Willie Evans (running back)

Willie Roy Evans (December 1, 1937 – January 4, 2017) was a running back for the University at Buffalo football team in the late 1950s.

Willie Evans
Evans with the Buffalo Bills on a Fleer card, 1960
No. 48
Position:Halfback
Personal information
Born:(1937-12-01)December 1, 1937
Buffalo, New York
Died:January 4, 2017(2017-01-04) (aged 79)
Buffalo, New York
Career information
High school:Buffalo (NY) Emerson
College:Buffalo
AFL Draft:1960 / Round: 1
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
  • UB Athletic Hall of Fame (1978)
  • Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame (2009)

In 1958, the Buffalo Bulls refused an offer to play Florida State University in the Tangerine Bowl because Evans and backup defensive end Mike Wilson were not welcome to play in Orlando because they were black.[1] After graduation, Evans was drafted by Ralph Wilson for the inaugural season of the American Football League's Buffalo Bills.[2] After his football career, Willie Evans taught in Buffalo area schools for more than 30 years. He coached football, and tennis and swimming, and ran a city parks program for most of that time as well.[1] He served as an adviser for the university's alumni association.[3]

Evans died in Buffalo on January 4, 2017, aged 79.[4][5][6]

See also

References
  1. Neel, Eric. "OTL: All Or Nothing". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
  2. Miller, Jeffrey J.; Shaw, Billy (October 1, 2007). Rockin' the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League. ECW Press. pp. 74–76. ISBN 9781550227970.
  3. "UBAA Board of Directors - UB Alumni". alumni.buffalo.edu. Archived from the original on August 13, 2007. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
  4. Slotnik, Daniel E. (January 7, 2017). "Willie Evans, Who Was Barred From a Bowl Game Because of His Color, Dies at 79". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  5. McNeil, Harold (January 5, 2017). "Willie Evans dies; key figure in UB stand against 'whites only' Bowl game". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on January 7, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  6. DellaContrada, John (January 5, 2017). "UB mourns loss of Willie Evans, prominent alumnus and athletics legend". University at Buffalo. Archived from the original on January 8, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
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