View source for Billy Evans

{{short description|American baseball umpire (1884-1956)}}
{{other people||William Evans (disambiguation)}}
{{other people|Billy Evans}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{infobox person
|name = Billy Evans
|image = Billy Evans 1914.jpg
|caption = Evans in 1914
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1884|2|10}} 
|birth_place = [[Chicago]], Illinois, U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|1956|1|23|1884|2|10}} 
|death_place = [[Miami]], Florida, U.S.
|occupation = [[Baseball umpire]]
|years_active = 1906–1927
|spouse          = {{marriage|Hazel Baldwin|1908}}
|children          = Robert
|module= {{Infobox baseball biography
|hoflink = National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
|hoftype = National
|hofdate = [[1973 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|1973]]
|hofmethod = Veterans Committee
|embed = yes
}}
}}

'''William George Evans''' (February 10, 1884 &ndash; January 23, 1956), nicknamed "'''the Boy Umpire'''", was an American [[umpire (baseball)|umpire]] in [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) who worked in the [[American League]] from 1906 to 1927. He became, at age 22, the youngest umpire in major league history, and later became the youngest to officiate in the [[World Series]] at age 25.<ref name="vindy-01-24-56">{{cite news| title = Billy Evans, Renowned Baseball Figure, Dies| work = [[The Youngstown Vindicator]]| date = January 24, 1956}}</ref>

Upon his retirement at age 43, his 3,319 career games ranked fifth in major league history; his 1,757 games as a home plate umpire ranked third in AL history, and remain the eighth-most by a major league umpire. He later became a key front office executive for the [[Cleveland Indians]] and [[Detroit Tigers]] of MLB, the [[Cleveland Rams]] of the [[National Football League]], and president of the minor league [[Southern Association]].<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/>

In addition to his inside role in the sport, Evans authored countless articles,<ref name="nyt-01-24-56">{{cite news | agency=Associated Press| title = Billy Evans Dies in Miami at 71; Major League Umpire 22 Years| work = [[The New York Times]]| date = January 24, 1956}}</ref> as well as two books, ''Umpiring from the Inside'' (1947) and ''Knotty Problems in Baseball'' (1950).<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/> He was elected to the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] in [[1973 in baseball|1973]], the third umpire ever selected.<ref name=obit>{{cite web | agency=Associated Press | title=Billy Evans Obituary | publisher=baseball-almanac.com | url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/deaths/billy_evans_obituary.shtml | access-date=March 10, 2007}}</ref>

==Formative years==
Evans was born in [[Chicago]].<ref name="nyt-01-24-56"/> When he was still a child, he relocated with his family to [[Youngstown, Ohio]], where his [[Welsh people|Welsh]]-born father became superintendent at a [[Carnegie Steel Company|Carnegie steel plant]].<ref name="sabr">{{cite web | first=David | last=Anderson | title=Billy Evans | publisher=[[Society for American Baseball Research]]| url=http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/540a0fa3 | access-date=October 10, 2014}}</ref> In Youngstown, the Evans family joined Westminster [[Presbyterian]] Church, where Billy Evans attended [[Sunday School|Sunday school]].<ref name="vindy-02-26-56">{{cite news| first = E. Allan| last = Lightner| title = Recalls When Billy Evans Played Sandlot Ball Here| work = The Youngstown Vindicator| date = February 26, 1956}}</ref> As a youth, Evans was active in [[YMCA]] programs and participated in a neighborhood baseball club called the Youngstown Spiders, a team named in honor of the regionally popular [[Cleveland Spiders]].<ref name="vindy-02-26-56"/> He gained notability as an athlete at Youngstown's [[Rayen High School (Youngstown, Ohio)|Rayen School]], excelling at baseball, football, and track.<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/> In 1902, Evans enrolled at [[Cornell University]], where he played on a freshman team managed by veteran major league shortstop [[Hughie Jennings]].<ref name="vindy-02-26-56"/> After two years, his law studies and collegiate sports career came to an end, with the sudden death of his father.<ref name="voice-yo-07-01-2005">{{cite news 
| first = Jon 
| last = Baker 
| title = In Valley's History, Evans Was an Early Scrapper 
| work = The Valley Voice 
| date =July 1, 2005}}</ref> Evans returned to [[Ohio]] and accepted a job as a sports reporter at the ''[[The Vindicator|Youngstown Daily Vindicator]]''.<ref name=obit /> The paper's city editor, Sam Wright, hired Evans on the basis of writing experience he secured as a staff member of his high school yearbook and college newspaper.<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/> At the same time, Wright understood that Evans' varied experiences as an athlete provided him with an in-depth knowledge of sports.<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/>

