When George Evans arrived at Normal Community High School in 1954 after three years of coaching all sports at Chatsworth he came with some baggage.
That baggage being his legendary no-nonsense approach to discipline and the ill-founded rumor that he was not about to greet the press with milk and cookies.
Well, he never had his wife Harriet bake cookies for us; yet he was always available. An example occurred one night at the Illinois Wesleyan Stadium when he went out of his way to make sure a sometimes Pantagraph photographer was able to shoot some decent football action pictures.
NCHS was playing then Trinity High School under the old, not-so-bright lights on a Thursday night and the Ironmen had run up a big lead by imitating Ohio State coach Woody Hayes' 3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust offense. The ball was always in the middle of the field.
The photographer complained to Evans that he was drawing blanks so George sent in a sub with the instructions that the Ironmen were to run a play toward the photographer on the sideline. The back started this way saw a hole in the line, and cut back for a long gain.

Picture-perfect play

Again, the photographer complained and again Evans sent in a sub and warned him that the play was to come to the sideline, even if it meant a loss. The back obeyed and the photographer got his picture. I admit I was that photographer.
Evans, who played end for Lake Forest College when the school was a robust member of the College Conference of Illinois, arrived at Chatsworth High School in 1951 and, in his third season, coached the Bluebirds to an 8-0 record. He never had an assistant coach in any sport.
Evans coached football 12 years at Normal Community in addition to assisting in basketball and track. He later coached wrestling. His NCHS foot ball teams posted a combined 68-33-2. record despite having to forfeit the first seven victories in the 1961 season because of the use of an over-age player. NCHS finished 2-7.
The seldom-used player had one birth date in the family bible and another at the McLean County Court house. He registered at school, using the bible date, and someone discovered the discrepancy and turned in the school after the first seven games.
Naturally,everyone blamed University HighSchool, NCHS' final opponent. Right or wrong, the Pioneers felt the Ironmen wrath and lost 55-0. NCHS had 150 yards in penalties, mainly the 15-yard variety Evans pointed out that he did not run up the score because it was 48-0 at the half.
"I don't think that kid weighed more than 122 pounds," said Evans of the youngster who did not deliberately lie about his age.
Evans said the 1961 team was his best defensively Six opponents did not score and the Ironmen surrendered just one touchdown all season.
Evans left coaching following the 1965 season and became acting superintendent of Unit 5. That same year he was promoted to superintendent and held the job for 19 years.

Summer jobs

During Evans' early years at NCHS, many Intercity and area coaches worked for Funk's Seed Co., during the summer. Evans became good friends with Lou Marketti, Trinity basketball coach, and Ed Murphy, the Saints' football coach who had unusual driving habits.
Murphy stopped his car by touching the brakes and running into the curbs. That Minier grocery store is still in shock.
Evans recalls the night that he, Marketti, and Murphy were playing hand-ball in a court at Trinity. Someone locked them in. So, Marketti had to go through a window to get help. "Ed and I could not fit in that window," explained Evans.
“We all spoke at the service clubs," recalled Evans, who is in the Illinois Football Coaches Hall of Fame. "We got to know each other very well and also know the college coaches. I went to football clinics at Purdue with State Normal coaches Ed Struck and Carl Heldt."
You have to remember that this was an era when coaches taped ankles. And lined football fields the day of the game. And sometimes set up action shots.