Evan Williams (18 June 1906 – 18 November 1976) was a Welsh

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

, and professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and at club level for

Aberavon RFC Aberavon Rugby Club () is a rugby union club located in the Welsh town of Port Talbot, though the club's name refers to the older settlement of Aberavon which lies on the western side of the town. The club was founded in 1876 as Afan Football ...

as a

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

, i.e. number 12 or 13, and club level rugby league (RL) for

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, as a

goal A goal or objective is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan, and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to ...

-kicking or .Robert Gate (1986). "Gone North - Volume 1". R. E. Gate.

Background

Williams was born in

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community (Wales), community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which d ...

, Wales, he died aged 70 in

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, England.

Playing career

International honours

Evan Williams won two

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

s for

(RU) while at Aberavon RFC in 1925 against England and Scotland. Evans won his first cap aged 18 which at the time made him the second youngest player to represent Wales after

Norman Biggs Norman Witchell Biggs (3 November 1870 – 27 February 1908) was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Cardiff and county rugby for Glamorgan. Both Biggs and his brother Selwyn played international rugby for Wales, ...

in 1888.

Championship final appearances

Evan Williams played at in

' 2-8 defeat by

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the Leeds city centre, city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside (ward), Hunslet and Riverside ward of Lee ...

in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

Final during the 1937–38 season at

Elland Road Elland Road, or Elland Road Stadium, is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the List of foot ...

on Saturday 30 April 1938.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Evan Williams played in

' 11-8 victory over Swinton in the 1931–32 Challenge Cup Final during the 1931–32 season at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

on Saturday 9 April 1932, and played , and scored three

s in the 18-2 victory over

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

in the 1935–36 Challenge Cup Final during the 1935–36 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on Saturday 18 April 1936.

Club career

Evan Williams made his début for

, and scored a try in 61-3 the victory over

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. The club have won the League Championship six times, the Challenge Cup f ...

on Saturday 7 November 1925.

Personal life

Evan Williams' marriage to Eunice (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

John) was registered during third ¼ 1926 in

district. They had four children, Evan Rowland (birth registered during first ¼ 1927 in

district), Bryan
birth registered
during fourth ¼ 1929 in

North district), Barrie
birth registered
during second ¼ 1932 in

North district), and Gwynneth A.
birth registered
during fourth ¼ 1947 in

district).

References

External links

Search for "Williams" at rugbyleagueproject.org

-> {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Evan 1906 births 1976 deaths 20th-century Welsh sportsmen Aberavon RFC players Leeds Rhinos players Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Port Talbot Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Port Talbot Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players Other Nationalities rugby league team players