Letters to the Editor

October 12, 2026

Dear editor@coaldalefootballhistory.com,

On your Coaldale Big Green page, there are two players named Evans who were both nicknamed “Honey Boy.” Can you tell me a little bit more about them, and do you know who gave them that nickname?

Thank you,

Curious in Coaldale

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October 13, 2026

Dear Curious in Coaldale,

Jack “Honey Boy” Evans and Bill “Honey Boy” Evans were brothers born seven years apart in Seek. Jack was the older one, and both became successful boxers as well as stars of the Coaldale Big Green football teams. Jack played center and Bill played end.

Regarding their nickname, you may know that a dictionary defines the term “honey boy” as one used “to describe a boy who is sweet, soft, cute, and appealing, blending innocence with charm or attractiveness, and the term conveys warmth and affection, often highlighting a combination of innocence and vulnerability.” Well, in a boxing ring and on a football field, neither Jack nor Bill were soft or cute or warm or affectionate or any of that other stuff. On the contrary, they were two of the boldest, roughest, toughest, and talented football players of their era.

So, who gave them that nickname? We found the answer in the following news story written on February 16, 1923, in the Philadelphia Public Ledger by Frank McCracken.

McCracken wrote:

“Up in the coal regions, they bring ‘em up to be rough and tough and then hang on to ‘em some sweet-sounding name that is as soothing to the sensibilities as an ad for a mystic cold cream guaranteed to erase wrinkles overnight.

“There’s a human dynamo who plays right end for the illustrious Coaldale football team who is as hard boiled as they come on the grid, a five minute egg in the boxing ring and a sprinter with greased lightning on his running shoes when he hits the track.

“He is Bill Evans. Just to make it intricate, they call him “Honey Boy.” Laugh that off.

“Bill’s nickname, or to be perfectly proper, sobriquet, is only one of life’s little ironies, to which men much heavier and huskier who played against him last year will testify.

“Typical of the region from which he hails, he is as anthracite—hard and requiring only the heat of battle to cause him to glow and burn up opponents.

“Jim Gildea, a man with fighting instincts and a penchant for being original, has managed and coached the Coaldale football team for the past ten years. When Jim saw Bill in action, the only thing he could think of calling his fiery right end was ‘Honey Boy.’

“To hear Gildea fondly roll the name off his tongue, it is easy to picture a little figure in football togs bowling opponents right and left or doing some rocking and socking in the ring.

“‘Honey Boy’ Evans has come to be a name feared, honored and regarded with affection in the coal regions. Before young Bill turned his virile, athletic self loose on the football field and in the boxing ring, they used to call his brother John that.

“John plays center for Coaldale and lends brotherly assistance to Jim Gildea in guiding Bill’s fistic ventures.

“Coaldale is a hotbed of athletic sentimentalists. They back their athletic heroes up there with the same fervor they support their candidates for political office.

“Whenever ‘Honey Boy’ Evans travels to another town to box, all of Coaldale gets all washed up, dons the visiting togs and buys a couple of cartons of throat lozenges to keep the cords lubricated for loud and long cheering.

“‘Honey Boy’ has boxed extensively in the coal regions. He battles in the middleweight class and sometimes is down low enough in weight to tackle the welters. So you may see what brand of football he flashes to play such a dashing game at right end for Coaldale.”

So, Curious in Coaldale, we hope that explanation satisfactorily answers your query.

Sincerely,

The Editorial Staff