Joe C. Davis, Jr.
| Joe C. Davis, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 15, 1919 Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Died |
November 26, 1989 (aged 70) Nashville, Tennessee |
| Cause of death | Hodgkin's lymphoma |
| Nationality | American |
| Education |
Montgomery Bell Academy Vanderbilt University |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Parent(s) |
Joseph Columbus Frances Bond Davis |
Joseph Columbus Davis, Jr. (June 15, 1919 – November 26, 1989) was one of the most successful American businessman and tennis players of the twentieth century.[1][2]
Biography
Early life
Joseph Columbus Davis was born in 1919 in Cincinnati, Ohio.[2][3] His father was Joseph Columbus.[3] His mother, Frances Bond Davis, was a feminist activist who supported the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution of 1920.[4] He had a brother, Rascoe Bond Davis, and a sister, Bond Davis DeLoache.[4] His family moved to Nashville, Tennessee at an early age.[2]
He attended Montgomery Bell Academy, where he started playing tennis.[2] Davis was implored to come to Vanderbilt by Dr. Tom Zerfoss. He graduated from Vanderbilt University, where he won 35 titles, including three Southeastern Conference championships, between 1936 and 1942.[2][4] He also played on the Vanderbilt basketball team.[2] His father died during his freshman year at Vanderbilt.[2] To support his family, he sold tailor-made suits to fraternities on campus.[3]
During the Second World War, he joined the United States Navy and served as a Lieutenant, participating in the invasions of Sicily, Salerno and Normandy.[2]
Business
From 1945 to 1955, he worked in the coal mining industry under Justin Potter (1898–1961).[1][3] In 1955, he started his own coal mining business, Davis Coals, Inc., focusing on coal fields in Kentucky, like Justin Potter.[2][3][5] Later, he started the Webster County Coal Corporation, which owned the Dotiki Mine in Clay, Kentucky, the most efficient coal mine in the United States at the time.[3] In 1971, he sold his mines to Mapco.[3] It is now owned by Alliance Resource Partners.
He was a member of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.[2][5]
He sat on the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, Montgomery Bell Academy and Vanderbilt University.[2] He played golf at the Belle Meade Country Club in Belle Meade, Tennessee.[1]
Legacy
He died of Hodgkin's disease in 1989.[2] He was inducted in the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1976.[2] The Joe C. Davis Professor of Biomedical Science chair at Vanderbilt University is named for him.[4] His niece, Anne Davis, is married to Karl Dean, the former Democratic Mayor of Nashville.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Jeff Woods, Mixing It Up: In mayor’s race, Briley snipes at Dean and Gentry laughs at Clement, Nashville Scene, April 26, 2007
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Bill Traughber, Joe Davis: Former Tennis Great, Vanderbilt Commodores, April 18, 2007
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Joe C. Francis Foundation
- 1 2 3 4 Doug Campbell, Matriarch of family with close ties to Vanderbilt dies at 105, 6/11/1999
- 1 2 Ken Whitehouse, Two-year-old niece of Mayor Karl Dean killed in Belle Meade accident, Nashville City Paper, February 16, 2012