Spud Davis
| Spud Davis | |||
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| Catcher / Manager | |||
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Born: December 20, 1904 Birmingham, Alabama |
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Died: August 14, 1984 (aged 79) Birmingham, Alabama |
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| MLB debut | |||
| April 30, 1928, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 5, 1945, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .308 | ||
| Home runs | 77 | ||
| Runs batted in | 647 | ||
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As Player
As coach As manager |
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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As Player
As coach
As manager
Virgil Lawrence "Spud" Davis (December 20, 1904 – August 14, 1984) was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Davis' .308 career batting average ranks fourth all-time among major league catchers.
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Davis began his professional baseball career in 1926 at the age of 21, playing for the Gulfport Tarpons of the Cotton States League. After posting a .356 batting average in 27 games for Gulfport, he was sent to play for the Reading Keystones of the International League where he hit for a .308 average in 137 games during the 1927 season.
Davis made his major league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals on April 30, 1928 however, after only two games, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. He began as a second-string catcher with the Phillies behind Walt Lerian but, by the end of the 1929 season, he had taken over as the starting catcher with a .342 batting average along with 7 home runs and 48 runs batted in. That season would mark the first of seven consecutive seasons with batting averages above the .300 mark. In 1933, he finished second to team-mate Chuck Klein in the National League Batting Championship with a .349 average. His .395 on-base percentage was also the second highest in the league. Davis ended the season ranked 25th in the National League Most Valuable Player Award voting, despite the fact that the Phillies finished in seventh place.
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