Robert Davis, legendary Georgia high school football coach, dies at 77
Legendary Middle Georgia high school football Robert Davis died on Thursday morning at the age of 77.
Davis served as the head coach for Warner Robins High School and Westside High School and is the state’s third most winningest coach of all-time, finishing his career with 354 victories. As the head coach of Warner Robins, Davis won three state titles and a pair of national championships during his 23 years at the helm from 1973-1996.
Davis had fond memories of all of his three state championships, but the first one in 1976 was his most memorable, he told the Telegraph in 2017.
“That was the first one we won so it is special, and that team had some amazing players,” Davis said. “Everyone remembers Keith Soles, Phil Williams, Jimmy Womack and of course Ron Simmons and James Brooks, but in the state championship game against Griffin it was a little old running back named Randy Coleman that broke a 50 yard run for a score to get us going. I also remember Ron Simmons hitting the Griffin quarterback so hard that the ball popped up into the air and ended up 20 yards away from the play.
“But all three of the state championship teams are very special in their own way...”
Davis took over at Westside in 1997. During his tenure at Westside, he went 101-33 before retiring from football in 2008. He won a pair of region titles and reached the state semifinals with the Seminoles twice.
Davis was inducted into the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.
During his 36 seasons as a head coach, Davis never had a losing record and racked up 20 region championships. He finished his career with a 354-74 record good enough for third all time in the state behind Larry Campbell and Alan Chadwick.
Funeral services were held Saturday afternoon at Southside Baptist Church in Warner Robins, with graveside services at Magnolia Park Cemetery.
This story was originally published October 19, 2020 at 11:24 AM.
