Eugene Davis (December 26, 1870 – January 14, 1946) was an American surgeon and

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (VPI)—now known as

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

—for one season in 1900. Davis's team played only one home game that season, beating St. Albans by a score of 21–0. The rest of the schedule was played away. VPI won a rematch St. Albans, 16–6, beat North Carolina A&M, 18–2, played

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

to a scoreless tie in Chapel Hill, lost to the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, 17–5, defeated Clemson in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, 12–5, and lost to their biggest rival at the time, VMI, 5–0. Davis was born in Charlottesville in 1870 to D. C. T. and Mary Davis. Davis was a member of

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded in 1848, and currently headquartered, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, alo ...

. Around 1898, Davis was elected president of the general athletic association at the University of Virginia, described in an 1899 publication as "the highest honor within the gift of student body". He married Marguerite Sanders in 1910 in Wytheville. He also served as the first health commissioner of

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in West Virginia, most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County and ...

from 1906 to 1909. After practicing medicine in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

and his home state of Virginia, Davis served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as a surgeon and medic. He was honorably discharged. He moved from

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, where he managed a Veterans' Administration hospital, to Fort Lyon Colorado in December 1931. In 1933, Davis was managing a Veterans Administration facility in

Fort Lyon, Colorado Fort Lyon is an unincorporated community and U.S. Post Office in Bent County, Colorado, United States. History A post office called Fort Lyon was established in 1862. The Fort Lyon Post Office had the ZIP Code 81038, though the zip code for ...

. He had previously managed a Veterans' Administration hospital, also in Fort Lyons. At the time of the

1940 United States Census The 1940 United States census, conducted by the United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 132,164,569, an increase of 7.6 percent over the 1930 United States Census, 1930 population ...

, Davis and his family was living in

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, adjacent to Chicago. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 26th-most populous municipality in Illinois, with a population of 54,318 as of the 2020 census. Oak Park was first se ...

, working at a "government hospital". Davis died at a New Orleans hospital in 1946.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Eugene 1870 births 1946 deaths 19th-century players of American football American football guards American hospital administrators Physicians from Virginia Virginia Cavaliers football players Virginia Tech Hokies football coaches American military personnel of World War I Players of American football from Charlottesville, Virginia Phi Delta Theta members