In the early 1900s, while covering a baseball game between the [[Youngstown Ohio Works]] club and a team from [[Homestead, Pennsylvania]], Evans was approached by the manager of the local club, ex-major leaguer [[Marty Hogan]], and asked to fill an umpire vacancy.<ref name="voice-yo-07-01-2005"/> According to Evans's obituary, the aspiring reporter, who was on a date with a young woman, "wasn't interested until Hogan mentioned he would be paid $15 a week for officiating the game", a figure equivalent to a week's salary at his sportswriting job.<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/>

Evans' ability caught the attention of [[Charlie Morton (baseball, born 1854)|Charlie Morton]], president of the [[Ohio–Pennsylvania League]], and he was offered a full-time position as a league umpire.<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/> Evans accepted the job, on the condition that he could retain his position as a sportswriter.<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/> In 1906, he received a spectacular career boost from fellow Youngstowner [[Jimmy McAleer]], an ex-major leaguer who was so impressed with the young man's ability that he recommended Evans to [[American League]] president [[Ban Johnson]].<ref name="voice-yo-07-01-2005"/> This gesture enabled Evans to move from a Class C Division [[Minor League Baseball|minor league]] club to the major leagues.<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/>

==Major league umpiring career==
At 22 years of age, Evans was the youngest umpire in major league history; furthermore, he was among those very rare umpires who broke into the major leagues with little previous professional experience.<ref name=obit/>  He was regarded as the only umpire of his era who never had played professional baseball himself.<ref name="nyt-01-24-56"/> After making his debut at  Highlanders' Park in New York City,<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/> he went on to umpire for six [[World Series]]: [[1909 World Series|1909]], [[1912 World Series|1912]], [[1915 World Series|1915]], [[1917 World Series|1917]], [[1919 World Series|1919]] and [[1923 World Series|1923]]. Working in an era during which most major league games used no more than two umpires (and sometimes only one), Evans single-handedly umpired seven double-headers in eight days during the [[1907 in baseball|1907 season]]. He was the base umpire for [[Charlie Robertson]]'s [[Perfect game (baseball)|perfect game]] on April 30, 1922.<ref name="balmanac-robertson">{{cite web | title=Charlie Robertson Perfect Game Box Score | publisher=Baseball-almanac.com | url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/boxscore/04301922.shtml | access-date=December 25, 2007}}</ref>

Unlike many umpires, Evans never made claims to infallibility. "I missed a lot of decisions", he once said. "At the time of making such a decision there was no doubt in my mind as to its correctness. However, a second or two later I felt that I erred and wished I could change my original ruling".<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/> Evans' humility and impartiality did not always protect him from abusive fans. As sportswriters [[Daniel Okrent]] and [[Steve Wulf]] observed, "roughness on the field seemed to elicit the same in the stands".<ref name="ow52-53">Okrent and Wulf (1989), pp. 52&ndash;53.</ref> On September 15, 1907, in the midst of a [[doubleheader (baseball)|doubleheader]] between the [[St. Louis Browns]] and Detroit Tigers, Evans suffered a skull fracture when a bottle hurled by an angry spectator knocked him unconscious.<ref name="nyt-09-16-07">
{{cite news
  | title = Umpire's Skull Fractured – Spectator at Detroit-St. Louis Game Throws a Bottle
  | work = The New York Times
  | date = September 16, 1907
}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' described the incident as "one of the most disgraceful scenes ever witnessed on a ball field".<ref name="nyt-09-16-07"/>

Evans became known as an innovator during more than two decades with the American League. One obituary observed that he "introduced something new to officiating by running down to a base where a play was made so that he would be on top of it".<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/> This approach became a standard practice among major league officials.<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/> He was also aware of the increasing demands placed on umpires and strongly advocated formal training for baseball officials.<ref name="sabr"/> Furthermore, in a game that retained much of the rough-and-tumble atmosphere of earlier decades, Evans "substituted diplomacy for belligerency and proved an arbiter could control a game without threats of physical violence".<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/>

