In Memoriam

Jack Davis: one-of-a-kind

By Rhonda Westfall

This is one of the most difficult pieces I've ever had to write. Saying goodbye to a friend is never easy; having the farewell be about someone like Jack Davis makes the task nearly impossible. Perhaps the headline we used on the season-ending article for the 1997 Ovid-Elsie varsity girls team says it best: "Marauder tennis coach Jack Davis is one of a kind."

That's the truth.

You simply can't replace someone like Jack. All you can really do is shed tears for yourself, knowing that a unique individual you've come to value is gone - and mix them with tears of laughter in remembering the amusing anecdotes that revolved around the Coach. And, with 13 seasons as a volunteer and coach for the St. Johns junior varsity boys tennis team and 11 as the Marauder girls mentor, plenty of stories were told.

In a sense, we began our "careers" together back in 1985 - Jack helping out with the Redwing jayvee program and myself as a sports reporter. In 1987 when he started coaching at Ovid-Elsie, Thursday evening telephone calls to the Davis residence became part of a weekly routine that extended into the most recent 1997 championship season.

More often than not, Ruth's lyrical voice would come on the line first, saying hello in her sweet and friendly style before calling for her husband to pick up the extension.

Now, you must understand that getting match results from Coach Davis was not a short, to the point conversation. Mixed in with the game scores for each player were running commentaries on how and why each individual had either won or lost, and humorous tidbits of information - most of which had nothing whatsoever to do with the match itself, but were prompted by some event that triggered a story from the Coach's memory banks.

Right now, I'd give anything to have those weekly conversations on tape. It surely would produce some tears of laughter.

More often than not, the Coach made himself the butt of the joke. He often referred to himself as "Old Ugly," saying that his O-E clubs were made up of "12 pretty young girls - and one, ugly old man." That wasn't true, of course. Coach Davis brought style and grace to the tennis court - and he never grew old.

There's no doubt that the athletes at both St. Johns and Ovid-Elsie played a big part in Jack's youthful approach to life. He loved his players in the best sense of the word - and they thrived on their Coach's enthusiasm.

His record on the court bears that out. From an abysmal 2-10 start when Jack took over the Marauder program, the club worked its way to become a major success story: conference titles in 1993, 94, and 97; regional champs in '94 and runners-up in '97; and the impressive sixth-place finish at the MHSAA State Finals in his last season.

Not bad for a guy who didn't even take up the sport until the early 1970s. Along the way the Coach also picked up some well-deserved honors from his peers. He was named as Regional Coach of the Year in 1993 and '94, and was inducted into the Michigan High School Tennis Association Hall of Fame as the Assistant Coach of the Year in 1992 for the Redwing junior varsity team. At the time of his MHSTCA honor, the Coach's boys teams had compiled a record of 52-8 in dual matches and had never lost a league regular season match. Jack's coaching stats at O-E are equally impressive; 88-36 for his 11 seasons, and an incredible 49-6 record in the past five years. Losing simply wasn't part of the Coach's vocabulary. He often said that he didn't mind a loss - as long as it was the other team that was doing it. "He's a motivator," SJHS varsity boys and girls tennis coach Al Werbish said about his compatriot - and friend, "that's part of the reason behind the success of his teams. He made sure that the motivation was there, and always had a concern for his players." Along with that concern, coach Werbish named three other key attributes that put Jack in a league by himself. "He was a great family man - Ruth, his daughters, Ann and Sue, and his grandchildren were the most important part of his life," Werbish said. "His dedication to his job - whether as a postal carrier or tennis coach - was unparalleled, and his sense of humor made him unique. "Jack was one of a kind." Seems like I've heard that before. I firmly believe that on his 73rd birthday, July 21, 1998, Coach Davis greeted St. Peter with the "Famous Davis Handshake," and promptly joined in whatever tennis match was going on at the time. And, I know he's winning, too.

We love you.