Evans began umpiring
Little League games at age 14, where his playing experience as a
catcher helped in judging
balls and strikes. He attended
Kilgore College on scholarship before attending the
University of Texas at Austin (UT). He umpired high school and
college baseball while attending college. He left UT temporarily in his senior year when he was offered a job in the
Florida State League, making him the last umpire hired in professional baseball who had not attended an umpire school. Following his first season in pro baseball (1968), Evans returned to UT in the fall and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in education in January 1969. A month after graduating from UT, Evans attended the newly formed MLB Umpire Development Program in February and March 1969 where he graduated first in this inaugural class. After graduation from umpire school, his
minor league contract was purchased by
Texas League president
Bobby Bragan. Evans then worked in the Texas League (1969–70) and
American Association (1971). Evans is one of few umpires in history who have worked in two
perfect games, having been the third base umpire for
Mike Witt's perfect game on September 30, 1984, and the second base umpire for
David Cone's perfect game on July 18, 1999. Evans was the home plate umpire both for
Nolan Ryan's first no-hitter (May 15, 1973) and
Don Sutton's 300th career victory (June 18, 1986). In addition to instructing in the United States, Evans has trained umpires in Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Japan, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. In 2014, he was hired as an umpire advisor by MiLB, acting as a consultant to the MiLB president. ==Personal life==