Celebrating a Champion I Ray Evans

Hockey Australia are profiling a list of Hall of Fame inductees from recent years – from across the country – on their website. Click here to view the full list of tributes.

Here's the latest as they profile Ray Evans.

An attacking forward from Western Australia, the late Ray Evans was a member of Australia’s hockey teams at three Olympic Games.

Born in Northam WA, Ray scored in his second international during the 1960 Olympic Games against Japan after making his debut in Australia’s opening match against Pakistan.

Following the 1960 Olympics, Ray won acclaim as a dynamic, aggressive inside-forward throughout the decade. Shrewd and quick-thinking, he had penchant for unsettling opposing defences with spectacular flashes of unorthodox genius. Even his team-mates found him unpredictable. Equally adept at scoring goals as he was setting them up, Ray represented Australia in more than 60 international matches between 1960 and 1969.

He was in the team which achieved a notable first at the 1964 Tokyo Games by winning Australia's first Olympic medal in hockey - a bronze. Four years later, in Mexico City, he added a silver medal to his trophy collection.

Ray will not be remembered for hard grafting in defence, preferring to direct his considerable talent into attacking situations. He had an uncanny ability to judge how play would unfold, a gift which enabled him usually to be in the right place at the right time.

He was an automatic selection in WA state teams from 1958 to 1973. Playing contemporaries of Ray Evans remember him as a quiet, fun-loving, world-class hockey player with a reputation for giving 100 per cent to his team, both on and off the field.

Ray was inducted into the Hockey WA Hall of Fame after being a member of the Western Australian State team for 15 successive years from 1958 to 1973 and captain in several of these years. During this period WA won the National Championship on ten occasions. Ray died in 1974.

Ray’s induction into the Hockey Australia Hall of Fame was ratified in 2018.

From those in the know…
“Ray was unique in many ways. His training was quite unique, his ability to pick the ball up on the run and his goal scoring was exceptional.” Des Piper (Triple Olympian, former Australian selector, and Hockey Australia Hall of Fame inductee)

Hockey Timeline
Player
Western Australia
1958-1973 Western Australia State Team

Australia
1960-1969 Men’s National Team
1960 Rome Olympic Games
1964 Tokyo Olympic Games Bronze Medal
1968 Mexico City Olympic Games Silver Medal