Tommy Davis, who won back-to-back batting titles in 1962 and 1963 for the Dodgers, has died at the age of 83, the team announced Monday.
Davis, who died Sunday night in Phoenix, was a member of three World Series championship teams (1959, 1963 and 1965) with the Dodgers. The Dodgers, who were informed of his death by his daughter, Morgana, did not announce a cause.
He still holds the Dodgers’ single-season records with 230 hits and 153 RBIs in 1962. That season, he hit .346 in 1962 to become the first batting champion in Los Angeles franchise history.
He won the batting title the following season with a .326 average.
The Brooklyn native, who debuted with the Dodgers in 1959 and played in L.A. until 1966, spent 18 seasons in the major leagues. He finished with a .294 average, 153 home runs and 1,052 RBIs in 1,999 games, playing primarily in the outfield but also at third base and designated hitter.
Davis was an athletic standout at Boys High School in Brooklyn, where he was a basketball teammate of future Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkins. Davis also played baseball and was a long jumper on the school’s track and field team.
Davis was set to sign with the Yankees in 1956 when a phone call from Jackie Robinson changed his mind.
Robinson was playing what would be his final season with the Dodgers that year when he called Davis’ house and encouraged him to sign with the Brooklyn organization. Scouting director Al Campanis knew Davis’ mother was a Dodgers fan.
“My mother wondered who was calling,” Davis said in 2019. “I pointed to the receiver and mouthed the words, ‘It’s Jackie Robinson!’ I couldn’t believe I was speaking to one of my heroes, although I don’t remember doing much talking.”
Davis received a $4,000 bonus for signing with the Dodgers.
A happy Davis was smiling in his publicity photos for his first full season in 1957. That had former Brooklyn batting champion Pete Reiser worried that Davis was too nice.
“I want him mad at everyone in the world when he goes up there, including me,” said Reiser, who was managing in the minors at the time.
That season, Davis batted .357 with 17 home runs, 104 RBIs and 68 stolen bases in 127 games.
Born Herman Thomas Davis in Brooklyn, he was the franchise’s first batting champion after the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles. He won consecutive titles in 1962, when he hit .346 and led the NL in hits and RBIs, and 1963, when he hit .326.
Besides his eight years with the Dodgers, Davis played another 10 for the New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, Seattle, Houston, Oakland, Chicago Cubs, Baltimore, Angels and Kansas City. The three-time All-Star retired in 1976.
He had a career .294 average in 1,999 games with 153 home runs and 1,052 RBIs.
The Dodgers held a moment of silence for Davis at their exhibition game against the Angels on Monday night at Dodger Stadium.
Davis worked in the team’s community relations department until moving to Arizona about a year ago.
Besides Morgana, he is survived by wife, Carol, daughters Lauren, Carlyn and Leslie, and son Herman Thomas II.
