Former Gophers baseball great Bill Davis dies at age 80

The former Richfield High School standout also played college basketball before appearing in the major leagues with Cleveland and San Diego.

January 15, 2023 at 4:01AM
April 21, 1964 Bill Davis. Hitting . 318 1B-P 19, 6-6, 210 lbs, So. Home: Richfield, Minn. January 24, 1963 June 4, 1964 University of Minnesota
Bill Davis helped the Gophers baseball team to the 1964 College World Series championship and later appeared in the big leagues. (University of Minnesota/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Bill Davis, who lettered in basketball and baseball for the Gophers and was a member of the Gophers team that won the 1964 College World Series, died on Friday. He was 80.

The 6-foot-7 Davis batted .350 and hit six home runs as the Gophers first baseman in 1964 and made the CWS all-tournament team. Following the season, he was awarded the Big Ten Medal of Honor, recognizing a player in the graduating class of each school for academic and athletic success.

After college, Davis played professional baseball for five seasons. He spent parts of three seasons in the major leagues, appearing in 64 games with the Cleveland Indians (1965-66) and the expansion San Diego Padres (1969).

Davis' one major league home run was a noteworthy one: Pinch hitting for Larry Brown with two out and a runner on first in the bottom of the 10th inning against the California Angels, he hit a walkoff shot off Jack Sanford to lift Cleveland to an 8-7 victory on Sept. 9, 1966.

Davis was born on June 6, 1942, in Graceville, Minn. — also the birthplace of former Twins manager Tom Kelly — and would become a standout athlete at Richfield High School.

As a senior in 1960, Davis led Richfield to the boys basketball state tournament. He scored 26 points in a semifinal overtime loss to eventual champion Edgerton in front of 18,812 fans at Williams Arena.

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Joel Rippel

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Joel Rippel writes about sports for the Star Tribune.

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