Introduction
"Curt Davis" was also a pseudonym used by Jack Kirby.
Curtis Benton Davis (September 7, 1903 – October 12, 1965) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. On October 2, 1933 he was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies from the Pacific Coast League San Francisco Seals in the 1933 rule V draft. He played for the Phillies (1934–36), Chicago Cubs (1935–37), St. Louis Cardinals (1938–40), and Brooklyn Dodgers (1940–46). The right-hander was a native of Greenfield, Missouri.
Even though Davis didn't pitch in the major leagues until he was 30, he still managed to have a 13-season National League career. He had quite a list of accomplishments, including winning 19 games as a rookie, 22 wins in 1939, eleven double-digit victory seasons, twice a NL All-Star, and pitching in the 1941 World Series. He had excellent control, leading the league in BB/9IP in 1938 and 1941, and finishing in the top ten in that category ten times.
Other top ten rankings for Davis include wins (4 times), winning percentage (4 times), ERA (4 times), H/9IP (3 times), WHIP (5 times), shutouts (5 times), saves (5 times), games finished (1 time), and oldest player (5 times).
Career totals for 429 games pitched include a 158–131 record, 281 games started, 141 complete games, 24 shutouts, 111 games finished, 33 saves, and an ERA of 3.42 in 2325 innings pitched.
After pitching one game in the 1946 season (April 28), he was released by Brooklyn three days later.
Davis died at the age of 62 in Covina, California.
Trivia
- Davis was one of the Cubs players involved in the 1938 trade which brought Dizzy Dean over from the Cardinals.
- His nickname was "Coonskin."