NYCHA Board Approves Renaming of Mitchel Houses Gym for the Late Hugh Evans 

On September 28, NYCHA’s Board of Directors voted to rename the gym at Mitchel Houses’ community center in honor of its first director and Basketball Hall of Famer Hugh Evans.  

Mr. Evans, who oversaw athletic programming at the South Bronx gym for several years in the late 1960s and early 1970s before entering a longtime NBA refereeing career, passed away in July 2022 at the age of 81. Two months later, he was inducted posthumously into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, becoming only the sixth referee to receive the honor.  

As the Mitchel gym’s director, Mr. Evans served as a mentor and helped shape the lives of many Bronx youths, said Frederick Lewis, who advocated for the gym renaming as a way to recognize Mr. Evans’ contributions to the community.  

“I am elated, his wife is ecstatic, and close friends are super excited,” Mr. Lewis, who grew up at nearby Mill Brook Houses, said of the NYCHA Board approval of the naming of the Hubert “Hugh” Evans Gymnasium. “This really preserves the legacy of someone who was a great human being and a real asset to New York City, New York State, and the NBA. He was a good guy and he deserves to be recognized.”   

Mitchel Houses Resident Association President Pamela Smith, a resident since 1965, was thrilled that NYCHA will be moving forward with plans to honor an inspirational figure in the community.  

“I’m so appreciative and so happy that it’s actually been approved,” she said, adding that the effort was strongly supported by community members. “Hugh helped a lot of the young adults at that time. He was very much a people person, and they had much respect for him.”   

Mr. Lewis recalled how Mr. Evans and other staff leaders at local community centers that were then part of the East Side House Settlement were like “big brothers” to the youth, offering guidance and support while also emphasizing the importance of education. 

“They were a group of folks who wanted to give back,” said Mr. Lewis, a political and public affairs consultant. “The Mitchel gym really gave us the opportunity to hone our basketball skills; it was a place where you met people from other developments and formed a camaraderie.”  

A highly accomplished athlete, Mr. Evans played basketball and baseball at North Carolina A&T State University, a historically black university (HBCU). He was selected by the St. Louis Hawks in the 1963 NBA Draft, but he instead chose to pursue baseball, playing several seasons in the minor leagues for the San Francisco Giants.   

As an NBA referee from 1973 to 2001, Mr. Evans officiated 1,969 regular-season games, as well as 170 playoff games, 35 NBA Finals contests, and four NBA All-Star Games, according to ESPN.com. In addition to the Naismith Hall of Fame, Mr. Evans is also a member of the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame and North Carolina A&T Hall of Fame.  

Thanks to the foundation that Mr. Evans laid during his time as the Mitchel center’s first director, many notable athletes have played at the gym, including NBA players Nate “Tiny” Archibald and Rod Strickland, said Mr. Lewis, who also went on to play professionally in Switzerland. The Mitchel gym became the “mecca of gyms in New York City,” he noted.   

With the Mitchel gym bearing Mr. Evans’ name, Mr. Lewis said future generations of NYCHA youth may be inspired to learn about the former director and Hall of Famer’s legacy.  

“We needed to give our kids something to become knowledgeable about Hugh Evans,” he said. “It can be a learning experience for them, so they’ll know who he was, what he meant, and the impact he had.”