Howie Evans, a towering figure in sports journalism and basketball coaching, passed away in early May 2025 at the age of 91.
Born in 1934, Evans grew up between Harlem and the Bronx before settling in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the Bronx, where his father worked as a superintendent.
The oldest of seven siblings, Evans attended PS 75 for elementary education and later Morris High School in the South Bronx.
Evans’ youth in the 1940s and early 1950s was marked by the prevalence of gang activity in his neighborhood.
A community center leader named Vincent Tibbs played a crucial role in steering Evans away from gang involvement, effectively saving his life.
This early intervention shaped Evans’ lifelong commitment to youth development and community service.
His basketball journey began around age 14, eventually earning him newspaper coverage and a scholarship offer from NYU, one of the country’s elite basketball programs at that time.
When the scholarship was rescinded for what Evans believed were racial reasons, he transferred to Maryland Eastern Shore (then Maryland State), where he played both basketball and football.
Basketball Mourns The Death of Howie Evans
Howie Evans passed away in early May 2025, leaving a legacy transcending sports journalism and coaching.
Fordham Athletics was among the first to announce his passing, mourning the loss of their former assistant men’s basketball coach who had made significant contributions to the program.
As a founding Board Member of the Black Fives Foundation, which he joined in 2014, Evans remained active as Board Member Emeritus until his death.
His connection to basketball history was particularly significant—he was the last known living connection to Will Anthony Madden, the pioneering “King of Black Basketball” during the 1910s, who contributed pivotal to how basketball games were promoted, staged, played, and covered in the news.
The basketball community has responded with an outpouring of tributes.
Darek Robinson, a former player under Evans at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, praised him as “an enduring beacon of inspiration and leadership” who “wasn’t just my coach; he was a mentor who molded character and ignited dreams in each player he met.”
Joe Favorito, who knew Evans during his time at Fordham, remembered him as “one of the first journalists of color to travel with NY’s legendary sports teams of the seventies” and “a true legend in NY media and basketball.”
The Bronx Basketball Hall of Fame commemorated Evans as a “Bronx Basketball Legend” whose “accolades are far too many to mention.“
Evans’ death marks the end of an era in sports journalism and basketball, but his legacy lives on through the countless lives he touched as a coach, mentor, journalist, and community leader.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- He was a key member of the public relations, marketing, and promotions teams that produced seven of the highest-rated Pay-Per-View programs in history on the HBO and Showtime Networks.
- He was the first American coach to take a USA high school basketball team to the former Soviet Union and coached USA junior and senior teams in many European countries.
- He was a regular panelist on BET’s groundbreaking “Bud Sports Report” alongside colleagues like Michael Wilbon from the Washington Post and David Aldridge from the Philadelphia Inquirer.
