|
|
|
Bob Evans |
Sheffield
United FC
4 appearances,
1 debut goal
P 4 W 3 D 1 L 0 F
8:
A
2
88% successful
1911-12
captain: none
minutes played: 360 |
|
 |
|
Timeline |
| |
Robert Ernest Evans |
|
Birth |
Saturday,
10 October 1885 at 15 Crane Bank, Chester, Cheshire |
|
|
registered in Chester October-December 1885 |
|
Baptism |
Wednesday,
4 November 1885 at Holy Trinity Church in Chester |
|
|
According to the 1891 census,
Robert is the only son and third child of five to Robert and Jane (née
Blackburn). They
live at 7 Mold Junction in Saltney Ferry (which is within the Welsh
border), Chester, along with the Rhoden children. His father was a loco
engine driver. |
|
|
According to the 1901
census, Robert is a cabinet maker, still living with his parents and now
six sisters, and his Rhoden cousins. They all live at 67 Ewart
Street in the Saltney area of Chester. His father is still a railway engine driver. |
|
Marriage |
to Lily
Agnes May Harvey, Monday, 2 November 1908 at Christ Church in Chester,
Cheshire, he was stated as being
a professional footballer, living at 771 Eccles Old Road in Sheffield,
Lily was living at 46 St. Anne Street in Chester. |
|
|
registered in Chester October-December 1908 |
|
Children |
Robert
and Lily Evans have four children together. Lily (b.September 1910), Ernest
(b.14 April 1913),
Irene Edna (b.28 September 1916) and Robert (b.March 1920) |
|
|
According to the 1911
census, Robert is a professional footballer now married to Lily with a
six-month old daughter, also Lily, living at 31 Niell Road in Ecclesall
Bierlow, Sheffield.
On 12 June 1915, Evans was admitted to the
Trade Union. |
|
|
According to the 1921
census, Robert, a joiner for W.Williams Builders, is still married, and
has three more children, Ernest, Irene and Robert. They live on the High
Street in Saltney.
His father died on 3 September 1921. |
|
"THE LATE MRS. R. EVANS. |
—The
funeral of Mrs. Jane Evans, 67, Ewart-street, the widow of R. Evans, took
place on Thursday last week. She was one of the oldest inhabitants, and
passed away, after eleven weeks' illness, at the age of 84, leaving a
family of one son. Mr. R. E. Evans, the well-known English and Welsh
international football player, and five daughters."
- Cheshire Observer, Saturday, 23 May 1936 |
|
|
According to the 1939 register, Robert, a
wood-joiner, and Lily are still married and living at 12
Hampton Road, back in Chester, with their son Ernest. |
|
Death |
Sunday, 28 November
1965 at 12 Hampton Road, Buddicom Park, Saltney, Flintshire |
|
aged 80 years 49 days |
registered in Chester October-December 1965 |
|
Obituary |
"PLAYED FOR WALES AND
ENGLAND
"Mr. 'Bob'
Evans, a noted footballer of the past, dies at his City home.
"MR. ROBERT ERNEST
(BOB) EVANS, of 12, Hampton-road, Buddicom Park, died on Sunday, at the
age of 80, and left behind a wealth of football history. He is believed to
have been the only footballer to have played in full international matches
for both Wales and England. Although born in Crane-street, Chester, he
went to live in Saltney Ferry at an early age and attended the local
school. His footballing career started with the Saltney Ferry Club. From
their he joined Bretton F.C. and later Broughton. There was no regulation
dress and the teams played in their regular clothes. Mr. Evans then joined
the newly formed St. John's Reserves, a team formed in the area of his
birthplace. In 1902 he returned to one of Saltney's clubs, the Saltney
Carriage and Waggon Works team who went on to win the Chester and District
League, the Yerburgh Cup and the Chester and District Junior Cup. His
ability brought him to the forefront of local players and he was given a
trial with Chester. He only played two games for the City, both against
Wrexham, but apparently did not satisfy the selectors. He did, however,
impress the Wrexham club who signed him and he was soon in their first
team, then playing in the Birmingham league. He scored in his opening game
and was signed as a professional at 10s. a week. After playing against
Aston Villa reserves, he was made an offer by this famous club, but took
some time to think things over. Je joined Villa's Park Staff in 1906. The
transfer fee was £300 and his own weekly earnings jumped to £4. In his early
days, two turnips for expenses were all he received. His play brought him
to the notice of other clubs and he left Villa to join Sheffield United.
The transfer fee had then risen to £900. The Sheffield team at that
time were in a rather poor position. After Mr. Evans joined, they won the
first game and in 1914-15 they won the F.A. Cup. With the outbreak of the
First World War, Mr. Evans returned to Saltney and worked for the Asiatic
Petroleum Company, at Sandycroft, He played a number of times for Tranmere
Rovers and with the successful Crichton's team, winning a Cheshire Cup
medal in 1920, He later returned to his first club at Saltney Ferry, but a
broken leg ended a brilliant career.
