SUNY Cortland Athletics

Born in Missouri in 1902, Carl Aaron Davis graduated from Miller (MO) High School. In 1926, he earned a B.S. from Southwest Missouri Teachers College, which for many years presented one of the nation's first student-athlete sportsmanship medals named in honor of Davis to athletes from Greenwood (MO) High. He lettered in baseball, foot­ball basketball and track at South­west Missouri. Davis earned a bachelor's degree in physical education from Springfield College in 1928, where he also was a multi-sport star. From 1928 until 1931, Davis coached football, basketball, baseball and soccer at Catawba College in Salisbury, NC. In 1931, he returned to Springfield to pursue a master's degree. Davis assisted coaching football, baseball and frosh basketball.

In 1932, Davis came to Cortland as an assistant professor of physical education. He remained until his retirement in June, 1965. In 28 seasons as head football coach, Davis had a 102-63-17 record. In 20 years as baseball head coach, his teams were 135-62. As basketball coach, Davis posted an 86-71 record in 10 seasons. He also served as golf coach. At a special retirement dinner, the College named its Out­standing Scholar-Athlete Award in his honor. After leaving the College, Davis and his wife moved to Hendersonville, NC. He passed away on May 22, 1973 in Sarasota, FL, and was buried in Nashville, TN. In 1973, Cortland officially named its football facility Carl "Chugger" Davis Field.

Davis was an Oct. 18, 1978 inductee into the Southwest Missouri State University Athletic Hall of Fame, Springfield, Mo. Carl Aaron Davis was known as the "All-Around Handy Man" at SMS. "Little Carl" was a 5 foot, 8 inch, 155 pounder from Miller, Mo. and was an SMS standout at halfback and quarterback in football and was a basketball stalwart at both guard and forward. He was an All-Conference selection in basketball in both 1925 and 1926. Davis was the Bears' captain in his senior year.

Regarded during his playing days as one of the best athletes SMS ever produced, Davis ran on relay teams in track, threw the javelin and competed in the broad jump. He helped the Bears to four straight MIAA titles in track and was high point man in the 1925 MIAA meet with a first in the broad jump, a tie for first in the high jump with a new meet record, and second place in the javelin. The Carl Davis Medal has been an annual presentation in his honor in track at Greenwood High School.