Ross Davis
Nicknames: Satchel, Satch, School Boy
Career: 1940-1947
Position: p
Teams: Baltimore Elite Giants (1940), Cleveland Buckeyes (1943, 1947), military service (1944-1945), Boston Blues (1946)
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Born: July 28, 1918, Greenville, Mississippi
He joined the Baltimore Elite Giants, from Louisville in 1940 as a twenty-one-year-old rookie pitcher but did not stick with the team. Three years later, still considered a promising youngster from St. Louis, he joined the Cleveland Buckeyes, but military service during World War II intervened. Following his service stint, he played one season with the Boston Blues in the United States League before returning to the Buckeyes for a final season.
Pitching for the 1947 Negro American League champion Cleveland Buckeyes, he compiled a 5-1 record and added one, relief appearance against the Negro National League champion New York Cubans in the Negro World Series.
Baseball Career Highlights:
"I pitched a no hitter in 1940 against the Newark Eagles. I pitched and won against Satchel Paige in 1943 and Dan Bankhead in 1947. Also, I played briefly with Jackie Robinson's All-Stars in 1946."
Professional/Personal Accomplishments:
Since retiring from baseball, Davis has held numerous jobs from taxi driver to assembly line worker to jewelry salesperson. In addition, he has lived in cities from coast to coast.
Awards, Honors, Titles, Championships,
Schools, Colleges:
• U.S. Army Bronze Star as a Medical Technician
• S.W. Pac Baseball All Star Team Pitcher
Sources:
NLBM Legacy 2000 Players' Reunion Alumni Book, Kansas City Missouri: Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Inc., 2000.
James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994.
Ross Davis