Ray Evans (American football)

NFL player
Name=Ray Evans


DateOfBirth=September 22, 1922
Birthplace=Kansas City, Kansas
DateOfDeath=death date and age|1999|04|24|1922|09|22
Deathplace=Shawnee Mission, Kansas
Position= Halfback
College=University of Kansas
(1941-1942, 1946-1947)
Awards=
Honors=
DatabaseFootball=EVANSRAY01
years=1948
teams=Pittsburgh Steelers
CollegeHOF=40073
HOF=

Ray Richard Evans (September 22, 1922 — 1999-04-24) was an American football halfback. He was an All-American in football and a two time All-American in basketball at the University of Kansas and is considered possibly the greatest overall athlete to ever attend KU. In addition to his multi-sport prowess in college, Evans would go on to play professional football and basketball, and was even offered a contract to play baseball for the New York Yankees.

College career

Football

He played both halfback on offense and defensive back on defense at KU. During his 1947 All-American season, Evans led the Jayhawks to a Big Six Conference championship and an appearance in the Orange Bowl. He also holds the distinction as the only NCAA football player ever to lead the nation in passing on offense and interceptions on defense in the same season. In fact, Evans is still the Jayhawks single-season (10) and career (17) leader in interceptions.

Basketball

Evans was also a standout guard on the basketball team where he played for the legendary Phog Allen. He was a member of the 1943 conference championship team (which also featured Charlie Black and Otto Schnellbacher) that is regarded as one of the greatest in the basketball program's proud history.

Professional career

He played professionally for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Legacy

Ray Evans is the only athlete at KU to have both his basketball jersey (15) and football jersey (42) retired. Ray's college athletic career was interrupted by three years of service with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1964.

External links

*cite web |url=http://www2.ljworld.com/news/1999/apr/27/ray_evans_obituary/ |title=Ray Evans obituary |accessdate=2008-09-02 |work=Lawrence Journal-World |publisher= |date=April 27, 1999