Bob Davids

Leonard Robert Davids
Born: March 19, 1926 in Kanawha, Iowa
Died: February 10, 2002 in Washington, DC

Bob Davids never stepped on the field as a player, but the former employee of the Department of Defense changed the way people viewed the history of the game as the founder of the Society of American Baseball Research. He was 75 when he died on February 10, 2002.

Davids' interest in baseball led to a monthly newsletter in 1971 called Baseball Beliefs. Five months later, he called a group of baseball historians to a meeting in Cooperstown and the 16 people who met there formed SABR. Fifteen years later, SABR's membership had grown to 6,000. 

He was also a frequent writer on baseball in the Sporting News from 1960-1975. He worked for the Department of Defense and, later, the Atomic Energy Commission. 

SABR's highest award is called The Bob Davids Award,and SABR chapter in Baltimore-Washington bears his name.

Source: Associated Press