284:, coached him periodically for a couple years, and gave Mays a chance to play for the Barons starting in 1947, when Mays was just 16. Mays credited Davis for teaching him two important lessons about how to play baseball. Davis encouraged Mays to charge balls hit through the infield, to better position himself to prevent runners from advancing. To help Mays hit the curveball, Davis told him to stand straighter and face the pitcher more in his stance. When the principal of Mays's high school objected to Mays playing professionally, Davis assured him that playing would not take away from Mays's schoolwork—he refused to let Mays make road trips during the school year. Since Mays was so young, Davis also made sure a player looked after him on road trips. "He was a warm man, fatherly, and all the players respected him," said Mays.
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first met Davis while Piper was playing on a team in
Birmingham's Industrial League with Mays's father. He had first caught the eye of Barons' manager Piper Davis in tenth grade, when Davis had Mays try out for the team. Davis encouraged Mays to work on hitting the
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later signed Davis as their first black player, but he never played for the team.
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blocked the deal, believing Davis was too valuable to his team.
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On multiple occasions, Davis came close to being acquired by a
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team. In July 1947, his option was bought for 30 days by the
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372:"Versatile Piper Davis Hopes For One Chance in Majors"
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651:American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
481:Career statistics and player information from
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460:. New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 65.
303:. Sterling Publishing. 2007. p. 1699.
676:20th-century African-American sportspeople
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641:Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players
458:Say Hey: The Autobiography of Willie Mays
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681:Negro league baseball infielder stubs
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529:. You can help Knowledge (XXG) by
325:"Birmingham, Alabama Encyclopedia"
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646:Navegantes del Magallanes players
586:African-American baseball players
606:People from Bibb County, Alabama
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656:Oakland Oaks (baseball) players
611:Birmingham Black Barons players
661:Patriotas de Venezuela players
626:Gavilanes de Maracaibo players
370:Jim Van Hoose (10 July 1949).
301:The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia
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601:Baseball players from Alabama
196:Career highlights and awards
491:Baseball Reference (Minors)
238:ever played, losing to the
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671:St. Louis Cardinals scouts
636:Indios de Mayagüez players
616:Charros de Jalisco players
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222:from 1942 to 1950 for the
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272:Influence on Willie Mays
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621:Fort Worth Cats players
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224:Birmingham Black Barons
181:Birmingham Black Barons
130:Birmingham Black Barons
116:Birmingham Black Barons
183:(1942–1944, 1945–1948)
523:Negro league baseball
456:Mays, Willie (1988).
220:Negro American League
216:Lorenzo "Piper" Davis
205:Negro American League
596:Baseball outfielders
398:Mays, pp. 24, 26, 30
591:Baseball infielders
377:The Birmingham News
85:Birmingham, Alabama
487:Baseball Reference
329:Baseball-Reference
236:Negro World Series
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500:Piper Davis
443:Mays, p. 23
434:Mays, p. 39
416:Mays, p. 28
407:Mays, p. 26
348:Mays, p. 23
277:Willie Mays
23:Piper Davis
570:Categories
489:, or
485:, or
467:0671632922
384:27 January
288:References
61:1917-07-03
495:Seamheads
334:March 16,
282:curveball
259:Tom Hayes
48:Shortstop
450:Sources
164:51–27–1
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230:Career
189:(1944)
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87:, U.S.
70:, U.S.
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110:debut
103:Right
97:Right
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56:Born:
527:stub
493:and
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386:2022
336:2020
305:ISBN
264:The
153:Hits
148:.309
133:1950
119:1942
483:MLB
203:3×
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362:^
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
