Walter Francis "Buddy" Davis (January 5, 1931 – November 17, 2020) was an American athlete. After winning a gold medal in the high jump at the 1952 Olympics he became a professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player.Buddy Davis
sports-reference.com Despite contracting

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

at age nine and being unable to walk for three years, Davis had a standout athletic career at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

and later won Olympic gold in the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, Finland, with a leap of . The

Philadelphia Warriors The history of the Golden State Warriors began in Philadelphia in 1946. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden ...

selected the Davis in the second round of the 1952 NBA draft. He spent five seasons with the Warriors and

St. Louis Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at S ...

, averaging 4.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Davis was Inducted into the

Texas Sports Hall of Fame The Texas Sports Hall of Fame recognizes sportsperson, athletes, coach (sport), coaches, and administrators who have made "lasting fame and honor to Sports in Texas, Texas sports". It was established in 1951 by the Texas Sports Writers Association ...

in 1964 and to the Texas Track and Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2016. Davis died on November 17, 2020, in

Port Arthur, Texas Port Arthur is a city in the state of Texas, United States of America, located east of metro Houston. Part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, the city lies primarily in Jefferson County, with a small extension in Orange County. ...

at age 89.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

Playoffs

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Walt 1931 births 2020 deaths American male high jumpers American men's basketball players Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Centers (basketball) Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Philadelphia Warriors draft picks Philadelphia Warriors players Power forwards Basketball players from Beaumont, Texas St. Louis Hawks players Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball players Texas A&M Aggies men's track and field athletes Track and field athletes from Texas World record setters in athletics (track and field) 20th-century American sportsmen