John Ryland "Twenty Percent" Davis (June 12, 1882 – August 16, 1947) was an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

player. Davis was known as "Twenty percent" because he was considered twenty percent of the team's worth.

Georgia Tech

Davis was a tackle and halfback for

John Heisman John William Heisman (October 23, 1869 – October 3, 1936) was a player and coach of American football, baseball, and basketball, as well as a sportswriter and actor. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College, Buchtel College ...

's Georgia Tech Golden Tornado of the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

. He was inducted into the Tech Athletic Hall of Fame in 1958. The large Davis carried the bass drum on his back in a parade through Griffin, Georgia for the Georgia Tech Glee Club.

1908

Davis was selected All-Southern in 1908. Vanderbilt coach Dan McGugin wrote, "He has one glaring fault—a tendency to tackle around the eyebrows. Otherwise he is a splendid foot ball man. He weighs two hundred pounds, is never hurt, never fumbles, bucks a line hard and furnishes excellent interference. He was the strength and stay of Tech."

1909

He was captain of the 1909 team.

References

American football tackles American football halfbacks Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football players All-Southern college football players 1882 births 1947 deaths Sportspeople from Williamsburg, Virginia Players of American football from Virginia {{collegefootball-player-stub