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Chick Evans

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other people named Chick Evans, see Chick Evans (disambiguation).
For the motion picture producer, see Charles Evans Jr.
Chick Evans
Evans (right) and Robert A. Gardner,
the finalists at the 1916 U.S. Amateur
Personal information
Full nameCharles E. Evans Jr.
NicknameChick
Born(1890-07-18)July 18, 1890
Indianapolis, Indiana
DiedNovember 6, 1979(1979-11-06) (aged 89)
Chicago, Illinois
Height5 ft 10.5 in (1.79 m)
Weight158 lb (72 kg; 11.3 st)
Sporting nationality United States
SpouseEsther Evans
(m. 1927–1967, her death)[1]
Career
StatusAmateur
Professional wins3
Best results in major championships
(wins: 3)
Masters Tournament51st: 1940
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenWon: 1916
The Open ChampionshipT49: 1911
U.S. AmateurWon: 1916, 1920
British AmateurT9: 1911
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame1975 (member page)
Bob Jones Award1960

Charles E. "Chick" Evans Jr. (July 18, 1890 – November 6, 1979) was an American amateur golfer of the 1910s and 1920s. Evans, who won the 1910 Western Open, became the first amateur to win both the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur in one year, a feat he achieved in 1916. Evans won the U.S. Amateur again in 1920, and was runner-up three times. Selected to the Walker Cup team in 1922, 1924, and 1928, he competed in a record 50 consecutive U.S. Amateurs in his long career. Evans achieved all of this while carrying only seven hickory-shafted clubs.

In addition to his golf career, Evans is known for founding the Evans Scholars Foundation, which provides a college scholarship for qualified caddies.

In 1960, Evans was voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. He is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Early life

Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Evans' family moved to Chicago when he was eight years old, and he grew up on the north side of the city. His father, Charles Evans, was one of the most influential librarians of the 20th century. At the age of eight, he was first exposed to golf as a caddie at a Chicago course, the Edgewater Golf Club. He attended secondary school at the Evanston Academy, and won the 1907 and 1908 Western Interscholastic tournaments. He led in the founding of the Western Interscholastic Golf Association (WIGA), and led Evanston Academy to the 1908 WIGA team championship.[2]

Golf career

Evans on March 1, 1915

From these beginnings, Evans became one of the most acclaimed American amateur golfers of his time. The accomplishment that gave him the most contemporary publicity came in 1916, when he won both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open in the same year. Evans was the first person to accomplish this task, and only Bobby Jones has done it since.

Evans also won the Western Open in 1910 by defeating George Simpson 6 and 5 in the 36-hole final. He was the only amateur to do so until Scott Verplank in 1985.[3] Simpson graciously praised Evans on his victory, saying “I’ve learned the greatest golf lesson of my life today. I consider it a greater honor to be beaten by the kind of golf you have played than to have remained out of the tournament because I did not fancy match play.”[4]

Into the 1960s, Evans was an active participant in senior tournaments, and still competed in U.S. Amateur events, eventually setting a record of completing 50 of these championships. Evans played his last rounds of competitive golf in 1968, winning the Illinois Open that year. His last Western Amateur was in 1967.[1]

After his retirement, Evans continued to attend events as a spectator and converse with the fans and players.

Evans Scholars Foundation

Main article: Evans Scholars Foundation

After his wins in 1916, Evans was given several thousand dollars in royalties for recording golf instructions for the Brunswick Record Company, and in 1921 he received royalties from a golf book.[5] If he had accepted this money Evans would have lost his amateur status. His mother suggested that he put the money to good use by sponsoring a scholarship fund for caddies.

Evans, who was unable to finish his own matriculation at Northwestern University, recalled that his mother "wouldn't think of accepting my money unless we could arrange it to be trusted to furnish educations for deserving qualified caddies." He said his mother "pointed out that the money came from golf and thus should go back into golf -- It was all her dream -- her idea."

Evans went to the Western Golf Association (WGA), an organization that ran the golf championships in the Midwest, to get their support for his scholarship. By 1930, the Evans Scholars Foundation had formed[3] and two caddies, Harold Fink and Jim McGinnis, were named the first two Evans Scholars.

Chick Evans' long friendship with Chicago tax attorney, Carleton Blunt, had proved to be the catalyst for launching the Evans Scholars Foundation. Blunt, an avid golfer and philanthropist, supported Evans' vision for helping caddies attend colleges and universities across the country by raising the necessary funds for decades.

The criteria used to choose the recipients were scholarship, fellowship and leadership. Since that time, over 10,600 caddies have become Evans Scholars and attained college educations. The Evans scholarship program continues today as the largest scholarship organization in sports and the largest privately funded scholarship program in the United States.

