Thomas Eugene Davidson (October 4, 1939 – September 1, 2006) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player. He was a left-handed

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

from 1965 to 1968 for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

and

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

. He was called "Ted" after the initials of his first, middle, and last names. After attending

Allan Hancock College Allan Hancock College is a public community college in Santa Maria, California. It offers associate degrees at its Lompoc Valley campus and at nearby Vandenberg Space Force Base. The college is part of the California Community College System ...

Santa Maria, California Santa Maria (Spanish language, Spanish for "Mary, mother of Jesus, St. Mary") is a city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, it is approximately northwest o ...

, he was signed by the Reds as an amateur free agent in 1960 and made his Major League debut at age 25 on July 24, 1965. In a 4–2 Reds loss to the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

at the

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, formerly and also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, was the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas, United States. It seated around 50,000 fans, with a record atte ...

, Davidson relieved Reds pitcher Jim Duffalo with two outs and immediately induced future

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

Joe Morgan Joe Leonard Morgan (September 19, 1943 – October 11, 2020) was an American professional baseball second baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Houston Colt .45s / Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Fran ...

to ground into a double play. In his first game, Davidson pitched 2 innings, giving up no runs and striking out four batters. Apart from one

start Start can refer to multiple topics: * Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports * Track and field#Starts use in race, Starts use in sport race * S ...

during his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

1965 season, Davidson was used as a left-handed relief specialist. After a solid 1966 season, Davidson nearly lost his life in March 1967 after his estranged wife confronted him in a bar and shot him three times with a small-caliber pistol, once in the left abdomen and twice in the right chest. At the time, it was reported that Davidson's wife was to be charged with assault to commit murder. However, the charge was dismissed when Ted Davidson failed to appear in court on two occasions, the last time being April 25, 1967 (at which time both Mary Ruth Davidson and her attorney did appear). Davidson recovered from his wounds and was back playing by June of the same year but his effectiveness was not the same as it was prior to the shooting. He was traded along with Milt Pappas and Bob Johnson by the Reds to the

for Tony Cloninger,

Clay Carroll Clay Palmer Carroll (born May 2, 1941) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that won three divisio ...

and Woody Woodward on June 11, 1968."Pappas Traded in Big Deal for Atlanta Pitcher," ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'', Wednesday, June 12, 1968.
Retrieved April 30, 2020 In 34 career plate appearances, Davidson failed to register a hit, striking out 19 times. He died at age 66 on September 1, 2006, in Bullhead City, Arizona.

References

External links

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Ted 1939 births 2006 deaths Allan Hancock Bulldogs baseball players Atlanta Braves players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cincinnati Reds players Columbia Reds players Industriales de Valencia players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Macon Peaches players Major League Baseball pitchers Palatka Redlegs players Portland Beavers players Richmond Braves players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Baseball players from Las Vegas Tacoma Cubs players Topeka Reds players Tucson Toros players People from Bullhead City, Arizona 20th-century American sportsmen