Augustana College Athletics

John McEvoy still ranks as one of the best pitchers to ever put on an Augustana uniform yet he came to college with little fanfare. A native of Rock Island, he only pitched a grand total of three innings in his high school career, playing mostly as an infielder/outfielder. As a freshman he was used for only eight innings in two games, finishing 0-1 with a 4.50 earned run average. During his sophomore season he started to show some signs of promise, finishing 4-2 with a 2.61 earned run average. It was during his junior year that he exploded, going 9-0 with a 1.50 earned run average in 10 games and 66 innings as the Vikings won the 1974 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin. In his senior season McEvoy was 6-1 and had a sparkling 0.70 ERA.

He was the team leader in victories three years in a row and holds the Augustana school record for career winning percentage at .826 (19-4). He also is the school record holder for single season winning percentage with his mark of 1.000 (9-0) in 1974. He was twice named to the all-conference team in the CCIW and was the team’s MVP both as a junior and as a senior. He earned NAIA All-American honors in 1975 and his name is all over the Augustana single season and career top ten lists. McEvoy is second in single season victories (9 in 1974), second and seventh in single season ERA (0.70 in 1975 and 1.50 in 1974), sixth and ninth in single season strikeouts (63 in 1974 and 55 in 1975). His career records are just as impressive as he is third in career earned run average (2.81), fourth in career strikeouts (154), fourth in victories (19) and ninth in innings pitched with 156 2/3.

He graduated from Augustana in 1975 with degrees in accounting and business administration and he is currently the senior vice-president/controller in charge of all financial aspects at Metrobank in the Quad Cities. He also has a degree from the Illinois Graduate School of Banking at the University of Illinois. John and his wife Geralyn have a son Jay and two daughters – Leanne and Kimberly. He is a past officer of the Rock Island Jaycees and a member in the Rock Island Evening Lions Club. He has been involved in the Rock Island Music Association, the Rock Island County Children’s Advocacy Center where he served as treasurer and has coached and been a board member of the Rock Island Girls Softball Association.