John Evans made 84 appearances for United, scoring 37 goals, in a two year period with the club between February 1964 and March 1966.
He came to the club to support the prolific strike force of Reg Davies and Hugh McIlmoyle and ended up matching the pair goal for goal. Indeed, even a complete change of forward line when Ashman played him along side Carlin and Large the following season did little to stem the flow from the natural goal scoring style of Johnny Evans.
Born in Liverpool on 13th March 1938, John Evans grew up in a community that loved football. He was soon catching the eye and it was little surprise to anyone when he finally made his break into football, signing part time forms with the might of Anfield. He went on to spend time with Bournemouth before his move to Stockport County in 1962, where he was tracked by United manager Alan Ashman. Ashman captured his signature in February 1964, when United were well in the hunt for an automatic promotion spot from Division Four, and he didn't disappoint. His debut was a home game against Bradford on the 4th February 1964, and he duly obliged with a goal for the Blues fans. Unfortunately, the game ended in a 2-1 defeat but, never-the-less, another exciting forward had been unleashed on the Brunton Park faithful.
Johnny Evans made 16 appearances in total in the run in to the end of the 63/64 season and, amazingly, averaged a goal a game by the time the closed season came. In a team that scored an unbelieveable 113 league goals, that saw them clinch second spot and promotion behind Gillingham, Evans weighed in with 16 of his own. His net busting antics included a hat-trick in the 6-0 home demolition of Doncaster in mid-March, and double strikes on no less than four seperate occasions. United finished level on 60 points with the top spot Gills but, despite having a goal difference of +58 compared to Gillingham's poor effort of +29, lost out on the Championship due to a rather strange goal average rule in place at the time. The word 'robbed' springs to mind.
Evans played all but two of the club's games in the 64/65 season which saw United's relentless and impressive march to the first ever Championship honours claimed by the proud Cumbrian outfit. He also finished as top scorer with 18 goals for the season, one ahead of Frank Large. The two talented front men netted half of the club's league goals and can honestly say they played a massive part in bringing that Championship home. His 18 goals included a superb run of form throughout October 1964, during which he scored 6 goals in 7 games. It was this month that confirmed that Utd were serious contenders for top spot and another promotion. The goal that Johnny, and the fans for that matter, will remember and savour most was the final goal of that magnificent 1964/65 season. On the 20th April 1965 United played host to Mansfield (a team also fighting for top spot) knowing that only a win would guarantee that the Championship would come to Carlisle. The boys in blue were on fire, particularly the two men who had been scoring so consistently, and the result was all but settled by half time. Frank Large had capitalised on excellent support play from Simpson and Blain and had already put Carlisle two up when John Evans put the icing on the cake. Another superb cross found Evans in space and he placed the ball perfectly. There may have been more than 45 minutes to go but the party had started. The game finished 3-0 and Carlisle finished ahead of both Mansfield and Bristol City for an historic first set of honours.
John Evans played a further 19 games for the club at start of the 1965/66 season but the arrival of Dave Wilson from Notts Forest in October 1965 saw a change in style of play employed by Ashman. As the team struggled to make an impression in Division Two players were chopped and changed and Evans was one of the casualties. He scored a further 3 goals for the club, with his final strike coming in a 1-1 home draw against Bolton in front of 11,114 fans on 30th October 1965. His final appearance for the club came just 3 weeks later on 20th November 1965, in a 2-1 away defeat at Brisbane Road, Leyton Orient.
Despite battling hard to regain his place he decided to accept a move to Exeter City in February 1966 and waved goodbye to what must have been a happy and fulfilling period of his career. He was a huge favourite with the fans throughout his team here and it was with some sadness that they watched him leave. His time at St James' Park was not to be what he expected and he had moved on to Barnsley by the November of 1966. It was at Oakwell that Evans enjoyed a resurgence in his career, regularly topping the goalscoring charts. He finished as top scorer in 3 out of the 5 seasons he played at Oakwell and was the first ever player to be voted 'Oakwell Player of the season' at the end of 1969/70. Injury forced an early retirement at the age of 33 in 1971 and he was happy to accept an administration role with Barnsley, before moving into a career outside of football in 1974.John Evans was a real hero and was part of what many to this day feel was one of the best teams ever to play at Brunton Park. His movement and eye for goal were a pleasure to watch and he was instrumental in the unlocking of many opposition defences. Strong, skillful and agile, he was the name many would have had first on their team sheet. Averaging just under a goal every two games whilst he played here, Johnny Evans takes his rightful place in the Heroes section of the site.
