May 3, 1921: Joubert “Lum” Davenport becomes the first Tucsonan to play in the major leagues.
Implications from the infamous Black Sox Scandal of the 1919 World Series reached all the way to Tucson in the fall of 1920.
That’s when Chicago White Sox manager Kid Gleason, whose pitching staff had been devastated by allegations that the White Sox had been paid by gamblers to “fix” the series, was told of a teenage pitching phenom in Tucson.
Joubert “Lum” Davenport and teammate Andy Tolson, later the head baseball coach and principal at Tucson High School, had both made the 1920 All-State baseball team.
Davenport enrolled at the UA in the fall of 1920 and joined Kappa Sigma fraternity, but a White Sox scout took a train to Tucson and watched the fast-balling left-hander pitch. He was impressed.
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Once the White Sox made an unspecified bonus offer, Davenport accepted and became the first one-and-done athlete in UA history, although technically, he was none-and-done. He signed with the White Sox and went to spring training with the team in Dallas.
Davenport didn’t take long; he made his big-league debut May 3, 1921, six weeks before his 21st birthday.
The highlight of Davenport’s major league career was almost immediate. Pitching against the New York Yankees on May 19, 1921, he struck out Babe Ruth in the ninth inning.
The Associated Press reported Davenport “struck out three men, including the redoubtable Babe Ruth, world’s heaviest hitter and home run king.”
But Davenport’s baseball career was brief, scuttled by a series of arm injuries. He pitched his last MLB game in 1924 after 25 games and just 58 innings. His career record: 1-4. He kicked around the minor leagues until 1926, winning 14 games for the Double-A Omaha Buffaloes.
In 1922, the Star reported, “There’s no doubt Davenport’s stuff is as good as any southpaw in the major leagues, but the lack of control has retarded his progress.”
He enrolled at SMU, where he completed his college degree work. He made his home and career in Texas.
Davenport’s parents, Tom and Millie Davenport, were among Tucson’s social icons of the early 1920s. Tom was the senior engineer for the Southern Pacific Railroad; Millie was president of the Arizona Children’s Home Association and often held “sewing bee and tea” socials at the family’s residence. Their home, on North Tyndall Avenue, is now occupied by UA student housing.
Where are they now? Davenport, who was a banker, died in 1961 in Dallas and is buried there. His son, David Davenport, was a bank vice president in Austin.
