Nov. 18, 2016
Despite adversity, Davidson's streak nears 700 straight football games
By Jack Smith
Buddy Davidson didn't have much when he arrived at Auburn in 1957.
But the wide-eyed freshman from Montgomery had all he needed: a footlocker, $100 cash and a letter that would change the course of his life. It was a note written to Coach Ralph "Shug" Jordan from Tom Jones, his football coach at Lee High School.
Coach Jones vouched for Davidson's dependability and urged Coach Jordan to give him a chance to work with Auburn's football program.
Coach Jordan did, and the rest is history. Auburn history.
This is a story about an improbable, probably unbreakable, streak. But it's much more than that. It's a story about history, the shared history of the Auburn Family.
It's also a love story. It's a story about people, relationships and family; about loyalty and perseverance in the face of adversity.
It's about the love affair between Buddy Davidson and Auburn University that began six decades ago. And it's about the unconditional love between Davidson and his devoted wife, Fran, who has been there in good times and bad times.
It's about the kind and gentle soul of the man known as "Buddy D.," and his love for all the coaches and athletes he ever served at Auburn, from Hall of Famers and walk-ons to All-Americans. It's about the hundreds of men and women he worked with in the Auburn Athletic Department, where he spent almost all of his time.
Buddy Davidson is best known for a streak. But his story is not just about a streak or a statistic as impressive as it is.
It's about his love for his family, including his only son, who spent countless afternoons in the Coliseum after school, bouncing from Coach Jordan's office to the pool where Rowdy Gaines trained and the track where Harvey Glance could be found working out. And the equipment room, where he was always welcomed by the staff, or at practice, or anywhere he could be near the man he loved most, his dad.
That's what it's like to be the son of someone who sacrifices so much for his career, but Rick Davidson wouldn't trade his childhood for anything. He relishes every memory.
"It was a great way to grow up," Rick said.
This love story began six decades ago on a hot summer's day when Davidson hitchhiked from Montgomery to Auburn. Dwight D. Eisenhower was president at the time, and the Soviets had just spooked the U.S. with the successful launch of Sputnik into orbit.
The skinny youngster from Montgomery wasn't homesick long, if he ever was at all. He didn't have time to be.
He was quickly hooked on Auburn football and his job as a freshman student manager who worked practice, juggled class and eventually did "stringer" work for three daily newspapers, among other jobs. Later, he would even prepare three meals a day for the team and clean up the housing where players lived, literally running back and forth between each job, proving his dedication and value to everyone, even if he didn't yet know it.
The streak begins
During that magical fall on the Plains in 1957, when he was learning the ropes and getting the attention of Coach Jordan and others as a young man who could get things done, "Buddy D." may have been Auburn's good luck charm.
He attended his first Auburn football game on November 2, 1957. Auburn shut out Florida that day. It was Buddy's 18th birthday.
Davidson worked every game the remainder of the season as Shug's most dominant team went on to win the National Championship. And he hasn't missed a game since.
When Auburn and Alabama A&M kick off after sundown at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday, Buddy will be bundled up in his usual spot next to the press box for game #692. That's 692 straight games attended, home or away. It's the longest perfect attendance streak in Auburn history. It may be one of the longest in the nation.
Retired Athletic Director David Housel, the unofficial custodian of Auburn's rich athletic history, says his good friend's incredible streak may never be broken.
"Most things aren't meant to last forever," Housel said, clutching a warm cup of coffee in his familiar booth at Chappy's Deli, his favorite spot for breakfast and fellowship. "But Buddy's streak may be one of those rare things that does last forever."
Housel's booth is marked by a placard low on the wall bearing the name of his regular post on Facebook, "From the Back Booth at Chappy's." He uses the popular platform to tell stories as only he can about Auburn Athletics, Auburn people, and about life.
Housel and a group old timers, or on some days, young folks who need indoctrination into the ways of Auburn, often gather here for breakfast and fellowship.
Today, they're talking about Buddy Davidson, his loyalty to Auburn, his perseverance during tough times, his positive attitude and his incredible feat of endurance. The streak.
But the streak is just a number; a staggering, amazing number nobody else is ever likely to eclipse.
Those who know Buddy Davidson best say it's not about a number or holding records. They will tell you he's the most selfless man they know. He could care less about record books or newspaper articles.
To him, it's all about relationships, just like it was when he worked in almost every role imaginable at the Auburn Athletic Department.
When his wheelchair gets locked into place in its usual spot next to the press box at Jordan-Hare Stadium, he gets as excited when current staffers like Kirk Sampson or Jeremy Roberts wave or come by as he does when Auburn scores a touchdown. Well, almost. That's why he likes to arrive early. To see his family.
When he bumped into retired Athletic Complex receptionist Brenda Headley in Athens a week ago, Headley nearly teared up. Davidson's face lit up with a bright smile.
