Role American football player College University at Buffalo Education University at Buffalo | High school Emerson High School Positions Halfback Name Willie Evans Drafted by Buffalo Bills | |
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Date of birth (1937-12-01) December 1, 1937 (age 78) AFL draft 1960 / Round: ? / Pick: ? | ||
Place of birth Buffalo, New York (?) | ||
Willie Roy Evans (December 1, 1937 – January 4, 2017) was a running back for the University at Buffalo football team in the late 1950s.
In 1958, the Buffalo Bulls refused an offer to play Florida State University in the Tangerine Bowl because Evans and backup defensive end Mike Wilson were not welcome to play in Orlando because they were black. After graduation, Evans was drafted by Ralph Wilson for the inaugural season of the American Football League's Buffalo Bills. After his football career, Willie Evans taught in Buffalo area schools for more than 30 years. He coached football, and tennis and swimming, and ran a city parks program for most of that time as well. He served as an adviser for the university's alumni association.
Evans died in Buffalo on January 4, 2017, aged 79.