PROFILE: Rufus Clyde “Cotton” Davis was born and reared in Tulsa, OK and died June 14, 1950. He acquired the nickname of “Cotton” when playing semi-pro baseball as a youngster. He and his wife, Alva, were married in 1932.

HISTORY: Davis spent his boyhood around dogs and became a greyhound breeder and racer. His first experience on the racetrack was as a timer in Tulsa, OK on a track built by O.P Smith. In 1925 he became racing secretary at Miami, FL and acted in that capacity for tracks all over the country governed by the International Racing Association. In 1933, he became racing secretary at the Multnomah Kennel Club in Portland at a time when greyhound racing was first introduced there. He remained in that position until illness forced him to retire in 1949.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: “Cotton” Davis’s kennel contributed many speedy thoroughbreds to the sport, but his greatest fame was as a racing secretary because his knowledge of greyhounds and skill in matching them was well known in Portland and throughout the country. By 1935 it was believed he had put more races together than any other man living and all of his activities were with International promoters. Multnomah created the Cotton Davis Course, an 810-yard distance that tested the speed and stamina of the greyhounds, as a special event in his memory.