
William E. "Bunny" Davis (1917 - 2001) The grandson of former North Carolina
slaves, William “Bunny” Davis was born June 9, 1917, in Perryville, Ky., which
is in Boyle County. He was the well-known and beloved chief doorkeeper of the
Kentucky House of Representatives for 15 years. Throughout the course of his
life, he broke many racial barriers and achieved great success in sports,
community, career and government. Davis played football, baseball, basketball
and ran relay at Bate High School in Danville, Ky. He was an all-state forward
in basketball and selected to play on the All American Negro High School
basketball team of 1936. It is thought that Davis was the first African American
basketball player to be named All-American. He anchored a championship high
school relay team where he was nicknamed "Bunny Rabbit" because of his great
speed and ducking and dodging ability. He was recognized as one of the fastest
track men in the state, with a consistent 9.7 seconds in the 100 yard dash, and
in his senior year, he was clocked at 9.6 seconds. He played semi-pro baseball
prior to integration. In 1947, he joined the Lexington Hustlers, the first
integrated baseball team in the South. As a semi-professional baseball player in
the 1940s, he played against baseball legends and Hall of Famers Jackie
Robinson, Willie Mays, Satchel Paige and Roy Campanella, Cool Papa Bell and Josh
Gibson. Davis became the first African American to umpire baseball games in the
Southeastern Conference and the Kentucky State High School Tournament. He was
one of the first blacks to call integrated basketball in the Kentucky High
School Athletic Association in Central Kentucky where he earned the rank of
certified official, and, in 1991, he was inducted into the Kentucky High School
Athletic Association Sports Hall of Fame. He was a successful businessman who
was held in high esteem by the Danville and Boyle County communities where he
was city commissioner for 13 years and served as mayor pro tem. He was highly
regarded for his effective advocacy on behalf of Danville and Boyle County
senior citizens, being instrumental in obtaining funding for their 25-passenger
bus, and he could always be relied upon for support during fund-raising efforts.
He was the first black selected to serve on Ephraim McDowell's Board of
Directors, on Danville's United Way Board of Directors, on Danville's Selective
Service Board, on Danville's Policeman's and Fireman's Merit Board, and on
Danville's Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. To show their appreciation
for his lifetime of stewardship rendered to his community, the City of Danville
named its recreation building, "The William E. 'Bunny' Davis Recreation
Complex," in his honor. He is widely remembered for his faithful service as the
doorkeeper for the Kentucky House of Representatives, an office he held for 28
years. For 15 of those years, he served as the chief doorkeeper and was
responsible for a staff of 15. His notable role was to ceremoniously present to
the house speaker and members, important guests and visitors who were then
escorted by staff onto the House floor. He died October 12, 2001.
Click to view or download the poster.
