. p. 24. Retrieved February 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Felix Evans fielding statistics at Seamheads". Seamheads.com. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
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