RAY R. EVANS
1922 - 1999
Inducted - 1972

All-American in two sports, Ray Evans was one of the first two football All-Americans at Kansas University (1947) and a two-time Helms Foundation basketball All-American (1942 and 1943). Evans was a five-time All-Big-Six performer in basketball and football and helped the Jayhawks win five conference championships in those sports. After an all-state prep career at Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, he attended KU two years (1941-1943) before spending three years in the United States Army Air Force during World War II. Following the war, he helped lead Kansas to a pair of Big Six football championships (1946 and 1947) and a spot in he 1948 Orange Bowl where he scored both Jayhawk touchdowns in a 20-14 loss to Georgia Tech. Evans led the nation in passing in 1942 with 101 completions in 200 attempts for 1,117 yards and once owned the NCAA record of 60 passes attempted without an interception. His KU school record of 3,799 yards of total offense stood for over 20 years and his records of 10 interceptions in a season and 17 for his career were still standing in 1996. Evans was selected as a member of KU’s all-time football team in 1969. He played one year in the National Football League with Pittsburgh after being selected by the Steelers in the first round of the 1948 NFL draft. Inducted into the Orange Bowl Hall of Honor, 1978; Helms Foundation College Football Hall of Fame, Helms Foundation College Basketball Hall of Fame and the University of Kansas Athletic Hall of Fame in both sports. Born September 8, 1922- Kansas City, Kansas. Died April 24, 1999. Graduated Wyandotte H.S., Kansas City (KS), 1940; University of Kansas, 1948.

● Presented by the Edith and Harry Darby Foundation ●