I believe this is Cleveland, and Davis did pitch in a day game there on Sunday, May 1, 1988. He didn't pitch great - 4 runs (3 earned) in 5.2 innings. He was bailed out by the Bash Brothers, who keyed a 6-run rally in the top of the ninth off the usually reliable Doug Jones to escape with an 8-4 Oakland win.
Lots of great baseball players named George who prefer to be called something else. Davis had a nice career (113-96 lifetime) but he's not in the same orbit as Ruth, Griffey or Seaver. The "Dr. Storm" story is well documented, but nobody says what book she was reading. Davis's mother, Cheryl, was a radio announcer in Jacksonville. Cheryl and her husband adopted future major leaguer Glenn Davis (no relation) when he was a teenager; Glenn and Storm grew up together.
The Storm name story went full circle when Storm Davis pitched for the Detroit Tigers at the end of his career in the mid-1990s. At one game, an expecting couple, the Nortons, saw the pitcher named Storm and decided that would be a great name for their own child. Storm Norton grew up to be a pro athlete in his own right, currently an offensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons.
Had no idea tht Glenn Davis and Storm Davis grew up together. And that tidbit on Storm Norton is pretty cool too.
ReplyDeleteThere's so much cool information in this post. Great research, Bo!
ReplyDeleteDavis' name was well known, but never knew he inspired another athlete's name!
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