Professional football player and motion picture actor. After attending Fort Worth Polytechnic High School, he played football for Texas Christian University. He was an all-conference lineman for the Horned Frogs football team in 1932 and was named an honorable mention All-American the same year. His prowess attracted the attention of professional football scouts, and he played five seasons as a star offensive lineman with the Green Bay Packers from 1933 through 1937. He was named All Pro in 1936 and 1937. He was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1978. He spent the off-seasons acting in bit parts in Hollywood movies, appearing in Mutiny on the Bounty (uncredited, 1935) and a smattering of other films. After retiring from football in 1938, Evans officiated games for the National Football League and worked in sales and manufacturing. In the late 1950s, he turned to politics, suffering his first and only defeat in a run for the Texas House of Representatives in 1958. His law enforcement career began shortly afterward, when he went to work as an investigator for the Tarrant County district attorney's office. Two years later, he was elected sheriff. He had the longest tenure of any sheriff in the history of Tarrant County, serving 24 years until retiring in 1984. He was elected president of the Sheriff's Association of Texas in 1972, and was awarded the Tom Tellepsen Award at the Sheriff's Association of Texas Convention. In 1990, he published his life story titled The Purple Lawman, From Horned Frog to High Sheriff.
Professional football player and motion picture actor. After attending Fort Worth Polytechnic High School, he played football for Texas Christian University. He was an all-conference lineman for the Horned Frogs football team in 1932 and was named an honorable mention All-American the same year. His prowess attracted the attention of professional football scouts, and he played five seasons as a star offensive lineman with the Green Bay Packers from 1933 through 1937. He was named All Pro in 1936 and 1937. He was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1978. He spent the off-seasons acting in bit parts in Hollywood movies, appearing in Mutiny on the Bounty (uncredited, 1935) and a smattering of other films. After retiring from football in 1938, Evans officiated games for the National Football League and worked in sales and manufacturing. In the late 1950s, he turned to politics, suffering his first and only defeat in a run for the Texas House of Representatives in 1958. His law enforcement career began shortly afterward, when he went to work as an investigator for the Tarrant County district attorney's office. Two years later, he was elected sheriff. He had the longest tenure of any sheriff in the history of Tarrant County, serving 24 years until retiring in 1984. He was elected president of the Sheriff's Association of Texas in 1972, and was awarded the Tom Tellepsen Award at the Sheriff's Association of Texas Convention. In 1990, he published his life story titled The Purple Lawman, From Horned Frog to High Sheriff.
Bio by: Mel Bashore
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