Jake Evans

Uriah L. P. Evans
(Bloody Jake)

• Bats Unknown, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 154 lb.

• Debut May 1, 1879
• Final Game May 19, 1885
• Born September 22, 1856 in Baltimore, MD USA
• Died January 16, 1907 in Baltimore, MD USA

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Biographical Information

Uriah "Bloody Jake" Evans played for four major league teams during a seven-year big-league career. He was primarily a right fielder.

Evans was born in Baltimore, MD in 1856, the same year that Dave Foutz was born in Maryland. The book Athletic Sports in America, England and Australia (published 1889) states that there was a team in Baltimore called the Creightons (existing from 1873-1877) and Evans played for it along with a number of other future major leaguers.

At age 20, Evans played for the 1877 Rhode Island minor league team, as a teammate of the 41-year-old Dickey Pearce, one of baseball's pioneers. At age 21, Evans was with the 1878 New Bedford team, teaming up with the 20-year-old Roger Connor, the 21-year-old Harry Stovey and the 21-year-old Piano Legs Gore.

In 1879 he came to the majors for the first of three seasons with the Troy Trojans. The 1879 Trojans were a weak-hitting team, with their slugging star the 21-year-old Dan Brouthers. Evans, by hitting 5 triples, tied for the team lead and had a slugging percentage higher than the team's average.

Roger Connor joined the team in 1880, and it also featured a number of other future Hall of Famers - Brouthers, Buck Ewing, Mickey Welch and Tim Keefe. Evans was the same age as Keefe, 23.

After one more year with Troy, Jake moved to the Worcester Ruby Legs in 1882, a team on which he was reunited with Harry Stovey. The team went 18-66.

The following year, 1883 was Evans' first year on a major league team which finished over .500. He played for the Cleveland Blues, when they went 55-42. Jake stayed with the team in 1884 as it played well under .500, but Jake had one of his best years with the bat, out-hitting the team average by comfortable margins in BA, OBP and SLG.

The next year, 1885, he moved to the Baltimore Orioles, but played only 20 games with them. After spending six years in the National League, it was his first and only year in the American Association. His .221 batting average was, however, better than the team average of .219. In 1886, he umpired one National League game.

He died in 1907 in the town in which he had been born, Baltimore. It was the same year that Jimmie Foxx was born in Maryland.