by Larry Eder
Early this morning, I woke up, and as is my habit, I checked my email. I saw the following note from TAFWA President Jack Pfeiffer with some sad news. Scott Davis had died on Wednesday, August 18, after contracting an infection in Moncton, Canada.
Scott Davis was one of the sports‘ top announcers and top statisticians. He was responsible for the FAST annual, and the announcing at many of the top meetings in the U.S. and around the globe. If you were at the Rbk Grand Prix, or the Nike Pre, the USA Outdoors, and the
World Junior Championships, you would have heard the dulcid tones of Scott Davis. Scott
Davis loved his family, his life, his friends and his sport. I will miss him.
Scott was also known for his ribald sense of humor. When I heard his laugh in a room, I would walk over, and Scott always, always, had a joke for me, and many of his other friends. He would get so tickled after telling the joke, he would laugh in silence, then it happened. The
laughing would start! Another key to the color of his jokes and the laughter afterwards; the more off color, the more raucous the laughter. My comment always to him, was, ” I love you, man.”
Scott Davis had fought cancer since 1997. We have been lucky to have him for the past thirteen years, and I will miss him terribly. Please keep his wife Cheryl, and family, in your thoughts and prayers.
I have included the thoughtful notes sent out by TAFWA’s Jack Pfeifer and the IAAF:
Jack Pfeifer, TAFWA, sent this out late last night:
To all TAFWA members —
Scott Davis,
one of the founding members of our organization and a tireless track
statistician, announcer, meet director and promoter, died today,
Wednesday afternoon, August 18, at his home in Los Angeles. He was 67. A
genial lion of a man, with a kind word, back slap and funny story for
everyone, Davis was involved in every facet of
the sport most of his life. As recently as this summer, he announced the
NCAA Championships and Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, where he and his
wife, Cheryl, had a second home, and the World Juniors in Moncton, where
he apparently contracted an infection that led to his death. Davis
had dealt with years of chemotherapy, dating to 1997, for several
virulent forms of cancer. He had been awards chairman for TAFWA for many
years. Davis was meet director of the Mt. SAC
Relays for two decades before his retirement in 2007, and was home
announcer for his beloved alma mater, UCLA. He had been
secretary-general of ATFS since 1993, was a co-founder of the FAST
statisticians organization, dating to 1983, and was a dear personal
friend as well.
The IAAF sent out this note:
The IAAF is deeply saddened to receive the news that Association of
Track and Field Statisticians (ATFS) Secretary General Scott Davis
(1943-2010), one of international athletics’ most respected and popular
figures, passed away on 18 August, aged 66, at his Cerritos home at
2:45pm Pacific time.
A cancer survivor for many years, Scott had overcome numerous health
setbacks during the last decade, but had been very ill since returning
from his final announcing assignment at the IAAF World Junior
Championships in Moncton. In and out of hospital for several weeks, he
elected to spend his final days at home in the company of his wife,
Cheryl, and family.
His passing is an immeasurable loss to his family, his legion of
friends, the ATFS (which he served as Secretary General since 1994, as
principal researcher of Volume V of the historical series, and as a
vital supporter of countless statistical efforts), Federation of
American Statisticians of Track (FAST) which he co-founded in 1983 and
led throughout its existence, and to the world of athletics, where his
many contributions will be long remembered.
Scott was, for many, the public address voice of track & field
in the United States, especially at his alma mater – UCLA – where he
was on the microphone for Bruin meets for the past 28 years. More
locally, he was a member of our UCLA football stat crew for more than
20 years and his chair in Suite 302 at the Rose Bowl will remain open
this coming season as a memorial.
One of the announcers at the senior 1999 World Championships in
Seville, Scott became the voice of the World Juniors and Youth
championships for the IAAF in the last decade. Had illness not led to
the cancellation of his trip in the last few days, he would have been
in Singapore at this week’s Youth Olympic Games relaying his passion
and enthusiasm for our sport to the spectators.
With his death
the world of athletics has been robbed of an inspirational figure, a
generous and warm character, who possessed an encyclopaedic knowledge
of our sport.
IAAF offers its deepest and sincerest condolences to Scott’s friends, family and colleagues.
IAAF
Read more: http://www.letsrun.com/2010/davis-0818.php#ixzz0x4F2rikv