'Relationships mean the most'
"The big thing is the relationships," he told veteran sportswriter Phillip Marshall in an interview about the streak in 2013. "They are what mean the most."
Each of the men holding court alongside Housel in the Backbooth at Chappy's say that as incredible as the streak is, Davidson should be remembered for more than an eye-popping perfect attendance record.
They hope he's remembered for the many people he touched through a long and distinguished career in the Auburn Athletic Department. The young man who started in the equipment room and dining hall kitchen eventually worked nearly every position in the department, from Sports Information Director to Senior Woman Administrator in the days before women held that post.
"He was the best Senior Woman Administrator we ever had until Barbara Camp and Meredith Jenkins," Housel said.
He was also a football administrator under Coach Dye. In later years, Davidson did anything he was asked to do just to stay involved, including delivering the penalty cards to each coach after the game, which he gladly did after the Kick Six, when he had to dart out of the way to keep from getting trampled.
"Whatever task or assignment you gave Buddy, you knew it was going to be done right," Housel said. "He has done virtually everything in that department."
When the streak almost ended
His son, Rick, tells a story few know about his dad. The streak almost ended soon after it began.
Money was tight after his freshman year of college, so he didn't show up for school his sophomore year. He was working a road crew back home to save money.
Coach Jordan looked around the first day of practice and couldn't find the young manager he depended on.
"Where's Buddy?" he barked.
As soon as he found out where he was and what he was doing, word was sent to Buddy to come back to campus to work something out.
He ended up serving as team manager while also helping cook three meals a day for the players, even keeping the team housing in order. That often meant he had to hustle back and forth from class to the practice fields to the dining hall, all day every day.
Friends say he never sat still, often running--literally--from one place to another.
"His perseverance on a daily basis is really amazing to me," longtime friend Frances Sanda said. "He's always been like the Energizer bunny rabbit, running around and never getting tired."
A cliché, perhaps, but an apt description for the friend Housel called "Mr. Auburn."
"He was ever ready, and he was always beating the Auburn drum," Housel said.
Both men laughed telling tales about their old friend, including the time he told Dr. Ralph Draughon, president of Auburn at the time, he couldn't stay at practice. Coach Jordan wanted it closed, and Buddy was just doing his job when he marched over to tell the man in a suit he'd been assured was not the president to leave.
Fortunately, Dr. Draughon laughed about it. So did everyone else in on the prank.
Housel said the Energizer bunny analogy does in some ways capture Davidson's contributions to the school he loves almost as much as his family, if he even distinguishes one from the other.
The Heisman Touch
Those familiar with the history of Auburn Athletics and sports media old timers tell the same story: Davidson played a critical role in Pat Sullivan becoming the school's first Heisman Trophy winner.
In those days, before highlights of every game were instantly available all over the country, materials and updates prepared by sports information directors were important.
The year before Sullivan's special season, Housel recalls one school going overboard, to the point it annoyed the media. It was not the Auburn way.
But Davidson managed the process masterfully during Sullivan's Heisman campaign in his humble and effective manner, leveraging his personal relationships built up over years while using his keen ability to sense the mood of the media.
"Pat Sullivan won it, but Buddy managed the process very gingerly," Housel said. "His media effort for Pat was low-key but persistent and very effective. His efforts enabled Pat to be recognized for all that he had accomplished."
Despite all of their friend's accomplishments that earned him a spot on the Tiger Trail on the sidewalks of downtown Auburn, Davidson's friends and family are most inspired by his perseverance through the serious adversity he has faced the past several years, which threatened the streak.
And his life.
Ironically, it happened just days after sports writing great Lars Anderson profiled Davidson and "the streak" on al.com.
"The plan is to keep going as long as I can do it health-wise and it doesn't become a burden to my family," Davidson told al.com. "The day will come when they take my car keys from me, but until then, I'm going to keep going, one game at a time."
Two weeks later, that day came.
The streak stays alive
Davidson's speech slowed to a slur one afternoon. He was suddenly showing possible signs of a stroke but only agreed to go to the hospital if Fran promised he'd be able to attend the next game. She went along with the plan just to make sure he'd get the care he needed.
So off Buddy went to East Alabama Medical Center. A serious situation took a turn for the worse that night. A near tragic turn. He suffered a massive stroke, two full blockages in his carotid artery that could have killed him.
The devastating blockage left his right side essentially paralyzed and his speech badly impaired. While he's made progress in rehab ever since, his voice is hard to understand without Fran there by his side--where she always is--to help translate.
The patient and his son, Rick, may not have paid much attention to the doctor's advice that Saturday following the stroke. But they kept the streak alive.
They were supposed to head straight for a rehab facility in Phenix City from EAMC. Instead, they took a detour to Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Buddy was alive. So was the streak.
