Being someone with a thirst for history and its connections to the club I have followed all my life I was quite taken by the story of Tich Evans, a Swansea player who signed for the club for £100 at the end of World War One. In fact it all came to light when Uri Geller came to the Vetch Field and spoke of ‘dark spirits’ in the old centre stand.
Intrigued ? Then read on.
(First published Oct 2023)
To add some context to the story, The Midlands Avon and Gloucester Swans (MAGS) a Swansea supporters group based in England had sponsored a game back in 2001 at the Vetch Field, the fixture escapes me. It may have been Mansfield Town but revered spoon bender Uri Geller was there as a guest of then Chairman Mike Lewis. I found Uri quite an interesting character, he was talking to me about special missions in the Israeli army and daring feats with cutlery ( he was a para by all accounts ) when I noticed his scarf around his neck.
It was an England scarf.
Fellow MAGS compatriot Darren Bradley sidled up to me and said "Have you seen the scarf Keith ?” I confirmed I had and thought nothing more of it. A few minutes later Geller, known for his psychic prowess and other undervalued abilities was furiously searching through our bags in the ‘sponsors lounge’ Anyone who knows of that location back then will view that description with a wry smile. Darren was there, I turned to him. "What’s he up to?” Darren smiled. "Lost his scarf apparently” he replied. His smile broadening. Geller turned to me and said. "This stand is already covered in darkness, this won’t make it any easier for Swansea” Or words to that effect.
As he continued his furious search, clearly believing his scarf had been appropriated by one of our number Darren asked him where he last saw it ? "I left it in here” Geller responded, pointing here there and everywhere. It was a golden marker for one of the funniest one liners I had heard for some time. Clearing his throat and puffing on one of his larger cigars Darren said. "Not being funny Uri mush, but with all your skills and abilities you should know exactly where it is” As Darren disappeared behind a plume of blueish smoke I fell to the floor laughing and Geller (below) stormed off slamming the door. ‘More sandwiches for us then’ I said.
Well, that’s how I found out about a Swansea player called Tich Evans. Later on in a more relaxed mood Geller continued mentioning dark spirits ( Rum in the old bar under the stand was my first thought ) and Lewis recalled a Swans player who committed suicide in the Centre Stand some 80 years before. Now, those who know the history of that time and indeed the aforementioned Mike Lewis will know he wasn’t the most favoured of people at the club. He went on to ruin Exeter City with convicted fraudster Colin Russell, and wasn’t the most popular of characters. Lewis would later ban first me, then Phil Sumbler from the club for using club sponsorship to question the directors of the time. ‘Dodgy’ they were indeed. He also turned down £1,000 for youth development raised by our supporters group. He said at the time there were no issues at the club and all was well. Anyone with the remotest memory of those times will know that wasn’t the case. I could smell a rat as could numerous others including Leigh Dineen who went on to sit on the board of the club in far better times. The ban led us to force the issue in the press, and get the first supporters meeting arranged which led to the formation of the supporters trust. It got us mentioned in parliament as well !
Oh, and did Geller find his scarf ? Apparently it was in the gents toilet, I’ll leave it to your imagination as to where exactly.
That conversation about Tich Evans tweaked my interest, Phil Sumbler and I would later write of the player which was picked up by numerous news outlets, we put that down to good journalism of course despite the lack of credit. At the time I was researching the clubs history for a series of books with Phil and this seemed to be something that we needed to look in to. Tich Evans was a Cadoxton boy, played for his school nearby to Jenner Park and had come to the notice of the Swans and other clubs during friendlies played towards the end and just after the war. To celebrate Easter in 1918 the Swans played a side from the Royal Flying Corps, and Tich was playing. He impressed. The following March he turned out against the Swans for his hometown club Barry. The score ended 3-3, Tich bagged a goal and Swansea offered Barry £100 for his services. Barry jumped at the offer. In todays money that’s around £11,000.
This is where the story takes a sinister turn.
All of Tich’s performances for the Swans were met with many plaudits. He was a diminutive left sided midfield attacker. Spurs had offered Swansea around £6,000 to release him and he was on the brink of a Wales call up. Everything was looking rosey. He had lost a sibling in the Great War and many friends, that seemed to affect him greatly. However, it was on the field of play he cast aside these issues. His wife, also a Barry girl Fannie Hawkins fell ill in late 1919 when Tich was tearing up trees for the Swans. She was pregnant and it is believed she died in childbirth as a result of pneumonia. That hit Titch hard, his form plummeted and he was never the same player. In the Swans next game against Brentford, Titch was anonymous on the pitch, the fact he played at all was commendable. In training the week after he couldn’t bring himself to join in preferring to watch instead of train. He was displaying so much grief everyone noticed it. Two days before the Swans were due to play Gillingham in the FA Cup Tich again watched from the centre stand. Player coach Jack Nicholas who was described at the time as someone who was very close to Tich saw him watching. A few moments later Tich was no longer in the stand - but Nicholas noticed a person lay on the floor in the stand. Running over he saw it was Tich.
He had committed suicide. In a time as it was then when the world was used to terrible news stories with so many millions lost in the Great War the description is somewhat gruesome of the find. In fact the reporting is so exact it wouldn’t be allowed today.
In time the theatrical moved to a more sombre mood.
Swansea players wore black armbands for that Saturday FA Cup game against the Gills. This was a time well before any rivalry across the south Wales divide, in fact it was a time where football was seen to be the favoured outlet after many years of death and loss. All sports fans followed any Welsh football team. At twenty five Tich had a great career ahead of him. At the time Swans watchers were convinced he would move on to Spurs and be a full Welsh international many would know about today. Had he stayed at the Swans who can say he wouldn’t have been the difference in the FA Cup semi final against Bolton Wanderers a few years or so later ? It’s a tragic story, and one which came to me as a result of a bizarre meeting with bizarre people at a very bizarre time in Swansea history. It’s only when you join the dots, and of course blessed with the passage of time - then reflect back on how things come to pass that you realise in some strange way certain things were meant to be.
These days grief can be managed with help from numerous agencies, and indeed in a more open society when it comes to personal feelings. Then things were far different. The death of Tich at the time hit everyone connected to association football in south Wales. The fact that history is a great teacher and gives us an outlet to keep these facts alive, for me, is a gift we should never forget. Just like Tich Evans, the Barry boy who played for the Swans.
If you need to talk to someone today about your current circumstances ring this number +44 330 094 5717, Samaritans Cymru, It will make all the difference.
Research links
⚽️ Banned from the club
⚽️ Jacks in Parliament