[[Image:Ty-Cobb-1913-NPC-detail-1.jpeg|thumb|right|190px|Ty Cobb]]
At the same time, he was unwilling to "back down" when physically threatened. In September 1921, Evans was involved in a bloody fistfight with [[Ty Cobb]], who contested one of Evans' calls.<ref name="sabr"/> Baseball historian David Anderson noted that the trouble began when Cobb threatened to "whip" Evans "right at home plate", a move that would have led to Cobb's immediate suspension.<ref name="sabr"/> Evans supposedly invited Cobb to the umpire's dressing room for "post-game festivities", and before long, the two men were brawling beneath the stands as players from both teams looked on.<ref name="sabr"/> According to some accounts, many of Cobb's [[Detroit Tigers]] teammates "rooted" for Evans.<ref name="sabr"/> After the fight, Cobb was suspended for one game, while Evans attended the next several games wearing bandages.<ref name="sabr"/> Both men had agreed before the fight that they would not report it to league officials, but a word of the incident eventually reached the league president, Ban Johnson.<ref name="ow53">Okrent and Wulf (1989), p. 53.</ref> According to sports writers Okrent and Wulf, Johnson responded to news of the incident "with uncharacteristic humor", saying "only that he was sorry that he missed it".<ref name="ow53"/>

For the duration of his career as an umpire, Evans also remained active as a sportswriter. From 1918 to 1928, he served as sports editor of [[Newspaper Enterprise Association]] and produced a syndicated sports column titled, "Billy Evans Says".<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/><ref name="blibrary">{{cite web |title=Billy Evans |publisher=baseballbiography.com |url=https://baseballbiography.com/billy-evans |access-date=December 22, 2007 }}</ref> His staff featured well-known sportswriters Jimmy Powers and Joe Williams.<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/>

==Executive career==
Evans retired from umpiring following the [[1927 in baseball|1927 season]] to become the [[general manager (baseball)|general manager]] of the [[Cleveland Indians]], earning a substantial annual salary of $30,000.<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/> Baseball historian [[Bill James]] observed that Evans was the first front-office executive of a major league team to be officially called a "general manager".<ref name="bj2003_128">James (2003), p. 128.</ref> In this capacity, Evans was credited with taking the Indians from a second division to a first division team.<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/> He served as general manager for the next eight years, until budget cuts forced him out in [[1935 in baseball|1935]].<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/> Rumors circulated that Evans's decision to leave the Indians was also motivated by a disagreement with the Indians' manager, [[Walter Johnson]], over the suspension of third baseman [[Willie Kamm]] and the release of catcher Glenn Myatt.<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/> Johnson allegedly accused Evans of "disloyalty", while Evans reportedly replied that he refused to be a "yes man".<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/> Evans soon found work as chief scout and head of the [[Boston Red Sox]] farm system, but left on October 8, 1940, after the team sold [[Pee Wee Reese]] to the [[Brooklyn Dodgers]] over his objections.<ref name=obit />

Shifting sports, Evans returned to Cleveland to become general manager of the [[Cleveland Rams]] for the 1941 season. Although the team struggled on the field, it was a financial success, but after failing to come to terms on a new contract, Evans left and spent the next year writing before accepting the position of league president of the [[Southern Association]] on December 3, 1942.<ref name=obit />

During his four years leading the league, the Association thrived despite many other leagues shutting down due to World War II. In his first year, attendance increased by nearly 300,000,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/evans-billy |title=Billy Evans |website=BaseballHall.org |publisher=Base Hall of Fame |access-date=June 5, 2024}}</ref> and while it dipped slightly in [[1944 in baseball|1944]], the threshold of one million people attending league games was again reached the following year.<ref>{{cite book |last=Spink |first=J. G. Taylor|author-link=J. G. Taylor Spink |title=Baseball Guide and Record Book 1946 |year=1946 |publisher=[[The Sporting News]] |location=St. Louis |pages=189 |chapter=Attendance Figures for 1945 }}</ref>

On December 16, 1946, Evans accepted a contract offer from the Detroit Tigers to become their general manager.<ref name=obit/> One of his first moves was dramatic &ndash; selling ageing superstar [[Hank Greenberg]] to the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]]. Over the next four years, the team had two runner-up finishes to the [[New York Yankees]], but after dropping in the standings during the [[1951 in baseball|1951 season]], Evans announced his resignation on July 28 in favor of Tiger legend [[Charlie Gehringer]].<ref name=obit />