While stopping by the stadium under such circumstances may seem unimaginable to some, it didn't feel strange at all to Rick. Or his dad.
"This is just what you do when you're Buddy Davidson," Rick said.
Keeping the streak alive has been challenging at times, especially in the odd years when Auburn's SEC travel schedule is much tougher. Next year, for example, Auburn must travel to Arkansas, Missouri and Texas A&M. It won't be easy on Rick or Fran, who typically take turns taking Buddy to games.
As for Housel the historian, he has no doubt his friend who gave him his first job at Auburn will make it to 700 games, which would happen next year in Baton Rouge, and beyond.
While it's a strain on the family, especially Fran and Rick, it's also a labor of love. They take just as much pride in the number as Buddy does. Besides, it's just where he's supposed to be.
It's a lot of work to make it all come together, especially since Buddy relishes being at the stadium as soon as they'll let him in. The gameday routine is the same every Saturday. Fran helps her husband shower, shave and slip on his best orange and blue.
Much like her husband's days at Auburn years ago, Fran's days can get long as she takes care of her "sweet BD," as she calls him in her routine Facebook posts, which might include a picture of Buddy getting ready for another game one day or her cactus the next.
"My sweet BD is and will be my last true love 'til death do us part," she once posted. "Our love for each other never stops growing..."
In a moving tribute to Buddy and Fran on "The Backbooth at Chappy's" before football season, Housel put it best.
"His life has become her life, her reason for being. She takes care of his every need. She bathes him, dresses him, chauffeurs him and helps him be understood when he tries to speak and the words just don't come out right."
'There's not a better man'
To those who know and love Buddy Davidson, it doesn't matter that the words sometimes don't come out right. They know what's on his heart and his mind when they see him roll into the stadium in his wheelchair.
While they'd all rather have him on the sideline in his usual spot, they're just thankful he's there at all. For those like former manager and current administrator Jeremy Roberts, a close friend of Davidson's for years, words aren't even needed when they see each other.
"He just loves seeing Jeremy and Kirk and all those guys before the games," Rick says. "He's all about the people, and that just makes his day."
Roberts is one of many athletic department veterans who will tell you Davidson is a gifted storyteller who knows more about Auburn football than anyone else. But he and others also say "B.D." should be remembered for his excellent work.
"Buddy is a great man," Roberts said. "He was very organized and meticulous in his work. I learned everything about team travel and organizing trips from him. He checked and double-checked all of his work. He didn't leave anything to chance."
And more importantly, perhaps, he should be remembered for the way he treated people.
"We go on the road now and the hotels and people he worked with during his time at Auburn still ask about him and how he is doing," Roberts said.
Jay Jacobs and Buddy Davidson
Director of Athletics Jay Jacobs has known Davidson since the first day he stepped on the field as a walk-on under Coach Pat Dye. He can't imagine Auburn without him.
"When I think about him, I think about the true Auburn man. He is a guy who is always willing to help and do whatever he can to make Auburn better. His whole life, he has spent caring for Auburn. There is not a better man than Buddy Davidson."
Streak may end, but his influence won't
The streak will end one day. But the influence of Buddy Davidson will last as long as they line up and play football in the stadium not so far from Drake Field, where as a young man he hustled to keep the team equipped, wrote practice notes and quotes for Coach Jordan and somehow found the time to help and encourage countless players.
"As long as we play football here, Buddy's impact and legacy will be felt," Roberts said.
Rick Davidson says the family will have the same meeting prior to the 2017 season they have every year.
"This year I told him, 'Dad, we've made arrangements to go to every game, but it's your call. If you decide by Saturday that you aren't up for it, all you have to do is tell us.'"
This will come as no surprise to those who know Buddy: That hasn't happened yet.
And at least one person isn't ready to count him out next season, regardless of how long and arduous some of the road trips might be.
"This is his home, and these are his people," Rick once told the local media. "This is what you do when you're Buddy Davidson."
Jacobs said the perseverance Davidson has shown in response to the stroke that left him confined to a wheel chair really just revealed his character.
"I always thought his streak was incredible, but now to see how much effort it takes for him to get around, it's just phenomenal," Jacobs said. "It's amazing when you think about it. He's had a stroke, and he still hasn't missed a game. That just shows you how much Auburn means to him."
Saturday will be special for Davidson and his family when he is recognized during the game.
But perhaps more than any recognition that's ever taken place at Jordan-Hare Stadium, it will mean just as much to his other family, the men and women who've worked for Auburn Athletics over generations, including those who still go to work every day to try and live up to the standard of excellence Buddy Davidson set.
"The fact this will be his 692nd straight game despite the challenges he has just shows you how much Auburn means to him," Jacobs said.
"And this gives us a chance to demonstrate just how much he means to Auburn."