Lonnie Davis to be remembered at Wheatley Historic Preservation event

The legendary spirit of the late Lonnie Davis endures in Poplar Bluff and around the country in the people he influenced and mentored.

Davis and the love for his friends, neighbors and community will be honored at 6 p.m. Saturday, June 15, during the program “In Memory of a Legend: Lonnie Davis” at Wheatley Historic Preservation Association, 921 Garfield St.

Former NFL player Eddie Moss is the scheduled keynote speaker. He is a 1967 graduate of Poplar Bluff High School and a member of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

Lonnie Davis is shown in this undated family photo. Photo provided

All proceeds will go to Wheatley Historic Preservation Association. Advance tickets are available for $20 at Rattler’s Grocery and those purchased at the door will be $25.

Larry McClellon of Poplar Bluff calls Davis his best friend and shared an incident in Davis’ life which showed his giving spirit. McClellon recalls one night someone broke into Davis’ club, The Blue Note. After calling Davis and the police, McClellon grabbed a two-by-four to keep the suspect inside until police arrived. The suspect was cuffed and ready to transport to jail when Davis arrived.

“Lonnie asked ‘why break into one of the few places you could go enjoy music?’” McClellon recalled.

The man responded, “I was hungry and did not have any money,” McClellon said. Davis replied, “be in front of this place in the morning” and then asked the police to uncuff him. The man returned the next morning and Davis helped him get a job.

McClellon described Davis as softly spoken and a father figure.

“He was just something else. It was a pleasure to know him. He was a person you don’t forget,” McCellon said.

When Davis was inducted into the Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of Fame in 1984, he was honored for his outstanding basketball career at Wheatley High School where he started and played every game for four years. He led the Tigers in scoring and rebounding. After graduation he played with local independent baseball and basketball teams before signing with the Memphis Red Sox of the Negro League and later joined Chicago American Giants. He was signed by Abe Saperstein to play for Harlem Globetrotters Baseball and Basketball Teams. He played Minor League Baseball with Drummondville (Canada), Darmouth (Nova Scotia), Thomasville (Georgia), Aberdeen (South Dakota), York (Pennsylvania) and finished with Danville (Illinois) where a broken leg ended his career. When he returned home, Davis helped develop many local black athletes.

“To me, Lonnie was a legend and I still remember him fondly,” Retired Daily American Republic Editor Stan Berry said. “He was a strong influence for the youth of this community and someone they could look up to as a role model. Even into his 50s you could still find him on the playground, basketball courts, playing with the kids and in his quiet way offering sage advice.

“I remember going to his visitation at Gus Mason’s funeral home, trying hard not to cry and thinking Poplar Bluff just lost a great man,” said Berry, who also served several years as the newspaper’s sports editor.

Davis’ son Gerald “Jerry” Davis’ reflected about his father saying, “When I think about my dad many words come to mind, tough as nails, funny, hardworking provider, entrepreneur, talented athlete and musician, practical, caring, helpful, groundbreaker, a true friend and although he did not display a lot of open affection, he was also a very loving man. His value to the Poplar Bluff community has been well documented through the various stories that have been told through the years by so many of its residents. His many years of support for the city’s youth and their sports activities are well known. He was truly a larger-than-life individual.”

“It is fitting his name be associated with a fundraiser for Wheatley School,” his son said. “It is a place where he spent his formative years and a place he loved so much. His accomplishments on the basketball court, the ball field and beyond are legendary. Through support of the school, his legacy and that of many others will remain for many years to come.”

Daughters Connie Davis and Sandra Davis also shared thoughts about their father.

“I always considered my father a winner,” Connie Davis said. “Even at the age of 12 he understood the meaning of good sportsmanship. I was told by his old friend, Arthur Black, he was the best marble shooter in town. After beating everyone at the game, he always gave the losers their marbles back.

“It’s great that the community he loved so much hasn’t forgotten the love and support he gave to so many. He would be pleased the proceeds from this well deserved tribute will be donated to The Wheatley School Community Center.”

Sandra Davis said, “My passion for traveling granted the opportunity to interact with a variety of intriguing people, but no one I encountered was as memorable as my father. He wasn’t a perfect man by any standards, but he was a perfect father and role model to many of the children who resided in the close knit north side community of Poplar Bluff. To me my 6-foot, 4-inch tall father was a giant of a man who carried himself strong yet caring. I was always elated to share him with others.

“It’s true Lonnie Davis was an outstanding athlete,” Sandra Davis added. “It’s been said he arrived on the sport scene too early. I tend to differ. I believe his early arrival to the game of sports enabled him to use his experiences in the Negro League, the Memphis Red Sox and the Harlem Globetrotters to help mentor others. My father experienced joy and he felt the pain of defeat and racism, but he was never bitter. He refused to share stories about his inability to eat and sleep with his other team mates due to his race. He felt such negative stories of racial overtones fed into the minds of the youth would be more detrimental to their lives than to the development of their character. I believed then and I believe now that he was correct.”

As a self-taught musician, his love for music was endless, Sandra Davis said. The “sweet sound created from the Lonnie Davis Trio were enjoyed at” various area clubs.

“He felt a positive social life was as essential to a person’s development as a good plate of food. So he established The Blue Note, a safe social environment where children could be entertained and educated on the value of behavior and socializing with others,” she added. “Under the watchful eyes of my father and the parents we were granted the opportunity to sing, dance, shoot pool and eat the world’s best burgers, things that weren’t offered to us anyplace else.”

She added that her father rose every morning happily willing to share it all with his community.

“We all know it takes a village to raise a child, but we also know it takes only one person to realize the value of another. This is what gives our existence meaning. Devotion, to the children, family and his community were the attributes that has given value to my father’s life,” Sandra Davis said.

Davis’ grandson, John Davis, is a disabled veteran of the U.S. Army who lives in metropolitan Atlanta, is enrolled at Georgia State University earning a business administration degree and is studying the ministry at Berean Christian Church.

He remembers his grandfather as a man of God, a community and youth leader, a disciplinarian, a mentor, a caring citizen, as well as a no non-sense person that was full of sarcasm and joy as well as humor.

“My grandfather was a hard worker at all things he encountered, not to exclude athletics and business,” John Davis added. “He believed in Poplar Bluff, just as much as he believed in the people of Poplar Bluff, he never saw color, however he did see work ethic, values, morals, respect, kindness, integrity, honesty, loyalty, just to name a few.”

Recalling his grandfather instilled qualities “you can’t find in a book or magazine,” John Davis said, “I was trained to always work and earn my keep. My grandfather was very strict, in particularly when it came down to punctuality. I was put out of the house for being one minute late for curfew, he said 10 p.m., and he meant that, not 10:01 p.m.

“I kept a job delivering papers for the DAR with Mr. Harold Braden, as well as cleaning Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church on the weekends, and cutting grass throughout the community and the outskirts. We watched a lot of sports and many segments of ‘Sanford and Son.’ An idle mind is the devil’s workshop, but my grandfather made sure that my mind was never idle, and Mrs. Emily Diggs made sure I understood the meaning in junior high. I miss hearing his truck coming down the street, and those delicious cheeseburgers that he made to perfection… long live Lonnie Davis… my hero.”

For those who cannot attend, donations may be sent to the Wheatley Historic Preservation Association, 921 Garfield St., Poplar Bluff, Mo., 63901. The event is planned by Brick House Productions.