"Altogether he played in 14
international games, 10 for Wales and four for England. His last
international match was at Wrexham, where he played for England against
Wales, the country for whom he had played on the same ground a little
earlier. A brilliant career has closed." - Cheshire
Observer, Friday, 3 December 1965 |
|
Funeral |
Thursday, 2 December 1965 at
St. Mark's Church, interred at Blacon
Cemetery, Blacon Avenue, Chester. |
|
|
"The
funeral took place on Thursday. A service at St. Mark's Church was
conducted by Rev. S. J. Atkins with Mrs. W. Jenkins as organist....Messrs.
George Pettit and Sons were the undertakers." |
|
Probate |
"EVANS
Robert Ernest of 12 Hampton Road Buddicom Park Saltney
Chester
died 28 November
1965 Probate
Chester
29 December to Lily Agnes May Evans widow.
Effects £2000."
[2025 equivalent: £33,932] |
|
Source |
 Douglas Lammings' An
English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990] & |
|
Playing Career |
Club(s) |
Began
playing local football with Saltney Ferry FC, Bretton FC, Broughton FC and
then St. John's FC (Chester), before joining Saltney Carriage Works FC in
1902 and
made one Combination
appearance as an inside-left for Chester FC in 1904, before signing for Wrexham
AFC in 1905, who played in the Birmingham & District League. Evans was
playing against Aston Villa FC, whom he then signed for on 27 March 1906 for £300.
Sheffield United FC signed him on 2 October 1908 for £1100+player, Peter
Kyle. Evans retired during WWI, but not until after he assisted Tranmere
Rovers FC.
Although he did
appear for Crichtons Athletic FC of the Cheshire County League, and
returned to play for Saltney Ferry FC, before a broken leg ended his
playing days. |
League honours
220 appearances, 42 goals |
Aston Villa FC 1906-08
sixteen appearances, four goals
debut: 3 November 1906 Preston North End FC 2 Aston Villa FC 0.
Sheffield United FC 1908-15 204 appearances, 38
goals
debut: 3 October 1908 Sheffield United FC 3 Bradford City FC 0.
last:
26 April 1915 Bolton Wanderers FC 0 Sheffield United FC 1. |
|
Club honours |
Football League Division One
runners-up 1907-08 (7ᵃ 1ᵍ);
FA Cup
winners 1914-15 (6ᵃ); |
|
Individual honours |
None |
|
Distinctions |
None |
|
Height/Weight |
5'
10¾", 11st.
7lbs [1908]. 5'
11", 11st.
5lbs [1913]. |
|
Source |
Douglas Lammings' An English
Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990]. |
|
Wales Career |
|
Player number |
One of four who became the 231st
players (234) to appear for
Wales. |
|
Position(s) |
Outside-left |
|
First match |
No. 82, 3 March 1906, Scotland
2 Wales 0, a British Championship match at The Tynecastle Park, Gorgie, Edinburgh, aged 25 years
124 days. |
Last match
4 years 39 days |
No. 96, 11 April 1910, Wales 4
Ireland 0, a
British Championship match The Racecourse, Mold Road, Wrexham, aged 24 years
183 days. |
|
Team honours |
British Championship winners 1906-07; |
|
Individual honours |
ten appearances, two goals; four appearances against England; |
|
Distinctions |
None |
|
England vs.
Wales |
"ENGLAND AND WELSH ASSOCIATIONS
ARE AT LOGGERHEADS OVER ROBERT EVANS.
"The choosing of R. Evans
(Sheffield United) to be outside left for the 'Whites' in the
international trial match at Tottenham on Monday next is likely to lead to
complications. Evans played for Wales against England in 1906-7-8-10,
against Scotland in 1906-8-9-10, and against Ireland in 1906-10. Thus the
possessor of ten Welsh appearances has at last been chosen to play for his place
in an English side. The ground for this action is the belated discovery
that Evans was born in Chester, which is on the border of Wales. In the
International Board agreements it is stated—'In international
matches the qualification of players shall be birth. In the case of
British subjects born abroad their nationality shall be decided by the
nationality of their fathers.' According to custom, then, Evans is an
Englishman. He has played four times against his own country. The doubt
now is whether he will be able to play for Wales again." -
The Courier, Thursday, 19 January 1911.
