Walter Francis "Buddy" Davis (January 5, 1931 – November 17, 2020) was an American athlete. After winning a gold medal in the high jump at the 1952 Olympics he became a professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
player.
[Buddy Davis]
sports-reference.com
Despite contracting
polio
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...
at age nine and being unable to walk for three years, Davis had a standout athletic career at
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
and later won Olympic gold in the
1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...
in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, Finland, with a leap of .
[
The ]Philadelphia Warriors
The history of the Golden State Warriors began in Philadelphia in 1946. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden St ...
selected the Davis in the second round of the 1952 NBA draft. He spent five seasons with the Warriors and St. Louis Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...
, averaging 4.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
Davis was Inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame
The Texas Sports Hall of Fame recognizes athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made "lasting fame and honor to Texas sports". It was established in 1951 by the Texas Sports Writers Association. Once it made its first induction (baseball ...
in 1964 and to the Texas Track and Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2016.
Davis died on November 17, 2020, in Port Arthur, Texas
Port Arthur is a city in Jefferson County within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area of the U.S. state of Texas. A small, uninhabited portion extends into Orange County; it is east of Houston. The largest oil refinery in the United Sta ...
at age 89.
References
1931 births
2020 deaths
American male high jumpers
American men's basketball players
Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Basketball players from Texas
Centers (basketball)
Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field
Philadelphia Warriors draft picks
Philadelphia Warriors players
Power forwards (basketball)
Sportspeople from Beaumont, Texas
St. Louis Hawks players
Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball players
Texas A&M Aggies men's track and field athletes
Track and field athletes from Texas
World record setters in athletics (track and field)
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