The key to Mike Davis’ brilliance: He never fit in
Beverly Hills, Calif. – If the media had ever said of Mike Davis, “He’s a nice guy and his background is a mystery,” they wouldn’t know what a mystery is. But in this day and age, it’s just easier to say what a mystery is.
Davis, who was born in St. Louis on July 17, 1942, was not the picture of a nice guy. He was born to a father in the Air Force who was the son of a World War I flying ace and an Air Transport Service transport pilot.
He graduated from St. Louis University in 1957 and married Mary Lou Davis, who was then 21, in 1959. The couple had three sons – Mike Jr., John and David.
When Davis, who later served as the mayor of Sacramento, was a sophomore in college, he had a chance encounter at the local bowling alley, which he would later reminisce about.
He had played a game of bowling with a guy from a nearby church who was also a freshman at St. Louis University.
When Davis asked him how he was, the man said, “Well, I was all in.” Davis said, “That’s great. I’m having a great time.” The man was John W. Davis IV.
Davis’ father became suspicious and asked him when he had last been to the bar. He replied, “Well, I haven’t been there in a couple of weeks.” When Davis’ father asked how he could be in an air-force base at an hour when his son had told him he had been bowling, Davis said, “I didn’t have to be. I was in the same place when General Sosabowski was getting briefed.”
Davis worked on his father’s farm and rode horses until enlisting in the Air Force on Aug. 14, 1961, while working on the airfield in Elko, Nev
