Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame Coach Dabney C. T. Davis Jr. Passes Away at 91 on January 10

2019 SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE

SPACE COAST DAILY TV: Coach Dabney Davis became the most successful AAU basketball coach in the history of Brevard County with an amazing won/loss record of 270-4. This was a county, state, and national record that has never been broken. He also coached junior high football and basketball. His three-year career won/loss record in football was 18-0, winning three straight County Championships.

During his 30-year career in the Brevard County School system that began in 1956, Dabney Davis served as a social studies teacher, coach, advisor, counselor, business manager, director of vocational studies and administrator at Cocoa Junior High, Cocoa High and Cocoa Beach High.

BREVARD COUNTY • ROCKLEDGE, FLORIDA – Dabney C. T. Davis, Jr., age 91, passed away on January 10, 2021, in Rockledge, Florida.

He was born on March 3, 1929, in Elizabeth City, NC, son of the late Dabney C. T. and Mariam Elizabeth (Odom) Davis, Sr. Graduate of old Orlando High School, class of 1947. He attended the Virginia Episcopal School in Lynchburg for one year.

Mr. Davis’ post-secondary education included the University of Florida (Gainesville) AA degree in 1952, Florida Southern College in Lakeland BS degree in 1954 and the University of Colorado (Boulder) MA degree in 1964.

He did post-graduate work in Guidance and School Administration at Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC and Boston University (Boston, MA).

Mr. Davis served as a 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, serving overseas as Provost Marshal in the 793rd Military Police BN, during the Occupation of Germany following World War II. He also served a total of 10 years in the Army Active Reserve and Florida National Guard.

He was an educator in the Public Schools of Brevard County, Florida for 30 years and a seasonal park ranger for 16 summers with the National Park Service on George Washington Parkway in Northern Virginia.

Mr. Davis was a Special Agent with the Defense Investigative Service, Department of Defense in Northern Virginia and Kennedy Space Center for nine years. He retired in August of 1993 and was inducted into the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in 2019 in the coaching category.

He was a member of Central Florida Sons of American Revolution, Central Florida Phi Delta Theta fraternity alumni, Guardian Ad Litem Brevard Juvenile Court, Vestryman and usher for 50 years at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Volunteer at Brevard Sharing Center, and a member of Veteran’s of Foreign Wars, Post 4534 in Rockledge.

Survivors include his brother Richard T. (Beverly) Davis, Sr., three nieces and two nephews. Summing up his work career he often stated “he did it all and enjoyed every minute of it.” His motto in life was “FREQUENTLY WRONG BUT NEVER IN DOUBT.”

2019 Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame Inductee

Mr. Davis was inducted into the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in 2019 in the coaching category.

He became the most successful AAU basketball coach in the history of Brevard County with an amazing won/loss record of 270-4. This was a county, state, and national record that has never been broken.

A graduate of Orlando High School, he and moved to Cocoa with his family who operated Dabney’s Variety Store in downtown Cocoa.

Coach Davis received an Associate degree from the University of Florida, a Bachelor’s from Florida Southern College and a Master’s Degree from the University of Colorado.

During his 30-year career in the Brevard County School system that began in 1956, he served as a social studies teacher, coach, advisor, counselor, business manager, director of vocational studies and administrator at Cocoa Junior High, Cocoa High and Cocoa Beach High.

He coached junior high football and basketball. His three-year career won/loss record in football was 18-0, winning three straight County Championships.

In basketball, his won/loss record was 35-1, winning three straight Brevard County championships.

Coach Davis was a long-time football official with the Central Florida Officials Association and was a charter member of the Brevard County Officials Association, the forerunner of the Mid-Coast Officials Association.

The Amateur Athletic Association, which was founded in 1928, was a  league for Brevard area amateur athletes. These players as amateurs would be eligible for participating in the Olympics.

Coach Davis became the most successful AAU basketball coach in the history of Brevard County with an amazing won/loss record of 270-4. This was a county, state, and national record that has never been broken.

His teams, sponsored by Brevard Ambulance, averaged a record-setting 110 points per game during the regular season.

The team went on to the AAU National Tournament where they won the first-round game, and despite scoring 104 points, came up short in the second round losing 112 to 104.

Coach Davis’ most famous team, sponsored by the Samoa Lounge in Cocoa Beach, was the only AAU team in the history of Brevard County, State of Florida and Southeastern United States to have a perfect season at 40-0.

The “Headhunters” defeated legendary player and three-time All-American Bob Pettit’s team to win the Southeastern Regional Championship and earned a third straight trip to the AAU National Tournament in Macon, Georgia.

They won the opening game and were defeated in the second-round game by the Armed Forces All-Stars.

The Samoa Lounge Headhunters included Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame alumni Danny Tharpe, Charles “Phil” Smith and Dick Blake; and also outstanding athletes Brooks Henderson, Dick Danford, Jack Wilson, Charles Casey and Fred Johnson.

“I could have coached the Headhunters by telephone as there was an awful lot of very talented athletes on that team,” said Coach Davis.

Coach Davis was selected as AAU state and southeastern Coach-of-the-Year three times. When the Olympics started to allow professionals to participate, the Athletic Union began sponsoring high school sports.

Coach Davis was certainly among the most popular teachers and administrators in Brevard County history and was very proud of the many former students who went on to be successful in many professions.

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