Hall of Fame
Fifty-three years after J. W. Evers played baseball and basketball at Southern Arkansas University in 1955-57, he still holds the Best Batting Average for a Season for the Muleriders with an impressive .480 set in 1957. Evers came to the university as a two-sport star out of Texarkana (Junior) College. In high school, he was a three-sport standout at Arkansas High School in Texarkana. He was an All-State quarterback in football.
Evers was a standout in both baseball and basketball for the Muleriders. He was not only an excellent hitter for the baseball team, he was spectacular on defense at shortstop. A teammate at second base, known for his lack-of-speed, once told Evers when they were playing defense, “I will cover everything where I am standing, and you cover everything else.”
On the basketball court, he quarterbacked the offense as the starting point guard, where he was a good shooter, passer, dribbler, and an excellent defensive player.
When Evers played baseball for the Muleriders, they played only 12 conference games a season. As a leadoff hitter because of his speed and impressive hitting, the stocky-built Evers showed unbelievable power for a small player with nine home runs in those 12 games.
He lives in Houston with his wife of 40 years, Marilyn, playing a lot of golf. The couple has three children, Joyce, Deron, and Angela, and six grandchildren. He is retired as vice-president of Unisys Corporation, a Fortune 500 company.
