Walter C. "Steel Arm" Davis (June 22, 1896 – November 30, 1941) was an American Negro league baseball player from 1920 to 1938. He played for the

Dayton Marcos The Dayton Marcos were a Negro league baseball team based from Dayton, Ohio that played during the early twentieth century. Founding and early years The Dayton Marcos history predates the formal organized leagues of Negro league baseball. As an ...

Detroit Stars The Detroit Stars were an American baseball team in the Negro leagues and played at historic Mack Park. The Stars had winning seasons every year but two, but were never able to secure any championships. Among their best players was Baseball Hall of ...

Chicago American Giants The Chicago American Giants were a Chicago-based Negro league baseball team. From 1910 until the mid-1930s, the American Giants were the most dominant team in black baseball. Owned and managed from 1911 to 1926 by player-manager Andrew "Rube" F ...

Nashville Elite Giants Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

Gilkerson's Union Giants Gilkerson's Union Giants were an independent Negro semi-pro baseball team headed by Robert Gilkerson in the 1920s and 1930s. The team was noted as having played in 1920 and 1930 to 1931. Notable players * Ted "Double Duty Radcliffe" * John Donalds ...

and

Brooklyn Eagles Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behi ...

. During the off-season, Davis often returned to his hometown of

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

, and worked as a porter for many of the local barber shops. In the later years of his career, Davis worked as a playing manager for the Black Missions baseball team in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. The traveling team followed the same traditions of many other

barnstorming Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in ...

baseball teams, playing as far away as Canada, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas and North Dakota. The team also staged exhibitions with

Grover Cleveland Alexander Grover Cleveland Alexander (February 26, 1887 – November 4, 1950), nicknamed "Old Pete", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played from 1911 through 1930 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals. He ...

when he was with House of David baseball team during summer 1938. Known to have a hot temper, Davis was shot and killed by "Red" Merrill after a 1941 barroom brawl in Chicago. Merrill was later captured by police.''Wisconsin State Journal'', Madison, WI, December 17, 1941, Page 20, Column 3
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1896 births 1941 deaths Detroit Stars players Chicago American Giants players Baseball players from Freestone County, Texas Dayton Marcos players People from Freestone County, Texas Baseball outfielders Baseball pitchers Negro league baseball managers 20th-century African-American sportspeople Deaths by firearm in Illinois {{Negro-league-baseball-pitcher-stub