There are legends and then there are sons of legends.
Davey Lee Farris is both.
His father was an umpire/referee founder of the local umpire association that is still respected by coaches and school officials statewide.
He recruited officials such as Attilio Tarzi and Attilio’s brother Jimmy Tarzi, Davey Lee’s uncle George and others to join the association.
Growing up in Clarksdale, Davey Lee was a student of the rules of all sports. He was chosen to replace longtime chairman of the Clarksdale Park Commission Charles “Tank” Turner on an interim basis when a front-end loader toppled over on Tank and killed him in 1969. That accident occurred behind the old Cat Cave.
“I didn’t want to get my first job that way,” Davey Lee admits today.
Davey Lee was named permanent park commission chairman when he graduated from Ole Miss in 1975.
After stints as an assistant manager at McDonald’s (1982-85) and route salesman with Budweiser (1985-88), he was injured in an automobile accident and decided to get his teaching certificate and go into education as a career, studying at Delta State for two years, earning his bachelor’s degree, as well as his teaching certificate.
He began his education career in Helena, Ark., at Helena Junior High School, teaching special education and serving as assistant junior high football coach in 1992.
After a year there, he transferred to Coahoma County Junior/Senior High School, teaching special education and serving as an assistant football, basketball, track and baseball coach.
He also taught driver’s education and health for 23 years there.
Davey Lee was an assistant football coach and head baseball coach for 12 years at Coahoma County High School.
His baseball teams made the playoffs a dozen years despite not having a baseball field on campus. The Red Panthers played their games on Clarksdale’s playground parks like George Farris Field.
In 2014, he was named head football coach and his team went 2-8 and the school board gave the top job to Terrell Spencer.
Farris was then passed over for the top job three times over 15 years, although he stayed on as an assistant coach and head baseball coach during that span, serving under five head coaches, including Keith Dooley, who is now retired and living in Coffeeville. Dooley’s Panthers won the District 3 title once.
Davey Lee was forced to retire due to a staph infection that left him totally paralyzed from the waist down.
He enjoyed his time at CCHS, but regrets that the school board didn’t see fit to pick him as a Red Panther head football coach on the three opportunities it had to do so.
“That is the only regret that I have from my days at CCHS,” he said. “I wish they would have given me the real reason for rejecting me.”
Farris still enjoys the roar of the crowd, allowing himself opportunities to be taken to Ole Miss and Delta State to watch college baseball games.
And he remembers the kids he coached at CCHS, including, among others, pitcher/shortstop Mark Simpson, first baseman/outfielder Bill Williams, first baseman/outfielder Brian Graves, running back, shortstop and outfielder Kelvin Jones, first baseman/designated hitter Edgar Johnson, pitcher Samaria Johnson, pitcher Curtis Lias and pitcher/shortstop Marquis Isaac.
Davey Lee does regret that the city and county schools here have never merged as he believes “both districts would benefit from the move, both from an athletic and educational standpoint.”
It would be easy for a lot of people to disappear from view after suffering a career-ending disability. Davey Lee, however, is a legend and the son of a legend and plans to remain a voice of the Clarksdale sports scene.
That’s what legends do.
