Mr. Clinton Arrow: Danny Davis

Written by Nash Nunnery

Danny Davis being interviewed before the 2016 CHS vs. Brandon game

Danny Davis is as synonymous with Clinton High School football as the iconic arrowhead logo and remains a significant thread of the fabric that defines the proud history of the Arrows program.
For the past 41 seasons, Davis has served as the distinctive voice behind the press box mike at historic Roy Burkett Field and now Arrow Field. But that’s not all – the talented Texas native also has been the Arrows football beat writer, cranking out game stories over the years for both the now-defunct Clinton News and the current Clinton Courier newspapers. Wait, there’s more. The dulcet-toned Davis also is the Hinds Community College football PA announcer and was behind the mike for the Mississippi High School Activities Association state football championships for a decade. But Davis is a walking, talking data bank of CHS football.

In the eyes of many, Danny Davis IS Mr. Clinton Arrow. Consider this:
Clinton has played 981 football games all-time – Davis has attended 535 of those games and worked most of them as PA announcer and/or beat writer. That’s 55 percent of all Arrows football games played in the 101-year history of the program. “Clinton Arrows football is my passion,” said Davis, matter-of-factly. “Some guys golf, some fish – Arrows football is what I like to do. [Former CHS] coach [Jerry] Lyons gave me this opportunity nearly 42 years ago, and I’m still very appreciative to still be doing what I love.” Davis launched his PA announcing career in Clinton at the last home game of the 1979 season. He was asked by Lyons to substitute for beloved long-time announcer Judge Arden Barnett, who began his tenure at old Crain Field in 1955. “Judge Barnett had a conflict with the last game that year, and he was thinking about retiring, as well,” Davis said. “The judge was so smooth and professional with his announcing. He was known all over town and had been doing the job since before the [coach] Roy Burkett era.

“I had some big shoes to fill following Judge Barnett.” The journey to public address announcer and sportswriter began for Davis in his native Texas. Before moving with his family to Mississippi, Davis was raised in tiny Talco, Texas (population 1,000), located in the extreme northeast corner of the Longhorn State. The family home was nestled across the street from the high school, where Davis’ brother played football for the Talco Trojans in the late 1950s. Young Danny became smitten with high school football at an early age. “Talco had some great teams, and I really enjoyed the atmosphere,” he said. “I’d be wide-eyed on those Friday nights going to watch the Trojans.”

His dad worked for Texaco and was transferred to Columbia (hometown of former legendary CHS coach Roy Burkett) in south Mississippi when Davis was eight. As he got older, Davis considered playing high school football for the Columbia Wildcats but decided he wasn’t big or fast enough. Instead, the enterprising youngster took an interest in radio and became a disc jockey at the local station as a high school junior.  “The [musical] format was all over the place – country, gospel and rock and roll,” Davis said. “I took the rock and roll shift. I guess you could say my announcing career was born in Columbia.” His first real brush with Clinton Arrows football came in 1976, when Davis became the color analyst on CHS football broadcasts for Mississippi College-sponsored station WHJT-FM. He was paired with play-by-play announcer Russ Robinson, who Davis had known for a few years. However, Davis was dismissed following the season.  “The school indicated to me that only MC students could participate on WHJT programming,” he said.

However the story doesn’t end there. The contemplative Davis was already bitten by the Arrows football bug. Living on Amherst Street across the street from Roy Burkett Field, Davis continued to attend CHS games as a fan until he got that fateful call to serve as substitute PA announcer for the last home game in 1979.  He hasn’t left his perch in the Arrows press box since.  “There’s just something about seeing that red helmet with the arrowhead on the side that excites me,” he confessed. “I still get butterflies before the start of each season.” Covering Arrows football as the Courier’s beat writer in addition to his PA duties at Arrows home games, Davis says Friday nights in the fall can be taxing.  “It’s a long day,” he said. “I get to the stadium around five, talk with my spotter and the radio crew, and get the starting lineups from both team. I keep statistics the old-fashioned way, with pen and paper, using forms I’ve used since I started.  “The keys to both jobs are be prepared to be in a hurry, always have a good spotter and allow yourself to be a ‘homer,’ as long as you give the other team credit.” Following the game, home or away, Davis still has quotes to

Danny Davis with star AArrows quarterback Cam Akers after the Arrows’ first-ever MHSAA Football Championship in December 2016 at Starkville.

capture from coaches and players for his story. Often times, players are quick to leave the locker room after the game, but Davis knows he’ll find the coaches in their office.  “I hate to see the Arrows lose, but the coaches hate it more,” he said. “The worst is having to ask them questions after a loss – of course, they’re not in a good mood, but, thankfully, the coaches have always been willing to talk.”

Though he enjoys the larger press box and other amenities offered by Arrow Field, Davis longs for the days CHS teams played at venerable Roy Burkett Field.  “Arrow Field is an awesome facility, but Roy Burkett Field will always hold a special place in my heart,” he said. “I have an emotional attachment to that place, so filled with history and Arrows legends of the past.”  With his work spanning six decades, Davis is asked how much longer he’ll be behind the Arrow Field PA mike. “I had no idea I’d still be in the press box after all these year,” Davis admitted. “My son Brad played for CHS in the early 2000s and I’m still doing this eighteen years later. “It may come to a point where they want someone younger, but I’m just as passionate about Arrows football today as I was  in 1979.”

Spoken like Mr. Clinton Arrow.