"A few days ago the secretary of the Welsh Football Association received
from Mr Wall a letter drawing attention to the fact that R. Evans had been
selected to play in the English Trial match at Tottenham, and adding that
he had noticed from the newspapers that he had also been selected to play
for Wales against Ireland at Belfast. Mr Wall further stated:—'We
have a certificate of Evans' birth, which shows that he was born at 15
Crane Bank Street, Chester, and he is not therefore entitled to play for
Wales.' The following reply was sent by Mr T. Robbins,
the secretary of the Welsh Association:—
,%20Bob.JPG) "Dear Sir—Your
letter of the 17th inst. has been laid before a committee of this
Association, and inquiries have been made as to Evan's birthplace. Of
course, the certificate of his birth must be accepted as conclusive, but
up to present no doubt has existed in the minds of the members of the
council of this Association that Evans had not the necessary
qualifications to play for Wales. This Association regrets that the
English Association should at this juncture lay claim to Evans as an
English player, being already aware that he had played in ten
international matches for Wales. True, you intimated last March that it
had been represented to you that Evans did not possess this qualification,
but inquiries then made confirmed us in our previous conviction, Evans
stating to our president at Cardiff that he had been born in Wales, and he
had stated so on his registration form. Nothing more being said from that
time, we thought the question had dropped, and accordingly selected him to
play for us against Ireland. Our astonishment was great, therefore, to
find later that your Selection Committee had chosen him to play for one of
the teams in your trial match. This, of course, induced us to make further
inquiries, with the result that we find he was born a short distance out
of Wales. This shows your contention to be technically correct; but in all
other respects we believe he is a Welshman. We are informed that he lived
a short period in Chester (three weeks), and then lived in Saltney Ferry,
Mold Junction, which is in Wales. He played for Saltney, and in 1905, for
Wrexham, when he signed a professional form, upon which he stated that his
birthplace was Saltney Ferry, Wales'""-
The Evening Telegraph and Post, Tuesday, 24 January 1911.
"With regard to the inclusion of Evans, in the England team to meet
Ireland on Saturday, Mr Wall, has written to the Welsh Football
Association, pointing out it is now admitted that Evans was born in
England, and that as long as the rule with regard to birth qualification
remains, the Football Association feel justified in asking for its
observance" - The Manchester Courier,
Thursday, 9 February 1911.
"The
Welsh F.A., who met at Oswestry last night, decided to join issue with the
English Association in the matter of R. Evans, who after playing ten
international matches for Wales, was objected to and played by England. A
letter was read from the English Association stating that the inquiries
made as to Evans' qualification by the Welsh Council were not very
exhaustive, and that Evans denied that he told the Welsh president that he
was born in Wales, and, further, that he informed two members of the Welsh
F.A. of his birth at Chester, one of the Councillors telling him to stick
to Wales and he would be all right.
"A spirited discussion arose when the letter
was read, and it was immediately decided to proceed further with the
matter. The statements made by Evans were emphatically denied by Mr John
Davies, president of the Welsh Association, and by Messrs Robert Jones and
Nunnerley, members of the Council, and it was agreed to write fully to the
English Association suggesting a course of action, which will be made
known when Mr F. J. Wall has received the communication."
- The Evening Telegraph and Post, Thursday,
16 February 1911.
"Mr T. Robbins has sent a reply to the
letter of Mr Wall, of the 8th inst. respecting the case of R. Evans. The
Welsh President, and also Mr W. Nunnerley, a previous secretary, and Mr
Robert Jones, all deny that Evans told them that he was born in Chester,
and the Welsh Council ask for an inquiry as early as possible to clear up
the matter." - Sheffield Daily Telegraph, Saturday, 18
February 1911. |
|
England Career |
|
Player number |
One of four who became the 352nd
players (355) to appear for England. |
|
Position(s) |
Outside-left |
|
First match |
No. 108, 11 February 1911, England 2 Ireland
1, a British Championship match at The Baseball Ground, Shaftesbury Crescent, Derby, aged 25 years
124 days.
|
Last match
1 year 29 days |
No. 112, 11 March 1912, Wales 0 England 2, a
British Championship match The Racecourse, Mold Road, Wrexham, aged 26 years
153 days. |
|
Major tournaments |
British Championship 1910-11, 1911-12; |
|
Team honours |
British Championship winners 1910-11, shared 1911-12; |
|
Individual honours |
The Whites (one appearance, January 1911); |
|
Distinctions |
The second
England player to play for another country, the first being
Jack
Reynolds. Also the second to have played against all Home Nations.
Died five days after Jack Fort. |
|
Beyond England |
|
Evans later worked for the
ShellMex Oil company at Ellesmere Port and turned out for their [football]
team. -
An English Football Internationalists' Who's Who.
