James Evans (born October 24, 1939) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

wide receiver in the American Football League (AFL) for the New York Jets. He played college football at Texas Western University (UTEP).

Early years

Evans attended

Big Spring High School Big Spring High School is a public high school located in Big Spring, Texas and classified as a 4A Division I school by the University Interscholastic League (UIL). It is part of the Big Spring Independent School District located in north centra ...

, before moving on to

Howard College Howard College is a community college in the U.S. state of Texas with its main campus in Big Spring and branch campuses in San Angelo and Lamesa. History Howard County Junior College was established in Big Spring in 1945. 148 students be ...

. He transferred to Texas Western University after his freshman season. As a sophomore, he was a backup

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

. The next year he was converted into a flanker, leading the team with 21 receptions for 242 yards, while playing in a run-oriented offense. As a senior, he posted 36 receptions for 480 yards and 2

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

s, including 131 receiving yards against

North Texas University The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...

, which at the time was the third best single-game mark in school history.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Evans was selected by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

in the sixth round (83rd overall) of the

1964 NFL Draft The 1964 National Football League draft was held in Chicago, Illinois, at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers on Monday, December 2, 1963. The first overall pick was Dave Parks, an end from Texas Tech, selected by the San Francisco 49ers. The AFL ...

and by the New York Jets in the fourth round (27th overall) of the 1964 AFL Draft. He chose to sign with the Cowboys but was waived on September 7.

New York Jets

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

, he was signed by the New York Jets to their

taxi squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. After he recovered from a cut hand suffered in an automobile accident, he was promoted to the active roster on October 2 to replace flanker Alphonzo Lawson. He was a backup (12 games with one start) playing mainly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

, while leading the team in kickoff returns (13 for 259 yards). In 1965, he played in nine games before suffering a separated shoulder and being placed on the

on October 29. He was promoted to the active roster later in the season. He was cut on August 8, 1966.

Buffalo Bills

In 1966, he was claimed off waivers by the Buffalo Bills, but was released one week later on August 16.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Jim 1939 births Living people People from Big Spring, Texas Players of American football from Texas American football wide receivers Howard College alumni UTEP Miners football players New York Jets players