late friend "was still the fine clean character that he was in his high school days in Youngstown". Lightner recalled that, shortly after his final conversation with the retired umpire, Evans sent Lightner an autographed photo of himself with former Detroit Tigers manager Red Rolfe. Final years By 1952, Evans had unofficially retired, then was injured in an automobile accident in Monroe, Michigan. After recovering, he remained in good health until January 21, 1956, when he suffered a massive stroke while visiting his son. Evans died two days later at the age of 71. Funeral services were held in Cleveland. Evans' remains were interred at Knollwood Cemetery in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. Legacy Evans' contributions to baseball have been widely recognized. In 1946 he was named in the Honor Rolls of Baseball, and in 1973 he became the third umpire elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Evans is honored for the high standard of professionalism he set during his career as an official, and he is credited as a tireless advocate of formal training for umpires. Ironically, as David Anderson observed, Evans might have been denied the opportunity to serve as an official in the major leagues "if the present day umpire school system existed during the Dead Ball Era". Anderson noted that Evans' description of the basic qualities required of an effective umpire holds up even today: "Good eyes, plenty of courage – mental and physical – thorough knowledge of the playing rules, more than average portions of fair play, common sense and diplomacy, an entire lack of vindictiveness, plenty of confidence in your ability". In 1917 Billy Evans "noted American League Umpire" teamed up with the Spalding Athletic Library for the book, "How to umpire". Notes References James, Bill (2003). The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. New York: Free Press. . Okrent, Daniel; Wulf, Steve (1989). Baseball Anecdotes. New York: Oxford University Press. . Further reading Evans, Billy. "Big League Thrills". The Rotarian. August 1932. pp. 11-13, 50-53. External links Billy Evans Biography at Baseball Biography – biography, career highlights Retrosheet 1884 births 1956 deaths Major League Baseball general managers National Football League general managers Boston Red Sox executives Cleveland Indians executives Cleveland Rams executives Detroit Tigers executives Minor league baseball executives Cornell Big Red baseball players National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Cleveland Sportspeople from Chicago Sportspeople from Youngstown, Ohio American Presbyterians American people