A. Raymond Bevans Jr., a lawyer who despite having one arm was a standout baseball player and golfer, died Monday at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center of head injuries he suffered in a fall at his Glenarm home. He was 69.
When he was 6 years old growing up in the Arlington section of West Baltimore, he and some friends were getting cherries from a tree when the caretaker of the property appeared. As the children scattered, Mr. Bevans got his feet tangled in chicken wire and landed in a pile of broken glass, cutting his right arm from his wrist to his shoulder.
Buried in the trash were dirty bandages that infected his arm, causing it to become gangrenous. His arm was amputated to save his life.
"He would never say that he was handicapped," said his daughter, Kathy Daly of Salisbury. "He had this inconvenience, that's all. No one helped cut his food, and he tied his shoes with his teeth. Nature compensated -- he had a huge hand -- it never stopped him from doing what he wanted."
Mr. Bevans played soccer and baseball at Forest Park High School, graduating in 1943. At Loyola College, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1947, he pitched and played in the outfield.
"He was the Pete Gray of Loyola College," said his brother-in-law, Hank Linz of Timonium, referring to the one-armed St. Louis Browns center fielder of the 1940s.
Mr. Bevans also excelled at golf.
"He was invited in 1969 to play in the Andy Williams pro-am," said John Steadman, Evening Sun sports columnist. "In front of all of these celebrities and with knees shaking, he made his swing and hit the ball 270 yards splitting the fairway. The crowd fell silent and then erupted in applause. It was really an amazing moment."
Mr. Bevans was a founder of the Towson Golf and Country Club and the Dulaney Springs Golf Club, and played in the National Amputee Golf Championship for many years.
He earned his law degree from the University of Maryland in 1953 and opened a law office on Courtland Avenue in Towson, retiring in 1987.
The next year, he was appointed an assistant Maryland attorney general and retired a second time on Jan. 1.
He was the first president of the Towson Jaycees and was inducted into the state's Baseball Oldtimers' Hall of Fame in 1992.
Mr. Bevans, whose three sons are mentally handicapped, had been president of the St. Elizabeth's Special School of Education, an adviser to the Marian Guild for Retarded Children, a leader of Boy Scout Troop No. 730 for mentally retarded and handicapped children, and organizer of fund-raisers for the Francis X. Gallagher Retardation Center.
A Mass of Christian burial was to be offered at 10 a.m today at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, 13305 Long Green Pike, Hydes.
Other survivors include his wife, the former Claire Linz, whom he married in 1951; three sons, Raymond M. Bevans, T. Mark Bevans and Brian J. Bevans, all of Glenarm; two sisters, Janet Tjarks of Lutherville and Virginia Gourlay of Chester; and three grandchildren.
Memorial donations may be made to The Chimes, c/o Cecil Fox, Suite 226, 1700 Reisterstown Road, Baltimore 21208; or to the Baltimore Association for Retarded Citizens Inc., 7215 York Road, Baltimore 21212.