A Local Athlete's Sports Journey

By James Francis McGee 

I first met Jimmy Davenport in 2000 when he was a skinny, sophomore wide receiver on Newark Memorial High School’s JV football team when I was one of the coaches.

I knew he was something special, not just because of his skills, which were many, but also because of his respectful attitude and great smile.

At 6-foot-4 and 185 pounds, Davenport was fast and fluid and had great hands. He was a bit raw, but looked like he had a bright future in football and other sports.

And sports were in his blood. Davenport is the grandson of Jim Houston Davenport, a former San Francisco Giants player and coach who went on to have a short stint as the team’s manager in 1985 – the year the younger Davenport was born.

I ran into Davenport recently in the athletic office of Coach Rich Swift at Newark Memorial while he was visiting Swift, one of his longtime mentors.

Davenport wasn’t skinny any longer, having put on 45 pounds, but he remains tall and is solid as a rock after many years of hard work in athletics.

During his high school years, Davenport played football, basketball and baseball at Newark Memorial before graduating in 2003.

Some of his athletic accomplishments:

• He received the white sweater award for obtaining more than nine varsity blocks.
• He was a member of the 2002 NCS Championship baseball team that also achieved many MVAL championship teams.
• He won the slam dunk contest at Chabot College, coming in first over Nate Robinson (the current Golden State Warrior).   

After Newark Memorial, Davenport played baseball at Ohlone Community College for the Renegades. He showed promise during his two years at Ohlone and was listed in the 2005 MLB draft but did not sign and went on to play at the University of Tennessee instead.

Two years later, the Seattle Mariners signed Davenport as a third basemen. He played three seasons in their minor league system. He made a change and then played a season for an independent minor league team in Chicago.

The baseball dream was coming to an end when Davenport thought he’d have a tryout for the San Jose Sabercats arena football team. He was offered a spot on the squad but decided to go back to school and get his degree.

With football back in his system, Davenport returned to Chabot Community College and played football for two seasons at the wide receiver position even though he was almost five years older than most of the players.

Davenport’s well-traveled sports odyssey is not yet complete as he is considering scholarship offers from more than 20 universities.

He is currently considering West Texas A&M, Faulkner Alabama Delta, Minnesota-Duluth and Midwestern State next fall. He said he plans on majoring in sports management and is also considering coaching.

The man on the move has seen a lot and done a lot during his pursuit and love of sports.

Keep up the good work James Davenport, you have done Newark proud!