Born in Old Swan, Liverpool, Evans first played junior football for Wirral club Ellesmere Port Town. He had an unsuccessful trial with Wolves, before signing for London side Arsenal and moving to Harringay in January 1951. After two years in the reserve and youth sides, he made his first-team debut for Arsenal against Huddersfield Town on 22 August 1953. Although, only a bit-part player that season, the next season he became Arsenal's regular left back, succeeding Walley Barnes.
Evans was an Arsenal regular for the rest of the decade, and he was an ever-present in 1955–56. During this time, he scored one of the most memorable own goals in football history; towards the end of a match against Blackpool on 17 December 1955, which Arsenal were winning 4–0, Evans heard a whistle from the crowd, and mistakenly thought the referee had blown for full-time. He kicked the ball in triumph, which ended up flying past Arsenal goalkeeperCon Sullivan and into his own net; the goal stood but Arsenal held on to win 4–1.[1]
With a calm composure, physical strength and a powerful left foot, Evans was rarely out of the Arsenal side during this time, and became Arsenal's preferred penalty taker in 1956; he scored twelve goals for the club in his 207 appearances, including seven in 1958–59. He deputised for goalkeeperJack Kelsey after the Welshman was injured in an FA Cup match in 1959. For a short spell he was also Arsenal captain, and he played for the London XI in the 1955–58Inter-Cities Fairs Cup semi-finals. However, the Gunners were going through a lean spell and were unable to challenge for honours, meaning Evans never won a medal.
Evans was Arsenal's first choice left back right up until a match against Wolves on 29 August 1959, in which he broke his ankle. After recovering, he was not quite the same player he was. With Billy McCullough coming through to replace him, he made only six more appearances for the first team that season (his last coming against Tottenham Hotspur on 16 January 1960), before stepping down to the Arsenal reserve side. He remained an Arsenal player until 1963, helping to coach to the youth and reserve teams, and later had a spell at Luton Town doing the same.
After football
After his time at Luton Evans left football entirely, later working as chauffeur. He died in 2000, aged 69.
References
Specific
^Gillatt, Peter (30 November 2009). Blackpool FC on This Day: History, Facts and Figures from Every Day of the Year. Pitch Publishing Ltd. ISBN978-1-905411-50-4.
General
Harris, Jeff (1995). Hogg, Tony (ed.). Arsenal Who's Who. Independent UK Sports. ISBN1-899429-03-4.
January 31, 2023
dennis, evans, footballer, born, 1930, dennis, joseph, evans, 1930, february, 2000, english, footballer, played, full, back, dennis, evanspersonal, informationfull, namedennis, joseph, evansdate, birth, 1930, 1930place, birthold, swan, liverpool, englanddate, . Dennis Joseph Evans 18 May 1930 23 February 2000 was an English footballer who played as a full back Dennis EvansPersonal informationFull nameDennis Joseph EvansDate of birth 1930 05 18 18 May 1930Place of birthOld Swan Liverpool EnglandDate of death23 February 2000 2000 02 23 aged 69 Position s Full backYouth careerEllesmere Port TownSenior career YearsTeamApps Gls 1951 1963Arsenal189 10 Club domestic league appearances and goalsCareer EditBorn in Old Swan Liverpool Evans first played junior football for Wirral club Ellesmere Port Town He had an unsuccessful trial with Wolves before signing for London side Arsenal and moving to Harringay in January 1951 After two years in the reserve and youth sides he made his first team debut for Arsenal against Huddersfield Town on 22 August 1953 Although only a bit part player that season the next season he became Arsenal s regular left back succeeding Walley Barnes Evans was an Arsenal regular for the rest of the decade and he was an ever present in 1955 56 During this time he scored one of the most memorable own goals in football history towards the end of a match against Blackpool on 17 December 1955 which Arsenal were winning 4 0 Evans heard a whistle from the crowd and mistakenly thought the referee had blown for full time He kicked the ball in triumph which ended up flying past Arsenal goalkeeper Con Sullivan and into his own net the goal stood but Arsenal held on to win 4 1 1 With a calm composure physical strength and a powerful left foot Evans was rarely out of the Arsenal side during this time and became Arsenal s preferred penalty taker in 1956 he scored twelve goals for the club in his 207 appearances including seven in 1958 59 He deputised for goalkeeper Jack Kelsey after the Welshman was injured in an FA Cup match in 1959 For a short spell he was also Arsenal captain and he played for the London XI in the 1955 58 Inter Cities Fairs Cup semi finals However the Gunners were going through a lean spell and were unable to challenge for honours meaning Evans never won a medal Evans was Arsenal s first choice left back right up until a match against Wolves on 29 August 1959 in which he broke his ankle After recovering he was not quite the same player he was With Billy McCullough coming through to replace him he made only six more appearances for the first team that season his last coming against Tottenham Hotspur on 16 January 1960 before stepping down to the Arsenal reserve side He remained an Arsenal player until 1963 helping to coach to the youth and reserve teams and later had a spell at Luton Town doing the same After football EditAfter his time at Luton Evans left football entirely later working as chauffeur He died in 2000 aged 69 References EditSpecific Gillatt Peter 30 November 2009 Blackpool FC on This Day History Facts and Figures from Every Day of the Year Pitch Publishing Ltd ISBN 978 1 905411 50 4 GeneralHarris Jeff 1995 Hogg Tony ed Arsenal Who s Who Independent UK Sports ISBN 1 899429 03 4 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dennis Evans footballer born 1930 amp oldid 1082733129, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
