Harper Davis

Harper Davis
Biographical details
Sport(s)	Football
Born	(1925-12-11) December 11, 1925 Clarksdale, Mississippi
Playing career
1945–1948	Mississippi State
1949	Los Angeles Dons
1950	Chicago Bears
1951	Green Bay Packers
Position(s)	Defensive back
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1953	West Point HS (MS)
1955	Columbus Lee HS (MS)
1956–1963	Mississippi State (assistant)
1964–1988	Millsaps
1990–2006	Jackson Academy (MS) (assistant)
Head coaching record
Overall	136–81–4 (college)

Julius Harper Davis, Jr. (born December 11, 1925) is a former American football player and coach. He played professionally as a defensive back in the All-America Football Conference and the National Football League (NFL). Davis served as the head football coach at Millsaps College from 1964 to 1988, compiling a record of 136–81–4.^[1]

College career

Davis played college football at Mississippi State University from 1945 until 1948. He was the Bulldogs leading scorer in 1945, '47, '48 and was named MSU Best Athlete three years in a row 1946-48. Davis was named to the AP All-SEC team and the UPI All-South team in 1945 and the College All-Star Game in 1949.^[2]

Professional career

He was drafted in the second round of the 1949 NFL Draft by the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers but played that year for the Los Angeles Dons of the All-America Football Conference. Following the 1949 season the AAFC merged with the NFL and all but three of the ten AAFC teams were disbanded the 49ers, Browns, and Colts joined the NFL). The players from the disbanded teams entered a dispersal draft and Davis was the first round selection of the Chicago Bears.^[3] Davis spent one season in Chicago and led the team in interceptions with 5.^[4] Davis left Chicago and spent the following season as a member of the Green Bay Packers during the 1951 NFL season.^[5]^[6]

Coaching career

Davis began his coaching career as the head coach at West Point High School in West Point, Mississippi. After one season at West Point he took the head coaching job at Columbus Lee High School in Columbus, Mississippi. after spending a single season as the coach of the Lee Generals, Davis returned to his Alma Mater, Mississippi State, and served as an assistant from 1956 through 1963. Davis left MSU to take over as the head coach at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. As the head coach at Millsaps he complied an overall record of 136-81-4^[7] in 25 seasons including an undefeated 9-0 season in 1980. He also led the Majors to their first Division III playoff appearance in 1975. Davis retired from Millsaps following the 1988 season.^[8] After his retirement he served as an assistant coach at Jackson Academy in Jackson, Mississippi.^[9]

Honor and awards

AP All-SEC 1945
UPI All-South 1945
Mississippi State University Best Athlete 1946-48
Mississippi State University Sports Hall of Fame 1974
Mississippi Sportsman of the Year in 1976
Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame 1980
Millsaps Sports Hall of Fame 1989
Harper Davis Field, home of the Millsaps Majors football, soccer, and lacrosse teams was named in his honor in 2004^[10]^[11]
He has been honored nationally for his contributions to the sport of football and his work with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.^[12]

References

External links

Harper Davis at Pro-Football-Reference.com

Millsaps Majors head football coaches

Unknown (1900)
No team (1901–1919)
W. P. Bales (1920)
Ewing Y. Freeland (1921)
H. F. Zimoski (1922–1927)
Edwin Hale (1928–1930)
Tranny Lee Gaddy (1931–1938)
Henry Louis Stone (1949–1941)
No team (1942–1943)
B. O. Van Hook (1944)
No team (1945)
Doby Bartling (1946–1950)
Sammy Bartling (1951–1957)
Marvin G. Smith (1958–1960)
Flavious J. Smith (1961)
Bill Dupes (1962)
Ray Thornton (1963)
Harper Davis (1964–1988)
Tommy Ranager (1989–1995)
Ron Jurney (1996–1999)
Bob Tyler (2000–2002)
David Saunders (2003–2005)
Mike DuBose (2006–2009)
Aaron Pelch (2010– )

SEC Football Legends

Alabama Crimson Tide	Jordan Gilmer Neighbors Hannah Rast Musso Stephenson Namath Mancha Castille C. Bennett Sloan Stabler Langham Starr Baumhower Griffin Homan Crane M. Lyons

Arkansas Razorbacks	Alworth Ferguson Dicus Benton Cl. Scott Montgomery Cavaness Atwater L. Phillips Way. Harris Marshall Grovey Hatfield B. Smith G. Anderson Broyles L. Harris Summerall W. Martin

Auburn Tigers	Newton Bo Jackson Sullivan Rocker Frederickson Cribbs Z. Smith Burkett Danley Kolen Beasley Wallace J. Phillips Dyas Del Greco Riggins Rice Carr McClinton Owens Sanders

Florida Gators	Alvarez Youngblood Bell Reaves N. Anderson Moore Cameron Richardson Culpepper Lar. Smith L. Brown Armstrong Oliver Ortega Anthony Rhett Carter I. Hilliard Tannen Chandler Tebow

Georgia Bulldogs	Tarkenton Walker Trippi Stanfill Hoage Rauch Butler T. Lyons Woerner Patton Stinchcomb M. Wilson Bratkowski Hearst Robinson Zeier Zambiasi Bailey Greene Worley

Kentucky Wildcats	Parilli Ramsey W. Jones Claiborne Gain Meilinger Michaels Ball Still Dawson Blanda W. Bryant Van Note Seiple Kovach I. Goode Couch Bird S. Collins Hackett

LSU Tigers	Cannon J. Taylor D. Hilliard Alexander B. Jones Stovall Winston Hodson M. Anderson E. Martin Dietzel Tittle Casanova M. Brooks Lan. Smith W. Davis Miller Bevan Mawae Faulk

Mississippi State Bulldogs	Baker Webb Corhern Freeman Cooks Lewis Hull Felker H. Davis Keys A. Davis Fortunato Stacy T. Goode Bi. Jackson Way. Harris Moulds Neville Wal. Harris G. Collins

Missouri Tigers	Roland Bradley Winslow Wehrli

Ole Miss Rebels	Conerly A. Manning B. Poole Vaught Dottley C. Flowers Khayat R. Poole B. Williams Adams A. Brown Townsend Gibbs Walls Lear Franklin Lindsay McAllister Griffing Herrod

South Carolina Gamecocks	Rogers Hawkins Sharpe Ellis B. Bryant Sanford Green R. Brooks Grantz D. Harris Reeves Muir W. Scott Staley Brad Edwards Suggs Provence B. Bennett Simpson Runager

Tennessee Volunteers	B. Johnson Atkins Holloway P. Manning Michels R. Flowers Kiner DeLong Morgan White J. Majors Emanuel Seivers Kell Gault Shuler Dickey A. Wilson B. Majors Price I. Johnson

Texas A&M Aggies	Bean Crow Green Nguyen

Vanderbilit Commodores	Bill Wade Asher Hall Curtis Horton Werckle Rich Wolford Jim Arnold W. Taylor Mitchell Gaines E. Jones Ch. Scott Quarles Duncan Chavous C. Harris Hillenmeyer J. Williams

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