Douglas Lamming (1990). Hatton Press, p.95. |
|
The England Numbers |
|
parties |
Apps |
comp. apps |
minutes |
|
goals ave.min |
comp. goals |
captain |
|
4 |
4 |
4 |
360 |
1 |
360 min |
1 |
none |
|
The minutes here given
can only ever be a guideline and cannot therefore be accurate, only an
approximation. |
|
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
FTS
|
CS |
FAv |
AAv |
Pts% |
W/L |
|
4 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
8 |
2 |
+6 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0.5 |
87.5 |
+3 |
|
All of his matches were played in the British Championship competition |
Venue Record
|
Venue |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
FTS
|
CS |
FAv |
AAv |
Pts% |
W/L |
|
Home |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
2 |
+4 |
0 |
1 |
2.00 |
0.667 |
83.3 |
+2 |
|
Away |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
+2 |
0 |
1 |
2.00 |
0.00 |
100.0 |
+1 |
|
Opposition |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
FTS
|
CS |
FAv |
AAv |
Pts% |
W/L |
|
Wales |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
+5 |
0 |
2 |
2.50 |
0.00 |
100.0 |
+2 |
|
Scotland |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
=0 |
0 |
0 |
1.00 |
1.00 |
50.0 |
=0 |
| Ireland |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
+1 |
0 |
0 |
2.00 |
1.00 |
100.0 |
+1 |
Tournament Record
|
British Championship Competition |
|
Type |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
FTS |
CS |
FAv |
AAv |
Pts% |
W/L |
|
BC 1905-06 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
7 |
-3 |
2 |
0 |
1.333 |
2.333 |
16.7 |
-2 |
|
BC 1906-07 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
=0 |
0 |
0 |
1.00 |
1.00 |
50.0 |
=0 |
|
BC 1907-08 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
9 |
-7 |
0 |
0 |
1.00 |
4.50 |
0.0 |
-2 |
|
BC 1908-09 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
+1 |
0 |
0 |
3.00 |
2.00 |
100.0 |
+1 |
|
BC 1909-10 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
+1 |
2 |
0 |
1.333 |
1.00 |
33.3 |
-1 |
| BC
1910-11 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
2 |
+4 |
0 |
1 |
2.00 |
0.667 |
83.3 |
+2 |
| BC
1911-12 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
+2 |
0 |
1 |
2.00 |
0.00 |
100.0 |
+1 |
|
BC
All |
4 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
8 |
2 |
+6 |
0 |
2 |
2.00 |
0.50 |
87.5 |
+3 |
|
All Competition |
|
Type |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
FTS |
CS |
FAv |
AAv |
Pts% |
W/L |
| BC |
4 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
8 |
2 |
+6 |
0 |
2 |
2.00 |
0.50 |
87.5 |
+3 |
|
4 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
8 |
2 |
+6 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0.5 |
87.5 |
+3 |
International Match History
|
Club:
Wrexham A.F.C. -
two full appearances for Wales (180 min) |
Wales Selection Committee - ten full
appearances (900 min) 2ᵍx |
|
apps |
match |
match details |
comp |
res. |
rundown |
pos |
|
Age 20 |
|
1 |
82 |
3 March 1906 - Scotland 2 Wales 0
Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh |
BC |
AL |
|
ol |
|
2 |
83 |
19 March 1906 - Wales 0 England 1
Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff |
BC |
HL |
|
ol |
|
Club:
Aston Villa F.C. -
four full appearances for Wales (360 min) |
|
|
3 |
84 |
2 April 1906 - Wales 4 Ireland 4
The Racecourse, Wrexham |
BC |
HD |
|
ol |
|
|
|
Age 21 |
|
4 |
87 |
18 March 1907 - England 1 Wales 1
Craven Cottage, Fulham |
BC |
AD |
|
ol |
|
Age 22 |
|
5 |
88 |
7 March 1908 - Scotland 2 Wales 1
Dens Park, Dundee |
BC |
AL |
|
ol |
|
6 |
89 |
16 March 1908 - Wales 1 England 7
The Racecourse, Wrexham |
BC |
HL |
|
ol |
|
|
|
Club: Sheffield
United F.C. - four full
appearances for Wales (360 min) 2ᵍ |
|
|
Age 23 |
|
7 |
91 |
1 March 1909 -
Wales 3 Scotland 2
The Racecourse, Wrexham |
BC |
HW |
|
ol |
|
|
|
Age 24 |
|
8 |
94 |
5 March 1910 -
Scotland 1 Wales 0
Rugby Park, Kilmarnock |
BC |
AL |
|
ol |
|
9 |
95 |
14 March 1910 -
Wales 0 England 1
Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff |
BC |
HL |
|
ol |
|
10 |
96 |
11 April 1910 -
Wales 4 Ireland 1
The Racecourse, Wrexham |
BC |
HW |
|
ol |
|
|
|
The Football Association changed
Bob Evans' allegiance from Wales to England
February
1911 |
|
apps |
match |
match details |
comp |
res. |
rundown |
pos |
|
|
