Bio

William Elvin Davis Sr.

Perkinston Junior College (1946-48) / Football, Baseball
Pensacola, Florida

Bill Davis, born July 17, 1928, in Beulah, Florida, graduated from Catholic High School in Pensacola in May 1946. He entered Perkinston Junior College in the fall where he played two years of football and baseball and lettered in both. As a Bulldog pitcher on the baseball diamond, Davis earned the sobriquets "Doc," "Sweet William," "Fireball," "Wild Bill," and "Iron Man." (This may be a Perk record for the number of nicknames assigned to an individual.) On May 6, 1947, Davis pitched the Bulldogs to a South Division victory over the Southwest Junior College Pilots. On May 14 he won both games in a doubleheader against the Northwest Junior College Rangers to take the state baseball championship trophy for Perk. On May 1, 1948, Davis pitched Perk to a South Division victory over the Copiah-Lincoln Junior College Wolves. After leaving Perk, Davis played two years of professional baseball for the Columbia (South Carolina) Reds and the Fitzgerald (Georgia) State League. From 1950-1955 he played on the Pensacola Alumni Semi-Professional Football Team. Davis initiated a career in law enforcement in 1951, which culminated in a 12-year stint (1960-1972) as Sheriff of Escambia County, Florida. From 1973 until his retirement in 1991, he engaged in various law enforcement-related activities and private business ventures. Throughout his career, Davis served the community by coaching Little League baseball and basketball, through volunteer fire department activities, and by sponsoring various church-related activities for disadvantaged children.