Photo courtesy of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.
When it comes to local sports legends, few names, if any, can top the life and career of Midway native Davey Whitney. He was born Jan. 5, 1930, and by the time his life was over, Whitney left his mark as a coach, leader of men and a hall of famer.
Known as “The Wiz,” Whitney became a legend for his successes while coaching at Historically Black Colleges and Universities,or HBCUs. His teams went on to achieve greatness unseen in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
By the time he got to high school, Whitney led Paul Laurence Dunbar to league championship tournaments in 1947 and 1948 and a title in 1948.
After high school, he attended Kentucky State University where he was a multi-sport athlete and was later elected to the K-State Hall of Fame. After college, Whitney played baseball in the Negro Leagues from 1952-1954 for the Kansas City Monarchs, mostly at third base and shortstop. He played so well that he played in the league all-star game at Comiskey Park in Chicago. He even took over for Ernie Banks when the future Baseball Hall of Fame inductee was picked by the Chicago Cubs.
After a few years of playing ball, Whitney was successful coaching high school basketball, but it wasn’t long before he began coaching in the college ranks at Texas Southern University. Two years later, Whitney began coaching at Alcorn State, where his career took off – and HBCU basketball was never the same.
Whitney and the Braves had a 16-9 winning season in his first year on campus but by 1973, the team’s trajectory skyrocketed with a 24-5 record and a SWAC Conference Championship. In 1979, the Braves had an undefeated regular season and shocked fans with an 80-78 win over Mississippi State in the National Invitational Tournament. The next season, the team shocked the basketball world as Alcorn State beat South Alabama in the NCAA tournament – becoming the first HBCU to win an NCAA tournament game.
Like all coaches, the waters eventually get rocky and Whitney was fired in 1989 after three losing seasons. During this time, the school dedicated the gymnasium in his honor and in 1996, he returned to lead the men’s basketball team and his teams had success again before he retired in 2003.
During his coaching career, Whitney achieved an overall win record of 566, which earned him 12 SWAC Championships and six NCAA tournaments. Additionally, Whitney was at the center of leading an Alcorn program that won against some of the more famous and established programs in the country, which helped Alcorn become relevant nationally.
Whitney’s list of accomplishments is long and jaw-dropping. He was inducted into the National College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. He was also elected into the SWAC, Mississippi Sports and Alcorn State Hall of Fames. Incredibly, he totaled nine SWAC Coach of the Year awards and coached his team to 11 SWAC conference championships.
Whitney passed away on May 10, 2015, but his legacy as a coach and trailblazer for HBCUs will live on forever.