He knew everything about athletics - tributes paid as Ken dies at 85

Ken Evans was secretary of the Wolverhampton and Bilston Athletics Club for 65 years, from 1949 until his retirement in 2014.

Mary Harding, the club's president, said Mr Evans had a great love for the club and had certainly left a legacy.

Mr Evans was born in Wolverhampton on 4 August, 1929, in a house that has since made way for the ASDAsupermarket near the Molineux, leading him to joke he "was born on ASDA car park".

He spent his life in the city, living in Merry Hill and working as a mechanic for the Guy Motors bus company.

After completing national service, Mr Evans, a keen runner, joined the Wolverhampton Harriers in 1949. He became the club's secretary and also the Staffordshire Amateur Athletics Association's secretary in that year.

When the Harriers joined with the Bilston Town Athletic Club in 1967 to become the Wolverhampton and Bilston Athletics Club in 1967, Mr Evans continued in his position.

Mr Evans' dedication to athletics in the city saw him firmly woven into the Wolverhampton's sporting history. In 1960 he helped to organise the Aldersley meet in which Peter Radford broke the world record for the 220 yards with a time of 20.5 seconds.

Wolverhampton and Bilston Athletics club was one of the highest ranked in the country during the 1980s and 1990s, and its success in European championships meant that Mr Evans travelled widely on the Continent.

Ms Harding said: "He worked so hard to help the club to get to where they were. He did so much for Wolverhampton and the club. He was a really fascinating man, he knew everything there is to know about athletics.

"I hope people can live up to what he did and all the hard work he put in, which was all voluntary."

A marker of the club's success in the 1980s was the acceptance of the club's presidency by iconic sports presenter David Coleman, with whom Mr Evans became good friends.

After retiring from his job as a mechanic, Mr Evans had divided all his time between the athletics club and two allotments, and enjoyed the occasional flutter on the horses.

Ms Harding described Mr Evans as a very private man. She said: "He observed a lot; he was a man of few words with a very dry sense of humour.

"Because he'd been so big in the area he knew something about every stately home, usually because they'd had a run in the grounds."

Mr Evans, who was never married, died of cancer in October at the Atholl house care home in the Compton area of the city, aged 85.

Mr Evans' funeral was due to be held today at 1.30pm at Bushbury Crematorium.

There will be a wake afterwards at Aldersley Leisure Village, where tributes will be paid to a "lovely, sincere man".

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