| Spud Davis | |
|---|---|
 Davis on a 1933Goudey baseball 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 runs | 77 |
| Runs batted in | 647 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
As Player
As coach As manager | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Virgil Lawrence "Spud" Davis (December 20, 1904 – August 14, 1984) was anAmerican professionalbaseball player,coach,scout andmanager.[1] He played inMajor League Baseball as acatcher for theSt. Louis Cardinals,Philadelphia Phillies,Cincinnati Reds, andPittsburgh Pirates.[1] Davis' .308 careerbatting average ranks fourth all-time among major league catchers.[2]
Born inBirmingham, Alabama, Davis began hisprofessional baseball career in1926 at the age of 21, playing for theGulfport Tarpons of theCotton States League.[3] After posting a .356 batting average in 27 games for Gulfport, he was sent to play for theReading Keystones of theInternational League where he hit for a .308 average in 137 games during the1927 season.[3]
Davis made his major league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals on April 30,1928 however, after only two games, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies.[1][4] He began as a second-string catcher with the Phillies behindWalt Lerian but, by the end of the1929 season, he had taken over as the starting catcher with a .342 batting average along with 7home runs and 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 Klein in theNational LeagueBatting Championship with a .349 average. His .395on-base percentage was also the second highest in the league.[6] Davis ended the season ranked 25th in the National LeagueMost Valuable Player Award voting, 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] Heplatooned alongside left-handed hitting catcherBill DeLancey, posting a .300 batting average in 107 games on a Cardinals team that became known as theGashouse Gang for their colorful, extroverted personalities.[1][8] The Cardinals won the1934 National Leaguepennant and, went on to defeat theDetroit Tigers in the1934 World Series.[9] In his only post-season appearance Davis played in two games in the seven-game series, with twohits in twoat bats.[10]
Davis had another good season in1935 with a .317 batting average, 60 runs batted in and led National League catchers infielding percentage however, 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 Fame memberErnie 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 in1940 with a .326 batting average in 99 games.[1][4] By1941,Al López, another futureHall of Fame member, 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 in1945 before 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 Frisch resigned in September of1946.[11] After playing with the minor leagueAlexander City Millers in1947 and1948, he returned to work as a coach with the Chicago Cubs from1950 to1953 before retiring from baseball.[3][12][13]
In a sixteen-year major league career, Davis played in 1,458games, accumulating 1,312hits in 4,255at bats for 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 Cochrane all-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 inassists and 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]