John Wilbur Davis (December 7, 1895 in
Merry Point, Virginia
Merry Point is an unincorporated community in Lancaster County in the U. S. state of Virginia.
Verville was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal go ...
– May 26, 1967 in
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is ...
) was a
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), ...
pitcher who played for the
Philadelphia Athletics in 1919. He would later re-establish himself as a hitter in the minor leaguers, becoming a star player at that level. He was nicknamed Bud and Country.
Davis began his major league career at the age of 19, making his debut on April 19, 1919. He spent 18 games with the Athletics that year (all but two of which were relief appearances), going 0–2 with a 4.05 ERA. In 66 2/3 innings, he allowed 59 walks and had only 18 strikeouts.
As a batter, he appeared in 21 games, being used as a
pinch hitter a few times. In 26 major league at-bats, he hit .308 with three RBIs. He appeared in his final major league game on September 23, 1915 – however, that was not the end of his professional career.
From 1916 to 1922 (save for 1919, in which he did not play), Davis was used as a batter and a pitcher, posting a pitching record of 20–13 with a 1.93 ERA in 37 games with the
Augusta Georgians in 1921.
Minor League Statistics
/ref> As a batter he hit .340 in 98 games that year.
Following the 1922 season, Davis switched to playing first base full-time. As a minor league player, Davis hit .331 with 253 home runs, 2,720 hits, 477 doubles and 131 triples in a 19-year career. He played in 2,244 games. As a pitcher, he went 47–49 in 122 games over a span of six seasons.
Following his death he was interred at Williamsburg Memorial Park.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Bud
1895 births
1967 deaths
Philadelphia Athletics players
Baseball players from Virginia
Minor league baseball managers
Newnan Cowetas players
Atlanta Crackers players
Winston-Salem Twins players
Memphis Chickasaws players
Fort Worth Panthers players
Waco Navigators players
Augusta Georgians players
Augusta Tygers players
Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players
Okmulgee Drillers players
Sacramento Senators players
New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players
Dallas Steers players
Reading Keystones players
Nashville Vols players
Baton Rouge Standards players
Raleigh Capitals players
Norfolk Tars players
Joplin Miners players
Bentonville Officeholders players
Bassett Furnituremakers players
Reidsville Luckies players
People from Lancaster County, Virginia