Virgil Lawrence "Spud" Davis (December 20, 1904 – August 14, 1984) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player,

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

, scout and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Davis' .308 career

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

ranks fourth all-time among major league catchers.

Baseball career

Born in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, Davis began his

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

career in at the age of 21, playing for the

Gulfport Tarpons The Gulfport Tarpons were a minor league baseball team based in Gulfport, Mississippi. Gulfport teams played exclusively as members of the Class D level Cotton States League. The Gulfport "Crabs" teams played in the league from 1906 to 1908, with ...

of the

Cotton States League The Cotton States League''Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: The Official Record of Minor League Baseball'' – Lloyd Johnson, Steve McDonald, Miles Wolff (editors). Publisher: Baseball America, 1997. Format: Paperback, 672pp. Language: Englis ...

. After posting a .356 batting average in 27 games for Gulfport, he was sent to play for the

Reading Keystones The Reading Fightin Phils (also called the Reading Fightins) are a Minor League Baseball team based in Reading, Pennsylvania, playing in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League. The team plays their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Read ...

of the International League where he hit for a .308 average in 137 games during the season. Davis made his major league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals on April 30,

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhan ...

however, after only two games, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. He began as a second-string catcher with the Phillies behind

Walt Lerian Walter "Peck" Irvin Lerian (February 10, 1903 – October 22, 1929) was an American professional baseball player who played two seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies from through . He was born in Baltimore, Maryland and died there at the ag ...

but, by the end of the

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

season, he had taken over as the starting catcher with a .342 batting average along with 7

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 48

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

. That season would mark the first of seven consecutive seasons with batting averages above the .300 mark. In 1933, he finished second to team-mate

Chuck Klein Charles Herbert Klein (October 7, 1904 – March 28, 1958), nicknamed the "Hoosier Hammer", was an American professional baseball outfielder. Klein played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (–, –, –), Chicago Cubs ...

in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

Batting Championship with a .349 average. His .395 on-base percentage was also the second highest in the league. Davis ended the season ranked 25th in the National League

Most Valuable Player Award In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

voting, despite the fact that the Phillies finished in seventh place. In November 1933, Davis was traded back to the St. Louis Cardinals for catcher Jimmie Wilson. He platooned alongside left-handed hitting catcher

Bill DeLancey William Pinkney DeLancey (November 28, 1911 – November 28, 1946) was an American professional baseball player during the 1930s. As a 22-year-old rookie catcher in , he helped to lead the St. Louis Cardinals' fabled Gashouse Gang team to the wor ...

, posting a .300 batting average in 107 games on a Cardinals team that became known as the

Gashouse Gang The Gashouse Gang was the nickname of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team of the early 1930s. Owing to their success that started in 1926, the Cardinals would win a total of five National League pennants from 1926 to 1934 (nine seasons) while wi ...

for their colorful, extroverted personalities. The Cardinals won the

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...

National League pennant and, went on to defeat the Detroit Tigers in the

1934 World Series The 1934 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1934 season. The 31st edition of the World Series, it matched the St. Louis Cardinals against the Detroit Tigers. The Cardinals' "Gashouse Gang" won in seven gam ...

. In his only post-season appearance Davis played in two games in the seven-game series, with two hits in two

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

. Davis had another good season in 1935 with a .317 batting average, 60 runs batted in and led National League catchers in fielding percentage however, the Cardinals slipped to second place in the standings. In

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

, his batting average dipped to .273 and in December of that year, he would be traded to the Cincinnati Reds. Davis served as a reserve catcher in 1937, working behind future Hall of Fame member

Ernie Lombardi Ernesto Natali Lombardi (April 6, 1908 – September 26, 1977), was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher for the Brooklyn Robins, Cincinnati Reds, Boston Braves, and New York Giants during ...

. In June 1938, he was traded back to the Philadelphia Phillies. Davis rebounded in 1939, posting a .307 batting average in 87 games. He was purchased by the Pittsburgh Pirates in October 1939 and continued to hit well in

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * Januar ...

with a .326 batting average in 99 games. By 1941,

Al López Alfonso Ramón López (August 20, 1908 – October 30, 2005) was a Spanish-American professional baseball catcher and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Brooklyn Robins / Dodgers, Boston Bees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Cle ...

, another future Hall of Fame member, had taken over the Pirates starting catcher's role and, in

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in w ...

, 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 in

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

, appearing in 54 games for the Pirates and posting a .301 batting average at the age of 39. He appeared in 23 games in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat. Events Below, ...

before retiring as a major league player at the age of 40. He continued as a coach and a scout for the Pirates and, briefly managed the team when

Frankie Frisch Frank Francis Frisch (September 9, 1898—March 12, 1973), nicknamed "The Fordham Flash" or "The Old Flash", was an American Major League Baseball player and manager of the first half of the twentieth century. Frisch was a switch-hitting seco ...

resigned in September of 1946. After playing with the minor league Alexander City Millers in and , he returned to work as a coach with the Chicago Cubs from

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

before retiring from baseball.

Career statistics

In a sixteen-year major league career, Davis played in 1,458 games, accumulating 1,312 hits in 4,255

for a .308 career batting average along with 77 home runs, 647 runs batted in and a .369 on-base percentage. He ended his career with a .984 fielding percentage. Davis hit over .300 ten times in sixteen years. At the time of his retirement, Davis' .308 career batting average was second only to Mickey Cochrane all-time among major league catchers. As of , he ranks fourth all-time among career batting averages for catchers behind

Joe Mauer Joseph Patrick Mauer (born April 19, 1983) is an American former professional baseball catcher and first baseman, who spent his entire 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Minnesota Twins. A six-time All-Star, Mauer is the only c ...

, Mickey Cochrane and

Bill Dickey William Malcolm Dickey (June 6, 1907 – November 12, 1993) was an American professional baseball catcher and manager. He played in Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees for 19 seasons. Dickey managed the Yankees as a player-manager in ...

. Davis led National League catchers twice in fielding percentage, once in assists and once in baserunners caught stealing. 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 the

Alabama Sports Hall of Fame The Alabama Sports Hall of Fame (ASHOF) is a state museum located in Birmingham, Alabama, dedicated to communicating the state’s athletic history. The museum displays over 5,000 objects related to athletes who were born in Alabama or earned fame ...

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

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Spud 1904 births 1984 deaths Alexander City Millers players Baseball players from Birmingham, Alabama Chicago Cubs coaches Cincinnati Reds players Gulfport Tarpons players Major League Baseball catchers Philadelphia Phillies players Pittsburgh Pirates coaches Pittsburgh Pirates managers Pittsburgh Pirates players Pittsburgh Pirates scouts Reading Keystones players St. Louis Cardinals players