Maurice George Evans (22 September 1936 – 18 August 2000) was a football player with
Reading, and later manager of
Shrewsbury Town, Reading and
Oxford United.
Career
Evans was born in
Didcot (now in
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
, but then in
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
) in 1936. He signed for
Reading in 1952 as a ground staff junior, aged just 16. He soon won his place at left-half in the first team and held it throughout the adversities of working in the
National Service with the
RAF. He went on to make the
wing-half position his own for the next ten seasons, and was a skilful, thoughtful player. The wing back also appeared to be without an ounce of malice in him, in him playing 459 first-team games without being booked once. He was selected as reserve for the
Third Division South side against the North in April and October 1957. In compilation by the Royals' of their best-ever eleven, Evans was voted the best right-winger with 48.4% of the vote.
After leaving the club in 1967, he briefly took over as
player-manager at
Andover before joining
Shrewsbury Town as player-coach, eventually becoming their manager in 1972. He returned to
Elm Park as
Charlie Hurley's assistant manager in 1974, and finally took over as manager in 1977. He managed the
1978–79 championship-winning team, securing the Manager Of The Year Award in the process. He remained Reading manager until 1984, making perceptive signings from non-league football such as
Kerry Dixon,
Trevor Senior and Paul Stanford. Dixon was later capped several times by
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and for almost a decade was
Chelsea's top goalscorer. Senior was a highly accomplished goalscorer for Reading, particularly when they won promotion to the Second Division as Third Division champions in
1985–86. Evans was also responsible for giving opportunities to the likes of Neil Webb, who went on to play for Nottingham Forest, Manchester United and England.
Evans then joined
Oxford United as chief scout and youth development officer. He became the manager after the resignation of
Jim Smith in the summer of 1985, and led the team in their first season in the top flight of English football. The season ended with United beating
Queens Park Rangers (managed by Smith) 3–0 in the final of the
League Cup at
Wembley, and avoiding relegation by achieving the same scoreline over
Arsenal in the last game of the season a week or so later. At the Wembley final, Evans famously sent up long-serving club physio Ken Fish in his place to collect his winner's medal, a gesture seen as typifying his modesty and generosity.
In November 1986 Oxford briefly occupied eighth place in the First Division — their highest standing to date — but they finished 18th in the final table and Evans resigned in March 1988 just before Oxford's relegation. He continued at the club in various capacities, including a brief stint as
caretaker manager in 1993 and elevation to the board of directors in 1998, before rejoining Reading as chief scout in November 1999.
Personal life
Evans died of a heart attack on 18 August 2000 at the age of 63. A plaque was placed in the wall of the
Madejski Stadium by Reading F.C. in his memory, reading "Maurice Evans, 1936–2000. Player, Manager, Gentleman". A lounge at Oxford's
Kassam Stadium is also named in his honour.
Honours
Managerial
Reading
*
Fourth Division:
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
Oxford United
*
Milk Cup:
1986
References
Obituary, The Association of Football Statisticians
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Maurice
1936 births
2000 deaths
English men's footballers
English football managers
Reading F.C. players
Andover F.C. players
Shrewsbury Town F.C. managers
Reading F.C. managers
Oxford United F.C. managers
People from Didcot
Men's association football midfielders
English Football League players
20th-century English sportsmen