By Anna Grace Moore
Photos Contributed
Always stay humble and kind were words Alabaster (Siluria) native and San Francisco Giants player James “Jim, Peanut” Davenport lived by. The legendary third baseman was called home to heaven on Feb. 18, 2016, at 82 years old.
Growing up, Jim was incredibly athletic and charming–known to all as a charismatic personality with a resounding love for his friends. Jim attended Thompson High School, where he played football and baseball.
There, he captured the attention of his high school sweetheart, Betty, and the two tied the knot in 1951 after Jim graduated. They enjoyed 64 years of joyful union together.
“My dad lived a very rich life,” Donnie Davenport says. “He was a great dad.”
Today, the Thompson High School baseball stadium sports Jim Davenport’s moniker. Birmingham residents have also enjoyed Davenport’s Pizza Palace–created by Jim’s childhood friend Rex Hollis in Jim’s honor–in Mountain Brook Village since 1964.
All around Alabama, Jim’s legacy lives on. Yet, among all his accolades, it is his love for others that defines his memory most.
In a 2010 interview with the Shelby County Reporter, Jim expressed his sentiments for the stadium being named after him.
“It’s a great honor,” Jim says in the interview. “I had so many great years there. I’ll always thank them for what they’ve done for me.”
After graduating from high school and getting married, Jim tried to play football at the University of Alabama, but the college refused, citing a rule against signing players who were married. Jim never let this setback dull his spirits.
Instead, Jim signed to play football and baseball at the University of Southern Mississippi in 1952. The Crimson Tide’s loss became the Golden Eagles’ gain as Jim–then quarterback–led Southern Miss to defeat the Tide in 1953 (25-19) and 1954 (7-2). During his collegiate baseball career, Jim also played shortstop and second base.
Jim’s athleticism spoke for him as in his senior season, he batted .439, which led him to sign a free agent contract with the San Francisco Giants. Jim made his Major Leagues debut on April 15, 1958, at just 24-years-old.
That year, which was the team’s first-ever year in San Francisco, Jim played 134 games that included 111 hits of which 12 were home runs. Jim batted 41 runs, earning an overall batting average of .256
Notably, he was the first at bat for the Giants’ first game in San Francisco. Jim played for the Giants from 1958-1970, recording over his 13-year-long career a total of 1,501 games.
Jim was a career .258 hitter, making the All-Star team in 1962. He was also the recipient of a Gold Glove award that year.
“When we were growing up as kids, we would take [the Gold Glove] off the mantle, and we would go out in the backyard and play catch with it,” Donnie says, chuckling. “We’d put it back on the mantle, making it look like nothing ever happened to it.”
Jim had a career high that season in ‘62, when he helped the Giants advance to the World Series. Although the Giants lost 1-0 to the New York Yankees in Game 7, Jim was so excited to be a part of such an outstanding team.
At the time of his retirement, Jim held the record for most games played at third base for the Giants–1,130. From 1959-61, Jim’s fielding percentage was unmatched.
From 1966-68, he played third base in 97 games back-to-back without error. This record was held until the 1990s. In 1968, Jim was inducted into the Southern Mississippi Hall of Fame.
Donnie remembers being a young boy, attending baseball games with his father. Then, he did not quite fathom just how inspirational his father had become.
Donnie recalls walking into the stadium as fans lined the fences, calling for Jim, cheering his name and waving. Jim would always sign autographs for the fans, but he never let fame affect his humility.
In a time where the county was torn politically, Jim never saw color. In fact, some of his best friends were people of color such as his teammate, Willie Mays.
“You don’t think about these great players–Mays, Marichal, McCovey–as famous,” Donnie says of his perspective as a child. “You just think of them as players that my dad played with. He would just talk to them like anything else. Mays was a very funny guy. He would put his arm out and say, ‘Come over here! You can do a pull up on my arm!’”
Donnie grew up in the Giants’ clubhouse, both literally and figuratively looking up to some of the nation’s greatest baseball players. Jim loved his job, but he enjoyed even more the memories he got to make with his kids during his career.
“In the off-season, he would always come back here to visit his family,” David Nolen, the Shelby County Historical Society Museum & Archives’ board president, says. “He would make it a point to meet with youth groups to talk to them about baseball and his experiences. For a young kid to meet a major league baseball player, it was exciting. It was good that he would give of himself his time to do that.”
Sure enough every summer, Jim would return home to Shelby County, Alabama, to visit his family. As one of 10 kids–a total of six boys and four girls–Jim prided family above all else.
After retiring from playing, Jim worked for the Phoenix Giants from 1971-1973, where he was a manager for the minor league feeder team. Jim then briefly coached the San Diego Padres for two years before returning as a third-base coach for the Giants in 1976.
In 1983, Jim was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. In 1985, he received the opportunity to manage the Giants, but after a 56-88 season, he was replaced by Roger Craig.
In the years that followed, Jim worked as one of the coaches for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1986, the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians) in 1989 and the Detroit Tigers in 1992. Later on, Jim coached the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies during the team’s inaugural season in 1998.
Towards the end of his life, Jim worked in the Giants’ front office in various positions, eager to serve the team that he so loved.
“I owe the Giants everything,” Jim says in the 2010 interview. “They’ve been great to me and my family.”
In 2006, Jim was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, making this honor his third hall of fame recognition. Despite being highly decorated, Jim’s proudest moment was getting to invest in his children over their lives, watching them grow up and accomplish their dreams.
Jim’s youngest son, Gary Davenport, had a successful career playing minor league baseball for the Giants’ organization, even becoming a coach in the minor league system in 2004.
Looking back on his father’s accomplishments, Donnie says baseball will always be a part of his dad’s legacy here in Shelby County, San Francisco and beyond. On a deeper level, he hopes his dad will be remembered by his love for his family.
It takes incredible talent to become one of the greatest of all time, but it is one’s actions–his character–of which he is remembered. An icon with a giant’s heart, Jim Davenport will forever be remembered as a wonderful baseball player and friend–a man whose love for the game was only topped by his love for other people.
