Charles "Cowboy" Morgan Evans (
February 19,
1903 –
April 15,
1969) was an
American champion
rodeo sports
cowboy and
oil field worker from
Texas who worked as a rancher and oil drilling foreman the majority of his life.
Evans won the 1927 World Series Rodeo
Buldogging Championship at
New York City's
Madison Square Garden. The World Series Rodeo is now known as the
National Finals Rodeo (or "NFR"). Cowboy Evan's championship is recorded in the
Rodeo Hall of Fame at the
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Early life
Charlie Morgan Evans was born to
rancher Andrew Jackson Evans, Sr., and his wife Grace Morgan in the community of
Huff, Texas in
Archer County. The family was of
Scottish descent. As an adult, in 1942, Evans legally changed his birth name from Charlie to Charles, however, his rodeo name was the one that stuck in the minds of those who knew him. Some
oldtimers in parts of
Arkansas, where he had a
cattle ranch, still remembered Cowboy Morgan Evans in the local
American folklore of the late 20th century.
Second Annual 1928 World Series Rodeo Contestant ticket
Bulldogging photo of Cowboy Evans at
Chicago Stadium (notice that he has a Western riding boot on his right foot and a low quarter shoe on his left for quick competition dismount.
Career and family
Cowboy Evans was known for his unique rodeo
steer wrestling competition style of wearing one
Western riding boot and one low quarter standard shoe for ease of quick dismount from his horse. He competed in many
rodeos across the
United States in both bulldoging and
bull riding prior to winning the 1927 World championship. He worked as a
roughneck in the
oil exploration and drilling industry and eventually became a drilling foreman, and oilman. In the early 1930s Evans toured the United States on the rodeo circuit while maintaining his home of record in
Henrietta, Texas.
He married Allie Odessa Jarvis, and together they had two daughters, Mary and Sara, who now reside in
Ellis County, Texas, with their daughters and grandsons nearby. On
27 May 1945 Evans was awarded his 32nd degree in
York Rite Freemasonry, issued in
Wichita Falls, Texas by the
Dallas, Texas Consistory. He received his 33rd degree almost two decades later. Cowboy Morgan Evans died at home in
Bonham, Texas of an apparent
heart attack. He was buried in a
Christian ceremony in
Bonham, Texas, and his life and legacy were honored by his fellow members of Chapter 52 of the
Royal Arch Masons.
See also
