George "Honey Boy" Evans

George Evans (10 March 1870 – 5 March 1915) known as "Honey Boy" Evans was a Welsh-born songwriter, comedian, entertainer, and musician active in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Evans on 1913 sheet music cover

Biography

Evans was born in Pontlottyn, Wales in 1870.[1][2] In 1910, he bought the Cohan & Harris Minstrels organization for $25,000, that were known as the Honey Boy Minstrels.[2]

Among other songs, he co-wrote with Ren Shields "In the Good Old Summer Time". He had a well known minstrel show troupe, the "Honey Boy Minstrels". He debuted The Memphis Blues on vaudeville.

Evans became a great baseball fan after moving to America as a young man. Beginning in 1908 he had a beautiful loving cup individually designed and given to the "World's Championship Batsman", the player having the highest batting average in all of Major League Baseball. Honus Wagner, the great Pittsburgh Pirate shortstop, won the initial award in 1908. Ty Cobb, the fabulous "Georgia Peach", swept the next 4 trophies from 1909 to 1912. Evans stopped issuing the award in 1913.

He died at Union Baptist Hospital in Baltimore of stomach cancer on 5 March 1915.[2]

Partial discography
1908 sheet music cover depicting George M. Cohan and Sam Harris along with George Evans in blackface

Songs

Footnotes
  1. Frank Cullen; Florence Hackman; Donald McNeilly (2007). Vaudeville old & new: an encyclopedia of variety performances in America. Psychology Press. pp. 365–. ISBN 978-0-415-93853-2.
  2. No byline (March 6, 1915), "HONEY BOY" EVANS DEAD. New York Times :11
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