Sunday, April 9, 2023

Butch Davis


In his first year listed on BR, when he was 31, he hit .347 with 12 triples, 25 stolen bases, and 52 RBIs in 67 games for the 1947 NNL Baltimore Elite Giants. 

In 1950 he led the M-DAK with a .456 average, getting 78 hits, 18 stolen bases, and 40 runs scored in 42 games for the Winnipeg Buffaloes. 

In 1951 he split his season between the Winnipeg Buffaloes and the Albany Senators of the class A Eastern League. He hit .406 for Winnipeg to retain his M-DAK batting crown, and hit .350 with a .564 slugging percentage and 30 RBIs in 37 games for Albany. He was 35. 

He split 1952 between the EL Scranton Miners (.256 in 38 games) and Toledo/Charleston of the AAA American Association, hitting .319 in 77 games for Toledo/Charleston. 

He returned to the M-DAK in 1955 at the advanced age of 39 for the Minot Mallards and came within two points of a third M-DAK batting title with a .369 average (94-255). He only pinch-hit for the last two weeks of the season due to an injury, and Roy Weatherly was able to slip past him with three hits on the final day of the season to finish at .371 . Roy Weatherly had a ten-year major league career, hitting .286 in 811 games for the Indians, Yankees and Giants. 

Especially considering his age, Butch Davis had a very impressive professional record.

1949 Baltimore Elite Giants with Junior Gilliam

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