One of the finest clay court tennis players ever to come out of the southeast, Nashville’s Joe Davis had a stellar competitive career which lasted over fifty years. He attended Central High School and graduated from Montgomery Bell Academy, where he was Mid-South prep singles and doubles champion as well as being an All-Nashville basketball player. In 1936 Davis came under the tutelage of famed tennis pro Emmett Pare. A year later, he won the National Prep Singles Championship at Gamblier, Ohio. Obviously a highly touted prospect, Davis decided to stay in Nashville and attend Vanderbilt University. From 1939 to 1941 he was in top form as Vanderbilt’s number one netter, winning three SEC championships. Those same years, Davis also won the Nashville city and Tennessee state singles titles. During his college career, he lost only one match in SEC play. As an impressive side note, Davis was also a Commodore varsity basketball player for three years. As late as 1948, Davis won the Tennessee State Singles Championship, along with many doubles titles, and he continued to compete in tournaments until 1970. Highly successful as an owner and operator of coal mines, Davis took success to heart on and off the court.
