Legendary Coach Bob Evans Passes Away

Legendary former Mt. Pleasant football coach Bob Evans passed away Friday afternoon, hours before the team took to the field for its Homecoming game. He was 87 years old.

"Coach”, as everyone affectionately called him, led the Panthers onto the field for Friday night battles for 33 years, compiling a won-loss record of 202 wins 91 losses and 4 ties.  His teams won 17 conference championships and qualified for the playoffs from 1983-1986. His 1957 to 1961 teams won 40 games in a row, not just playing Southeast Iowa schools but also taking on some of the large schools in Iowa and Illinois. 

The biggest accomplishment of his coaching career may have come in the 1963 season when his team went undefeated and unscored upon.  This earned Mt. Pleasant  the title of “Mythical State Champions”, since a true playoff system was not established till the early 70’s.

For a number of years Coach Evans worked as a color analyst for the state-wide radio network that covered University of Iowa Hawkeye Football, working along side play-by-play man Frosty Mitchell.

Bob retired from coaching in 1988, keeping busy on Friday nights watching his sons coach and grandsons play,  and continued to follow the Panthers, listening on the radio and many  times sat in his vehicle on the east side of “Evans Field.”  In 2007 the football field at Mapleleaf Complex was named after the man we all affectionately call “Coach.”