==Private life==
Despite long absences from his residence in [[Cleveland, Ohio|Cleveland]], Evans was known as a devoted husband and father.<ref name="sabr"/> He married the former Hazel Baldwin in 1908; the couple had one child, Robert, who became the sports director of a radio station in [[Miami, Florida]].<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/> Evans maintained close ties with family members and died while visiting his son in Miami.<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/>

Despite his success, Evans remained accessible to friends from his early days in Youngstown. Shortly after Evans' death, a former high school classmate, E. Allan Lightner, recalled that his late friend "was still the fine clean character that he was in his high school days in Youngstown".<ref name="vindy-02-26-56"/> Lightner recalled that, shortly after his final conversation with the retired umpire, Evans sent Lightner an autographed photo of himself with former Detroit Tigers manager [[Red Rolfe]].<ref name="vindy-02-26-56"/>

==Final years==
By 1952, Evans had unofficially retired, then was injured in an automobile accident in [[Monroe, Michigan]]. After recovering, he remained in good health until January 21, 1956, when he suffered a massive [[stroke]] while visiting his son.<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/> Evans died two days later at the age of 71.<ref name="nyt-01-24-56"/> Funeral services were held in Cleveland.<ref name="vindy-01-24-56"/> Evans' remains were interred at [[Knollwood Cemetery]] in [[Mayfield Heights]], Ohio.<ref name="sabr"/>

==Legacy==
Evans' contributions to baseball have been widely recognized. In 1946 he was named in the [[Honor Rolls of Baseball]], and in 1973 he became the third umpire elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.<ref name=obit/> Evans is honored for the high standard of professionalism he set during his career as an official, and he is credited as a tireless advocate of formal training for umpires.<ref name="sabr"/> Ironically, as David Anderson observed, Evans might have been denied the opportunity to serve as an official in the major leagues "if the present day umpire school system existed during the Dead Ball Era".<ref name="sabr"/> Anderson noted that Evans' description of the basic qualities required of an effective umpire holds up even today: "Good eyes, plenty of courage &ndash; mental and physical &ndash; thorough knowledge of the playing rules, more than average portions of fair play, common sense and diplomacy, an entire lack of vindictiveness, plenty of confidence in your ability".<ref name="sabr"/>

In 1917 Billy Evans "noted American League Umpire" teamed up with the [[Spalding Athletic Library]] for the book, "How to umpire".<ref>The Bookseller, Newsdealer and Stationer, Volume 47, page 387, October 1, 1917. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Va1UAAAAYAAJ&q=spalding+how+to+umpire++billy+evans%2F%2F&pg=PA387] Retrieved February 11, 2021</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* James, Bill (2003). ''The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract''. New York: Free Press. {{ISBN|0-7432-2722-0}}.
* Okrent, Daniel; Wulf, Steve (1989). ''Baseball Anecdotes''. New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-504396-0}}.

==Further reading==
* Evans, Billy. "Big League Thrills". ''[[Rotary_International#Publications|The Rotarian]]''. August 1932. pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=qEIEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA11 11-13], [https://books.google.com/books?id=qEIEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA50 50-53].

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography|Baseball}}
* {{bbhof|evans-billy}}
* {{sabrbio|billy-evans}}
* [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/E/Pevanb901.htm Umpiring Record] at [[Retrosheet]]
* {{Find a Grave|6960}}

{{Cleveland Indians general managers}}
{{Los Angeles Rams general manager navbox}}
{{Detroit Tigers general managers}}
{{1973 Baseball HOF}}
{{Baseball Hall of Fame members}}
{{Honor Rolls of Baseball}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Billy}}
[[Category:1884 births]]
[[Category:1956 deaths]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball general managers]]
[[Category:NFL general managers]]
[[Category:Boston Red Sox executives]]
[[Category:Cleveland Indians executives]]
[[Category:Cleveland Rams executives]]
[[Category:Detroit Tigers executives]]
[[Category:Minor league baseball executives]]
[[Category:Cornell Big Red baseball players]]
[[Category:National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Cleveland]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Chicago]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Youngstown, Ohio]]
[[Category:American Presbyterians]]
[[Category:American people of Welsh descent]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball umpires]]
[[Category:American League umpires]]
[[Category:Burials at Knollwood Cemetery]]
[[Category:Baseball writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American people]]