Clifford Haudel "Cliff" Evans (14 July 1913 – July 1982) was a Welsh professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s, and coached in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He played at representative level for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, and at club level for

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

and

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

, as a , or , i.e. number 3 or 4, 6 or 7, and coached at club level for Swinton, St. Helens and

Background

Cliff Evans was born in

Resolven Resolven ( cy, Resolfen) is a small village and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. It is located in the Vale of Neath. Location The village is situated in the Vale of Neath, north east of the town of Neath, next to the A465 ...

, Glamorgan, and he died aged 69 in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

Playing career

International honours

Evans won 7 caps for

in 1936–1941 while at Leeds.

Les Diables Rouges

Evans was one of the players who successfully toured in France with Salford in 1934, during which the Salford team earned the name " Les Diables Rouges", the seventeen players were; Joe Bradbury,

Bob Brown Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is a former Australian politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian Senate on the Tasma ...

, Aubrey Casewell, Paddy Dalton,

Bert Day Hubert Charles Day (8 May 1908 – 27 June 1977) was a rugby hooker who played rugby union for Newport and rugby league for Salford. He was awarded five caps for Wales under union rules and was part of the Welsh side that won the 1931 Five Na ...

, Cliff Evans,

Jack Feetham John "Jack" Feetham (birth unknown – death unknown) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. He played at representative level for Great Britain national rugby league team, Great Britain an ...

, George Harris,

Barney Hudson Bernard "Barney" Hudson (birth registered first ¼ 1906 – 1971) was an English rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for Horden Rugby Football Cl ...

Emlyn Jenkins Emlyn Jenkins (1 December 1910 – October 1993) was a Welsh cinema manager, trainee teacher, landlord of a public house, rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s, and coached rugby league in the 1 ...

Alf Middleton Alfred "Alf" Middleton (birth unknown – death unknown) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. He played at representative level for Great Britain and England, and at club level for Salford ( cap ...

Sammy Miller Samuel Hamilton Miller, MBE (born 11 November 1933) is a Northern Irish championship winning motorcycle racer, in both road racing and trials. He was appointed an MBE in the 2009 New Year Honours. In 2013, Miller was named an FIM Legend for ...

Harold Osbaldestin Harold Osbaldestin (20 February 1909 – September 1955) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. He played at club level for Salford, as a . Background Harold Osbaldestin was born in Whelley, Wiga ...

Les Pearson Leslie "Les" Pearson (birth unknown – death unknown) was a professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s. He played at club level for Salford and Oldham RLFC ( Heritage № 470) as a wartime guest player, as a , i.e. number 2 o ...

, Gus Risman, Billy Watkins and Billy Williams.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Evans played right-, i.e. number 3, in Leeds' 19-2 victory over Halifax in the 1940–41 Challenge Cup Final during the 1940–41 season at Odsal Stadium, Bradford, in front of a crowd of 28,500, and played , i.e. number 5, in the 15-10 victory over Halifax in the 1941–42 Challenge Cup Final during the 1941–42 season at Odsal Stadium, Bradford, in front of a crowd of 15,250.

County Cup Final appearances

About Evans's time, there was

's 2-15 defeat by

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

in the 1929 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1929–30 season at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington t ...

on Saturday 23 November 1929, the 10-8 victory over Swinton in the 1931 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1931–32 season at The Cliff, Broughton, Salford on Saturday 21 November 1931, the 21-12 victory over

in the 1934 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1934–35 season at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 20 October 1934, the 15-7 victory over

in the

1935 Lancashire Cup Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

Final during the 1935–36 season at

Wilderspool Stadium Wilderspool Stadium was a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England. The ground was Warrington RLFC's old ground before moving to the Halliwell Jones Stadium. History In 1898, Warrington RLFC moved to the Wilderspool Stadium. A 10-year lea ...

on Saturday 19 October 1935, and the 5-2 victory over

in the 1936 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1936–37 season at

on Saturday 17 October 1936. Evans played in

' 14-8 victory over

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

in the

1937–38 Yorkshire Cup The 1937–38 Yorkshire Cup was the thirtieth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held. The Yorkshire Cup competition was a knock-out competition between (mainly professional) rugby league clubs from the county of Yorksh ...

Final during the 1937–38 season at Belle Vue,

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

on Saturday 30 October 1937.

Coaching career

Championship final appearances

Starting in 1954 Evans was the

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

in Swinton's victory in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

during the 1962–63 season and 1963–64 season, and was the

in St. Helens' 24–12 victory over

in the

Final during the 1969–70 season at

Odsal Odsal is an area of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Odsal Stadium is the home of Bradford rugby league club. The Richard Dunn Sports Centre is named after the boxer who lived in Bradford at the time of his 1976 bout against Muh ...

, Bradford on Saturday 16 May 1970.

Rugby league county leagues

Evans was the

in St. Helens' victory in the Lancashire League during the 1968–69 season.

County Cup Final appearances

Evans was the

in St. Helens' 13-10 victory over (following a 2-2 draw with)

in the

1967 Lancashire Cup Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establ ...

Final during the 1967–68 season at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 2 December 1967, was the

in the 30-2 victory over

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham ...

in the

1968 Lancashire Cup The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

Final during the 1968–69 season at

on Friday 25 October 1968, and was the

's 25–11 victory over Swinton in the 1972 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1972–73 season at

on Saturday 21 October 1972.

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final appearances

Evans was the

in St. Helens' 4–7 defeat by

in the 1968–69 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final at

on Tuesday 16 December 1968.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Clifford 1913 births 1982 deaths Leeds Rhinos players Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Resolven Salford Red Devils coaches Salford Red Devils players St Helens R.F.C. coaches Swinton Lions coaches Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league coaches Welsh rugby league players