Scholastic Roundup: The bull remembers Tommy Davis

April 8, 2022 Andy Furman

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Al (The Bull) Ferrara remembers Tommy Davis.

“I played against the great Tommy Davis on the sandlots of Brooklyn,” wrote The Bull. “I played against him when he was with the Bisons, and I was with the Vikings.

“I was in awe of him as I sat at Madison Square Garden and watched him and Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens destroy my Lafayette High basketball team. He was some kind of basketball player for Boys High.”

Herman Thomas Davis Jr., was born in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant section on March 21, 1939. He was an athletic standout for the Kangaroos of Boys High, where he played baseball, competed in the long jump as well as basketball. He was set to sign with the Yankees in 1956 when a phone call from Jackie Robinson changed his mind.

Robinson was playing what would be his final season with the Dodgers that year when he called Mr. Davis’s house and encouraged him to sign with Brooklyn. Scouting director Al Campanis knew Mr. Davis’s mother was a Dodgers fan. “My mother wondered who was calling,” Mr. Davis was quoted in 2019. “I pointed to the receiver and mouthed the words, ‘It’s Jackie Robinson!’ I couldn’t believe I was speaking to one of my heroes, although I don’t remember doing much talking.

“Jackie didn’t have to say anything,” he was quoted in his 2005 book, “Tommy Davis: Tales from the Dodgers’ Dugout. “Just the sound of his voice sold me.”

Davis signed with the Dodgers for $4,000. He spent four years in the minor leagues and played one game for the Dodgers in 1959 before being promoted to the big leagues for good in 1960, the franchise’s third year in Los Angeles after moving from Brooklyn.

While his athletic talents were obvious, a former Brooklyn Dodger batting champion worried Davis might be too nice. The late Pete Reiser, the manager at Class D Kokomo, Indiana of the Midwest League, was not happy when Davis smiled for his publicity photos for his first full season in 1957. “I want him mad at everyone in the world when he goes up there, including me,” said Reiser. In 127 games, Davis batted .357 with 17 home runs, 104 RBI and 68 stolen bases.

He made the all-city basketball team while at Boys High, dreamed of playing in Ebbets Field for his beloved Dodgers but never got that chance; the team had moved to Los Angeles by the time he reached the major leagues in September 1959.

“It broke my heart,” Davis told New York Times sports columnist Arthur Daley in 1962. “I don’t mean I don’t like it in Los Angeles. I do. But….”

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Tommy Davis was the first batting champion in the history of the Los Angeles franchise, winning consecutive titles in 1962 (.346) and 1963 (.326). His 230 hits and 153 RBI in 1962 remain L.A. single-season records. He was a member of three Dodger championship teams in 1959, 1963 and 1965.

Davis played 18 years in the Majors including eight years with the Dodgers from 1959-1966. He was a hit in the Dodgers’ new stadium in 1962 as he won the batting title with a .346 average along with 27 doubles, 27 homers, 153 RBIs. He led the league in hits and RBI.

He followed that up in 1963 by leading the league again with a .326 average with 16 homers and 88 RBI.

In addition to his play with the Dodgers, Davis also played for the New York Mets (1967), Chicago White Sox (1968), Seattle (1960), Houston (1969-70), Oakland (1970, 1971), Chicago Cubs (1970, 1972), Baltimore (1972-75), California (1976) and Kansas City (1976).

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“When I came to spring training in 1959 to play in the lowest classification – D Ball – he (Davis) spotted me with a big hug and says, ‘Hey homie,’ “Ferrara said. He wasn’t afraid to speak up about African-American injustices such as at our spring training complex.”

Ferrara recalls the African-Americans were forced to sit on the grass, and not in the stands. “This was way before it was the thing to do,” Ferrara said, “It was the fight thing to do – he cared.”

The Bull became his teammate in 1963 and said he witnessed the “greatest right-handed hitter I ever played with. You just had to be there to believe it, but it was also that smile that hey baby greeting that set him apart. My sadness today stems from the fact that this champion that has been part of my life for 70 years, I will will never see again as a teammate and friend – both working in the community together. But Tommy – as Whitney sang – I will always love you.”

The 6-foot-2 left fielder and third baseman died April 3rd. He was 83. The Dodgers announced the death but did not give a cause.

The Dodgers had a moment of silence for Davis at their exhibition game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday night. Davis worked in the team’s community relations department until moving to Arizona about a year ago.

Andy Furman is a Fox Sports Radio national talk show host. Previously, he was a scholastic sports columnist for the Brooklyn Eagle. He may be reached at: [email protected] Twitter: @AndyFurmanFSR