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Spud Davis

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Spud Davis
Davis on a 1933Goudeybaseball card
Catcher/Manager
Born:(1904-12-20)December 20, 1904
Birmingham, Alabama,U.S.
Died:August 14, 1984(1984-08-14)(aged 79)
Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Batted:Right
Threw:Right
MLB debut
April 30, 1928, for the St. Louis Cardinals
Last MLB appearance
September 5, 1945, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
MLB statistics
Batting average.308
Home runs77
Runs batted in647
Teams
As Player

As coach

As manager

Career highlights and awards

Virgil Lawrence "Spud" Davis(December 20, 1904 – August 14, 1984) was anAmericanprofessionalbaseballplayer,coach,scoutandmanager.[1]He played inMajor League Baseballas acatcherfor theSt. Louis Cardinals,Philadelphia Phillies,Cincinnati Reds,andPittsburgh Pirates.[1]Davis'.308 careerbatting averageranks fourth all-time among major league catchers.[2]

Baseball career

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Born inBirmingham, Alabama,Davis began hisprofessional baseballcareer in1926at the age of 21, playing for theGulfport Tarponsof theCotton States League.[3]After posting a.356 batting average in 27 games for Gulfport, he was sent to play for theReading Keystonesof theInternational Leaguewhere he hit for a.308 average in 137 games during the1927season.[3]

Davis made his major league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals on April 30,1928however, after only two games, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies.[1][4]He began as a second-string catcher with the Phillies behindWalt Lerianbut, by the end of the1929season, he had taken over as the starting catcher with a.342 batting average along with 7home runsand 48runs batted in.[1][5]That season would mark the first of seven consecutive seasons with batting averages above the.300 mark.[1]In1933,he finished second to team-mateChuck Kleinin theNational LeagueBatting Championshipwith a.349 average. His.395on-base percentagewas also the second highest in the league.[6]Davis ended the season ranked 25th in the National LeagueMost Valuable Player Awardvoting, despite the fact that the Phillies finished in seventh place.[7]

In November 1933, Davis was traded back to the St. Louis Cardinals for catcherJimmie Wilson.[4]Heplatoonedalongside left-handed hitting catcherBill DeLancey,posting a.300 batting average in 107 games on a Cardinals team that became known as theGashouse Gangfor their colorful, extroverted personalities.[1][8]The Cardinals won the1934National Leaguepennantand, went on to defeat theDetroit Tigersin the1934 World Series.[9]In his only post-season appearance Davis played in two games in the seven-game series, with twohitsin twoat bats.[10]

Davis had another good season in1935with a.317 batting average, 60 runs batted in and led National League catchers infielding percentagehowever, the Cardinals slipped to second place in the standings.[1]In1936,his batting average dipped to.273 and in December of that year, he would be traded to the Cincinnati Reds.[1][4]Davis served as a reserve catcher in1937,working behind futureHall of FamememberErnie Lombardi.In June1938,he was traded back to the Philadelphia Phillies.[4]Davis rebounded in1939,posting a.307 batting average in 87 games.[1]He was purchased by the Pittsburgh Pirates in October 1939 and continued to hit well in1940with a.326 batting average in 99 games.[1][4]By1941,Al López,another futureHall of Famemember, had taken over the Pirates starting catcher's role and, in1942,Davis took a role as a coach for the Pirates. Due to player shortages during the Second World War, Davis returned to the playing field in1944,appearing in 54 games for the Pirates and posting a.301 batting average at the age of 39.[1]He appeared in 23 games in1945before retiring as a major league player at the age of 40.[1]

He continued as a coach and a scout for the Pirates and, briefly managed the team whenmanagerFrankie Frischresigned in September of1946.[11]After playing with the minor leagueAlexander City Millersin1947and1948,he returned to work as a coach with the Chicago Cubs from1950to1953before retiring from baseball.[3][12][13]

Career statistics

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In a sixteen-year major league career, Davis played in 1,458games,accumulating 1,312hitsin 4,255at batsfor a.308 career batting average along with 77 home runs, 647 runs batted in and a.369 on-base percentage.[1]He ended his career with a.984 fielding percentage.[1]Davis hit over.300 ten times in sixteen years.[14][15]At the time of his retirement, Davis'.308 career batting average was second only toMickey Cochraneall-time among major league catchers.[16]As of2010,he ranks fourth all-time among career batting averages for catchers behindJoe Mauer,Mickey Cochrane andBill Dickey.[2]

Davis led National League catchers twice in fielding percentage, once inassistsand once in baserunnerscaught stealing.[1]During his playing days, he was twice traded for the same player, fellow catcher Jimmie Wilson. These trades happened between the Phillies and Cardinals five years apart in 1928 and 1933. In 1977, Davis was inducted into theAlabama Sports Hall of Fame.[17]

Davis died in Birmingham, Alabama, at age 79, and is buried there.[18]

References

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  1. ^abcdefghijklmno"Spud Davis".Baseball Reference.RetrievedNovember 10,2010.
  2. ^ab"Catcher Batting Average Leaders".The Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers.RetrievedNovember 10,2010.
  3. ^abc"Spud Davis minor league statistics".Baseball Reference.RetrievedNovember 9,2010.
  4. ^abcde"Spud Davis Trades and Transactions".Baseball Almanac.RetrievedNovember 10,2010.
  5. ^"1929 Spud Davis Batting Log".Baseball Reference.RetrievedNovember 9,2010.
  6. ^"1933 National League Batting Leaders".Baseball Reference.RetrievedNovember 9,2010.
  7. ^"1933 National League Most Valuable Player Award balloting".Baseball Reference.RetrievedNovember 9,2010.
  8. ^"Dizzy, Dazzy and Ducky".thisgreatgame.RetrievedMarch 15,2011.
  9. ^"1934 World Series".Baseball Reference.RetrievedNovember 9,2010.
  10. ^"Spud Davis post-season statistics".Baseball Reference.RetrievedNovember 9,2010.
  11. ^"Frisch Quits As Manager Of Pirates".Miami Daily News.Associated Press. September 28, 1946. p. 6.RetrievedNovember 10,2010.
  12. ^"Davis Gets Cub Coaching Job".Miami Sunday News.Associated Press. January 21, 1950. p. 7.RetrievedNovember 10,2010.
  13. ^"Gas Housers Best, Spud Davis Claims".The Milwaukee Journal.United Press. May 1, 1959. p. 2.RetrievedNovember 10,2010.
  14. ^Grosshandler, Stan (February 1981).13 Most Forgotten Stars In Baseball History!.RetrievedNovember 10,2010.{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help)
  15. ^Vass, George (July 2004).Baseball's Forgotten Stars.RetrievedOctober 25,2010.{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help)
  16. ^All-Time Best Hitting Catchers.October 1979.RetrievedNovember 10,2010.{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help)
  17. ^"Davis' Memory In HOF".Times Daily.United Press. February 18, 1985. p. 3.RetrievedNovember 10,2010.
  18. ^"Virgil Spud Davis Obituary".Daytona Beach Morning Journal.Associated Press. August 15, 1984. p. 10.RetrievedNovember 10,2010.
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