Lorenzo "Piper" Davis (July 3, 1917 – May 21, 1997) was an American professional baseball player who played in the

Negro American League The Negro American League was one of the several Negro leagues created during the time organized American baseball was segregated. The league was established in 1937, and disbanded after its 1962 season. Negro American League franchises :''An ...

from 1942 to 1950 for the

Birmingham Black Barons The Birmingham Black Barons were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1920 until 1960. They shared their home field of Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, with the white Birmingham Barons, usually drawing larger crowds and equal pres ...

. His nickname was the name of the mining town he was from.

Career

Davis was the manager of the Black Barons in the late 1940s, including 1948, when they played in the last

Negro World Series The Negro World Series was a post-season baseball tournament that was held from 1924 to 1927 and from 1942 to 1948 between the champions of the Negro leagues, matching the mid-western winners against their east-coast counterparts. The series was a ...

ever played, losing to the

Homestead Grays The Homestead Grays (also known as Washington Grays or Washington Homestead Grays) were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro league baseball, Negro leagues in the United States. The team was formed in 1912 in sports, 1912 by Cumb ...

. On multiple occasions, Davis came close to being acquired by a major league team. In July 1947, his option was bought for 30 days by the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

, but the club failed to exercise the option. In 1949, the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

attempted to purchase his contract, but Birmingham owner Tom Hayes blocked the deal, believing Davis was too valuable to his team. The

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

later signed Davis as their first black player, but he never played for the team.

Influence on Willie Mays

Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid" and "Buck", is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Regarded as one of the greatest players ever, Mays ranks second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-tim ...

first met Davis while Piper was playing on a team in Birmingham's Industrial League with Mays's father. He had first caught the eye of Barons' manager Piper Davis in tenth grade, when Davis had Mays try out for the team. Davis encouraged Mays to work on hitting the

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

, coached him periodically for a couple years, and gave Mays a chance to play for the Barons starting in 1947, when Mays was just 16. Mays credited Davis for teaching him two important lessons about how to play baseball. Davis encouraged Mays to charge balls hit through the infield, to better position himself to prevent runners from advancing. To help Mays hit the curveball, Davis told him to stand straighter and face the pitcher more in his stance. When the principal of Mays's high school objected to Mays playing professionally, Davis assured him that playing would not take away from Mays's schoolwork—he refused to let Mays make road trips during the school year. Since Mays was so young, Davis also made sure a player looked after him on road trips. "He was a warm man, fatherly, and all the players respected him," said Mays.Mays, p. 23

References

Sources

External links

an
SeamheadsPiper Davis
at SABR Biography Project 1917 births 1997 deaths African-American baseball players Baseball infielders Baseball outfielders Baseball players from Alabama People from Bibb County, Alabama Birmingham Black Barons players Charros de Jalisco players Fort Worth Cats players Gavilanes de Maracaibo players Homestead Grays players Indios de Mayagüez players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Patriotas de Venezuela players Scranton Miners players St. Louis Cardinals scouts 20th-century African-American sportspeople {{Negro-league-baseball-infielder-stub