Felix Evans
{{Short description|American baseball player}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
| name = Felix Evans
| image = Chin Evans.jpg
| position = Pitcher
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1910|10|3|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Atlanta, Georgia
| death_date = {{death date and age|1993|8|21|1910|10|3|mf=y}}
| death_place = Pompano Beach, Florida
| bats = Right
| throws = Right
| debutleague = Negro league baseball
| debutdate =
| debutyear = 1934
| debutteam = Atlanta Athletics
| finaldate =
| finalyear = 1949
| finalteam = Birmingham Black Barons
| statyear =
| statleague =
| stat1label =
| stat1value =
| stat2label =
| stat2value =
| stat3label =
| stat3value =
| teams =
- Atlanta Athletics (1934)
- Atlanta Black Crackers/Indianapolis ABCs (1935, 1938–1939, 1941, 1943)
- Jacksonville Red Caps (1938)
- Baltimore Elite Giants (1939)
- Newark Eagles (1939)
- Ethiopian Clowns (1939–1940)
- Memphis Red Sox (1940–1948)
- Birmingham Black Barons (1949)
| highlights =
}}
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.
Career
Evans was born on October 3, 1910, in Atlanta, Georgia, and attended Booker T. Washington High School.{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95330041/evans-sunday-pitch-threw-negro/|title=Evans' 'Sunday pitch' threw Negro League batters a curve|page=25|work=The Palm Beach Post|via=Newspapers.com|date=July 13, 1992|accessdate=February 18, 2022}} After dropping out of school in ninth grade, he began a professional baseball career with the Atlanta Athletics in 1934.{{Cite book |last=Riley |first=James A. |title=The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues |pages= 268-269| place=New York |publisher=Carroll & Graf |year=1994 |isbn=0-7867-0959-6 }} 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. He moved to the Atlanta Black Crackers in 1935. 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/team.php?yearID=1937&teamID=BCA&LGOrd=4|title=1937 Atlanta Black Crackers at Seamheads|work=Seamheads.com|accessdate=February 18, 2022}} That winter, he played for Habana in the Cuban League, losing five of the six games he pitched.{{Cite book |last= Figueredo |first=Jorge S. |title=Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, 1878-1961|publisher=McFarland & Company |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-7864-6425-8 |page=221}}
By 1938, he began playing college football for Morehouse College, seeing time as a halfback and quarterback from 1938 through the 1941 season.{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95325698/a-star-passer/|title=A Star Passer|page=9|work=Detroit Tribune|via=Newspapers.com|date=November 4, 1939|accessdate=February 18, 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95327712/moody-paces-wolves-as-morehouse-falls/|title=Moody Paces Wolves As Morehouse Falls|page=18|work=Pittsburgh Courier|via=Newspapers.com|date=October 25, 1941|accessdate=February 18, 2022}} 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. Evans joined the Jacksonville Red Caps and amassed a winning streak, before Atlanta reacquired him a month later. 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/year.php?yearID=1938&lgID=ALC|title=1938 NAL Championship Series at Seamheads|work=Seamheads.com|accessdate=February 18, 2022}}
Evans remained with the Black Crackers in 1939, appearing in at least four documented games,{{cite web|url=https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/team.php?yearID=1939&teamID=IAB&LGOrd=4|title=1939 Indianapolis ABCs/Atlanta Black Crackers at Seamheads|work=Seamheads.com|accessdate=February 18, 2022}} before the club moved to Indianapolis and operated under the name Indianapolis ABCs for the remainder of the season. 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. He joined the Memphis Red Sox that season. Evans opened the 1941 season with the Black Crackers,{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95328296/black-crackers-open-here-today/|title=Black Crackers Open Here Today|page=44|work=The Atlanta Constitution|via=Newspapers.com|date=April 20, 1941|accessdate=February 18, 2022}} before returning to Memphis to appear in at least two games for the Red Sox that year.{{cite web|url=https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/team.php?yearID=1941&teamID=MRS&LGOrd=2|title=1941 Memphis Red Sox at Seamheads|work=Seamheads.com|accessdate=February 18, 2022}} Evans continued pitching for Memphis until 1948, but did return to the Black Crackers for a time in 1943.{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95328717/wellmaker-pitches-at-ponce-de-leon/|title=Wellmaker Pitches At Ponce de Leon|page=27|work=The Atlanta Constitution|via=Newspapers.com|date=May 9, 1943|accessdate=February 18, 2022}}
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.[https://web.archive.org/web/20111013194245/http://nlbpa.com/evans__felix.html Felix 'Chin' Evans Biography]. NLBPA Archives. Retrieved on December 14, 2018.{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95319130/an-all-star-for-all-ages/|title=An All-Star For All Ages|page=23|work=The Palm Beach Post|via=Newspapers.com|date=July 13, 1992|accessdate=February 18, 2022}} Evans allowed one hit in three innings and was the winning pitcher in a 4–1 victory for the West.{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95470687/western-clubs-cop-negro-tilt/|title=Western Clubs Cop Negro Tilt|page=6|work=Columbus Telegram|via=Newspapers.com|date=August 19, 1946|accessdate=February 19, 2022}}
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.{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95475878/twenty-players-expected-for-initial/|title=Twenty Players Expected For Initial Drills|page=24|work=Pittsburgh Courier|via=Newspapers.com|date=March 12, 1949|accessdate=February 19, 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95472709/black-barons-edge-new-york-cubans/|title=Black Barons Edge New York Cubans|page=24|work=Pittsburgh Courier|via=Newspapers.com|date=June 18, 1949|accessdate=February 19, 2022}}
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.{{cite web|url=https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/player.php?playerID=evans01fel&tab=fld|title=Felix Evans fielding statistics at Seamheads|work=Seamheads.com|accessdate=February 18, 2022}}
References
{{reflist|9}}
External links
{{Baseballstats|mlb=819614|br=e/evansfe01}} and [https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=evans-000fel Baseball-Reference Black Baseball stats] and [https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/player.php?playerID=evans01fel Seamheads]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20111013194245/http://nlbpa.com/evans__felix.html Negro League Baseball Players Association page]
- [http://www.coe.ksu.edu/nlbemuseum/history/players/evansc.html NLB museum]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Felix}}
Category:Morehouse College alumni
Category:Atlanta Black Crackers players
Category:Baltimore Elite Giants players
Category:Birmingham Black Barons players
Category:Ethiopian Clowns players
Category:Jacksonville Red Caps players
Category:Memphis Red Sox players
Category:Newark Eagles players