Russell Edison "Red" Evans (November 12, 1906 – June 14, 1982) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

for the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Career

Evans started his professional career in the

Mississippi Valley League The Mississippi Valley League (MVL) was a baseball Class D level minor league that operated from 1922 through 1933. Playing its last year as a Class B level league, the league franchises were based in Iowa and Illinois. Like many leagues at the ...

in 1931. In 1935, he had a good season with the

Oklahoma City Indians The Oklahoma City Indians was the primary name of an American professional baseball team representing Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, from 1904 though 1957, except for 1913 and three seasons during World War II. The team played in several different minor ...

of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

, going 24–8 with a 2.27

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. This earned him a spot on the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

's White Sox the following season, but he pitched poorly and was sent back down to the minors. In 1938, Evans had another good season, winning 21 games for the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

of the

Southern Association The Southern Association (SA) was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class B (1902-19 ...

. The Brooklyn Dodgers acquired him in the rule 5 draft that fall, and he started opening day for them in 1939. However, he got hammered that day and only started five more games that year, going 1–8 in the process. He was traded to the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

on September 1 and never played in the majors again.

References

External links

1906 births 1982 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Brooklyn Dodgers players Chicago White Sox players Oklahoma City Indians players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Chattanooga Lookouts players Knoxville Smokies players Baseball players from Chicago 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1900s-stub