Evans Scholarship houses exist at the following Universities: University of Colorado, University of Illinois, Northwestern University, Marquette University, University of Wisconsin, Purdue University, Ohio State University, Northern Illinois University, University of Missouri, Indiana University, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Miami University and the University of Minnesota.

On February 19, 2014 the Evans Scholars Foundation announced their plans to build a new chapter house at the University of Oregon. It is the first new Scholarship House in 27 years.[6] In addition to those universities at which houses exist, scholarship recipients attend several other universities around the country. More than 800 caddies currently attend college on an Evans Scholarship.

Death and legacy

Evans died on November 6, 1979 at age 89. His wife, Esther, had died in 1967 after 40 years of marriage. They had no children.[1] The Chick Evans Golf Course in Morton Grove, a north suburb of Chicago, is named in his honor.

Tournament wins (22)

Professional major championships

Evans in 1915

Wins (1)

Year Championship 54 Holes Winning Score Margin Runner-up
1916 U.S. Open 3 shot lead −2 (70-69-74-73=286) 2 strokes Scotland Jock Hutchison

Results timeline

Note: As an amateur, Evans was ineligible to play in the PGA Championship.

Tournament 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
U.S. Open 2 LA 18 1 LA NT NT T9 LA
The Open Championship T49 NT NT NT NT NT
Tournament 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
U.S. Open T6 LA 4 LA 16 T14 T10 T13 CUT CUT
The Open Championship
Tournament 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
Masters Tournament NYF NYF NYF NYF
U.S. Open T54 T50
The Open Championship
Tournament 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
Masters Tournament 51 NT NT NT
U.S. Open CUT NT NT NT NT CUT CUT CUT
The Open Championship NT NT NT NT NT NT
Tournament 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960
Masters Tournament 64 CUT CUT
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

LA = Low amateur
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Amateur major championships

Wins (2)

Year Championship Winning Score Runner-up
1916 U.S. Amateur 4 & 3 United States Robert A. Gardner
1920 U.S. Amateur 7 & 6 United States Francis Ouimet

Results timeline

Tournament 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
U.S. Amateur SF M SF SF 2 M SF M R32 R32 1 NT NT R16
The Amateur Championship R16 R32 NT NT NT NT NT
Tournament 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
U.S. Amateur 1 SF 2 R32 M R32 DNQ QF 2 R32 DNQ
The Amateur Championship R64 R128
Tournament 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
U.S. Amateur DNQ DNQ QF R32 QF R256 R64 QF DNQ
The Amateur Championship
Tournament 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
U.S. Amateur DNQ DNQ NT NT NT NT DNQ R256 R128 R256
The Amateur Championship NT NT NT NT NT NT R64 R128
Tournament 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
U.S. Amateur R256 R256 R128 R256 R256 R128 R256 R64 R64 R128
The Amateur Championship R512 R128 R256 R64
Tournament 1960 1961 1962
U.S. Amateur R256 R256 R256
The Amateur Championship
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

M = Medalist
DNQ = Did not qualify for match play portion
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play

Sources: Amateur Championship: 1911,[8] 1914,[9] 1921,[10] 1926,[11] 1946,[12] 1949,[13] 1950,[14] 1952,[15] 1953,[16] 1955[17]

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

References

  1. ^ a b c "Amateur golf star Chick Evans dies". Wilmington Morning Star. Associated Press. November 8, 1979. p. 7-D. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  2. ^ Pruter, Robert (2013). The Rise of American High School Sports and the Search for Control, 1880-1930. Syracuse University Press. pp. 130–1.
  3. ^ a b "Chick Evans Biography". Western Golf Association. Archived from the original on October 18, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Amateur Evans is New Western Open Title Holder". The Inter Ocean. Chicago, Illinois. September 4, 1910. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Evans, Charles (1921). Chick Evans' Golf Book. Chicago: Reilly & Lee (for Thos E Wilson). Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  6. ^ "Evans Scholars Foundation to open Scholarship House at the University of Oregon". Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  7. ^ a b c d "Chick Evans Wins". Richmond Times Dispatch. July 25, 1915. p. 1. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
  8. ^ "'Chick' Evans Inn Britain" (PDF). The American Golfer. July 1911. pp. 179–87.
  9. ^ Golf Illustrated, July, 1914, pg. 28.
  10. ^ The American Golfer, June 4, 1921, pg. 24.
  11. ^ The American Golfer, July, 1926, pg. 58. Archived June 16, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ The Glasgow Herald, May 30, 1946, pg. 2.
  13. ^ The Glasgow Herald, May 25, 1949, pg. 2.
  14. ^ The Glasgow Herald, May 23, 1950, pg. 9.
  15. ^ The Glasgow Herald, May 29, 1952, pg. 7.
  16. ^ The Glasgow Herald, May 27, 1953, pg. 4.
  17. ^ The Glasgow Herald, June 2, 1955, pg. 4.
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