Jack Evans - TOP BLOKE
Fri Jan 31, 2014 4:55 pm
I know its the second time this week I've posted one of these 'On this day' things, but this one is even more special than Blakey's goal...
Born on this day in Bala, 1889.
John Hugh "Jack" Evans - former Wales soccer international, who possessed a cannonball shot which earned him the nickname 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 another goalkeeper was knocked out cold. In 1913 he converted to Judaism, which caused much controversy.
As a youngster he worked as an apprentice printer while playing for Bala Wanderers. He joined Wrexham in 1908 but sustaind 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, where he was spotted by Cardiff City, becoming the first player to be officially bought by the club when he signed for six shillings. He made his first appearance for the club on 1 September 1910 to mark the opening of Cardiff's new ground Ninian Park against Aston Villa, with Evans scoring the first ever goal at the ground in a 2-1 defeat.
In 1912 he became the first ever Cardiff City player to receive an international cap for Wales and was a regular for Cardiff during the decade, only leaving the club to serve in World War I. His shirt and runners-up medal from the 1925 FA Cup Final, 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 clubs directors, Steve Borley.
Born on this day in Bala, 1889.
John Hugh "Jack" Evans - former Wales soccer international, who possessed a cannonball shot which earned him the nickname 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 another goalkeeper was knocked out cold. In 1913 he converted to Judaism, which caused much controversy.
As a youngster he worked as an apprentice printer while playing for Bala Wanderers. He joined Wrexham in 1908 but sustaind 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, where he was spotted by Cardiff City, becoming the first player to be officially bought by the club when he signed for six shillings. He made his first appearance for the club on 1 September 1910 to mark the opening of Cardiff's new ground Ninian Park against Aston Villa, with Evans scoring the first ever goal at the ground in a 2-1 defeat.
In 1912 he became the first ever Cardiff City player to receive an international cap for Wales and was a regular for Cardiff during the decade, only leaving the club to serve in World War I. His shirt and runners-up medal from the 1925 FA Cup Final, 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 clubs directors, Steve Borley.