John Hugh Evans (31 January 1889 – 1971) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

professional footballer. He spent the majority of his career with Cardiff City, making over 350 appearances in all competitions and playing in the club's first seasons in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

. He also played for the

Wales national football team ) , Association = Football Association of Wales (FAW) , Confederation = UEFA (Europe) , Coach = Rob Page , Captain = Gareth Bale , Most caps = Gareth Bale (111) , Top scorer = Gareth ...

, winning 8 caps.

Career

Evans was born in Bala. As a youngster he worked as an apprentice printer while playing for local side Bala Wanderers, despite his three older brothers playing for Bala Press. He joined

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

in 1908 but sustained a serious shoulder injury and was told he may never play football again. He decided to move to South Wales to continue his work as an apprentice printer and began playing for

Cwmparc Cwmparc is a village and a district of the community of Treorchy, in the Rhondda Valley, Wales. History There is evidence of, and logic for, a medieval park, or hunting preserve, in the enclosed area called Parc Cwm Brychiniog. It lies in the ...

and was spotted by Cardiff City, becoming the first player to be officially bought by the team when he signed for six

shillings The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence or ...

. Club secretary

Bartley Wilson Walter Bartley Wilson (3 January 1870 – 19 November 1954) was an English lithographic artist and the founder of Cardiff City Football Club. Born in Bristol, he moved to Cardiff in 1897 where he became involved with Riverside Cricket Club. Enc ...

later remarked that the fee "was all we had and included his fare from Treorchy!" He made his first appearance for the club on 1 September 1910 in a friendly match to mark the opening of Cardiff's new ground

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixtu ...

against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

. Evans scored Cardiff's first ever goal at the ground in a 2–1 defeat, rounding a defender before shooting low past the opposition goalkeeper. Evans even helped construct the ground, earning 35

a week for playing plus bonuses for undertaking other jobs at the ground. Later the same month, Evans scored his first competitive goal for the side on his league debut, helping his side to a 4–1 victory over

Ton Pentre Ton Pentre () is a village in the Rhondda Valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Historically part of Glamorgan, Ton Pentre, a former industrial coal mining village, is a district of the community of Pentre. The old district ...

on the opening day of the 1910–11 Southern Football League season. In his first season, Evans scored 11 times in the Southern League, the second highest tally in the squad, including a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

during a 7–1 win over

Chesham Chesham (, , or ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, south-east of the county town of Aylesbury, north-west of central London, and part of the London commuter belt. It is in the Chess Valley, surrounded by farmla ...

in January 1911. In 1912 he became the first ever Cardiff City player to receive a call-up for the Wales squad when he was called up to replace

Ted Vizard Edward Vizard (7 June 1889 – 25 December 1973) was a Welsh international footballer who became a manager. He spent almost all his playing career at Bolton Wanderers. Playing career Born in Cogan, Wales Vizard joined Bolton Wanderers in Sep ...

for a match against Ireland. Evans possessed a cannonball shot which was eventually nicknamed the "Bala bang" on account of the fearsome power he put into his shots. His shots were so ferocious that one goalkeeper once broke his wrist attempting to stop the ball and a

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

goalkeeper was knocked out cold by another shot. He was a regular for Cardiff during the decade, only leaving the club to serve in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

before returning. A consistent scorer he went on to score 52 goals in 170 Southern league appearances before moving into a more orthodox position for Cardiff's entry into the football league in 1920. Evans eventually left Ninian Park in 1926 to join up with former Cardiff teammate

Joe Clennell Joseph Clennell (19 February 1889 – 28 February 1965) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Blackpool, Blackburn Rovers, Everton, Cardiff City, Stoke City, Bristol Rovers and Rochdale. Career Clennell was born i ...

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

, where he spent two years before retiring. He died in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. His shirt and runners-up medal from the

1925 FA Cup Final The 1925 FA Cup Final was an association football match contested by Sheffield United and Cardiff City on 25 April 1925 at Wembley Stadium in London, England. The final was the showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the ...

, as well as his first cap for Wales, are now displayed in the boardroom of Cardiff City after being bought at auction by one of the club's directors, Steve Borley."Thank Evans for Wembley return"

South Wales Echo The ''South Wales Echo'' is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Cardiff, Wales and distributed throughout the surrounding area. It has a circulation of 7,573. Background The newspaper was founded in 1884 and was based in Thomson House, ...

Retrieved on 28 May 2008

Honours

;Cardiff City *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

finalist –

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...

References

Bibliography * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Jack 1889 births 1971 deaths Sportspeople from Gwynedd Welsh footballers Wales international footballers Wrexham A.F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players English Football League players British Army personnel of World War I Association football outside forwards FA Cup final players