# Crash Davis
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{{short description|American baseball player (1919–2001)}}
{{About|the baseball player|the movie character named for him|Bull Durham}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{No footnotes|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Crash Davis
|image=Crash Davis.jpg
|position=[Second baseman](/source/Second_baseman)
|birth_date={{Birth date|1919|7|14}}
|birth_place=[Canon, Georgia](/source/Canon%2C_Georgia), U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|2001|8|31|1919|7|14}}
|death_place=[Greensboro, North Carolina](/source/Greensboro%2C_North_Carolina), U.S.
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=June 5
|debutyear=1940
|debutteam=[Philadelphia Athletics](/source/Philadelphia_Athletics)
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=September 20
|finalyear=1942
|finalteam=[Philadelphia Athletics](/source/Philadelphia_Athletics)
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[Batting average](/source/Batting_average_(baseball))
|stat1value=.230
|stat2label=[Home run](/source/Home_run)s
|stat2value=2
|stat3label=[Runs batted in](/source/Runs_batted_in)
|stat3value=43
|teams=
*[Philadelphia Athletics](/source/Philadelphia_Athletics) ({{Baseball year|1940}}–{{Baseball year|1942}})
}}
'''Lawrence Columbus''' "'''Crash'''" '''Davis''' (July 14, 1919 – August 31, 2001) was an American professional [baseball](/source/baseball) player whose name inspired that of the main character of the [1988](/source/1988_in_film) movie ''[Bull Durham](/source/Bull_Durham)''.
==Early life and baseball career==
Born in [Canon, Georgia](/source/Canon%2C_Georgia), and raised in [Gastonia, North Carolina](/source/Gastonia%2C_North_Carolina), Davis earned the nickname "Crash" at age 14, when he collided with a teammate when chasing down a fly ball.
In 1935, Davis was a member of the Gastonia Post 23 [American Legion](/source/American_Legion_Baseball) baseball team that won the American Legion national championship.[{{cite news |title='Crash' Davis; Ballplayer Inspired 'Bull Durham' |agency=[Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press) |via=[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times) |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-sep-04-me-41927-story.html |date=September 4, 2001 |access-date=October 30, 2025 }}] As a member of [Gastonia High School](/source/Gastonia_High_School)'s baseball team, he helped them in winning the 1937 [North Carolina](/source/North_Carolina_High_School_Athletic_Association) Class A state title.[{{cite web |author= |url=https://www.diamondsinthedusk.com/uploads/articles/409-DAVIS_Crash.pdf |title=Crash Davis, 'Fact and Fiction' |date=October 27, 2019 |access-date=October 30, 2025 |website=Diamonds in the Dusk }}][{{cite web |author= |url=https://www.nchsaa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/BASE-State-Champion-List-013023.pdf |title=Baseball State Championships |date=January 30, 2023 |access-date=October 30, 2025 |website=North Carolina High School Athletic Association }}]
He played collegiate baseball at [Duke University](/source/Duke_University), where he excelled as a middle infielder and was captain of the baseball team. He was also a member of the [Chi Phi](/source/Chi_Phi) fraternity.{{citation needed|date=October 2025}}
After graduating from Duke, Davis played three seasons for the [Philadelphia Athletics](/source/Philadelphia_Athletics), batting .230 in 148 games.
==Later life==
He was drafted into the United States Navy in 1942 amid World War II, and was assigned to [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University), where he helped run the [NROTC](/source/NROTC) program. Davis also coached Harvard's baseball and [squash](/source/Squash_(sport)) teams. His rate was Chief Petty Officer (Athletic Specialist). His main post was at the entrance to [Eliot House](/source/Eliot_House).
When he was discharged from the Navy in 1946, Davis returned to [Durham](/source/Durham%2C_North_Carolina) to begin graduate school at Duke and play for the [Durham Bulls](/source/Durham_Bulls), then a part of the [Carolina League](/source/Carolina_League). Davis would play in the minor leagues, with teams including the [Reidsville Luckies](/source/Reidsville_Luckies) and the [Raleigh Capitals](/source/Raleigh_Capitals), until 1952.
After ''[Bull Durham](/source/Bull_Durham)'' was released, Davis became a minor celebrity. He befriended the director of the film, [Ron Shelton](/source/Ron_Shelton), and Shelton gave him a bit part in his movie ''[Cobb](/source/Cobb_(film))'' about controversial baseball player [Ty Cobb](/source/Ty_Cobb).
Sometime during the mid 1950s, Davis began working for the textile conglomerate Burlington Industries at their Gastonia Plant and advanced to become the Personnel Manager for the Domestics Division in Greensboro, North Carolina, until his retirement in the mid-1980s.
== Death ==
Davis died on August 31, 2001, from complications of [stomach cancer](/source/stomach_cancer), at the age of 82.[{{Cite news |last=Goldstein |first=Richard |date=2001-09-04 |title=Crash Davis, 82, 'Bull Durham' Model, Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/04/sports/crash-davis-82-bull-durham-model-dies.html |access-date=2024-07-04 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{baseballstats|mlb=113124|espn=20781|br=d/daviscr01|fangraphs=1003042|brm=davis-003law|retro=D/Pdavic101}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120204075934/http://philadelphiaathletics.org/history/crashdavis.htm The Legend of the Real Crash Davis] Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20010923162521/http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/crash0908.html Remembering Crash Davis] at Baseball America
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Crash}}
Category:1919 births
Category:2001 deaths
Category:Duke Blue Devils baseball players
Category:Philadelphia Athletics players
Category:20th-century American sportsmen
Category:Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state)
Category:Baseball players from Philadelphia
Category:Major League Baseball second basemen
Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II
Category:Lawrence Millionaires players
Category:Pawtucket Slaters players
Category:Durham Bulls players
Category:Raleigh Capitals players
Category:Reidsville Luckies players
Category:People from Franklin County, Georgia
Category:Baseball players from Gastonia, North Carolina
Category:Deaths from stomach cancer in North Carolina
Category:Harvard Crimson baseball coaches
Category:Harvard Crimson men's squash
Category:Lowell Orphans players
---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Crash Davis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crash_Davis) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crash_Davis?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.