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Some Stuff I Wrote (2001) H. Morris Williams

school play he had seen at Mason City or Fort White or CHS. Whatever was going on in local

circles, Red wrote about it.
Red loved to write his column about community doings but he also loved to write about

sports. He personally covered every sporting event in the county and then wrote about the event on
his sport page. Thanks to Red’s local sports coverage, we now have an almost complete record of

all CHS sports activities during the 11 years of the legendary Hobe Hooser Era, 1931-1942.
Some who remember Red’s wonderfully detailed articles also remember his ever-present
cigars and his occasional enjoyment of the fruit of the vine. Almost everybody remembers his

generosity with his very limited money in making sure that needy CHS athletes did not miss a meal
when they took road trips.

You may have heard of the All Southern football squad, an honor team selected from the best
players on high school teams in the South. Red was the man who started the All Southern tradition,

back in 1922 when he worked for the Lakeland Star Telegram. He then built the annual selection
of the All Southern teams into one of the most suspensefully awaited events of the year. It is still

going strong 72 years later. So, Red’s influence and reputation extended well outside Lake City.
In 1947 Red left the newspaper work and joined his friend Coach Hobe Hooser at the

University of Arkansas where he served as the university’s news director and sports program chief.
In 1961 Red won the Florida Coaches Association’s prestigious “Press Award” for his “great and

valuable contribution to Florida athletics.” In the mid-1960's, John “Red” Davis, a legend among
Florida newspapermen, got sick and died. There is an interesting side note to the career of John
“Red” Davis . . . his name may actually have been Stanley Schomberger. A Jew, Red may have

changed his name early in his career to something “American” to ward off anti-Semitic prejudice so
he could find work. At least that was the rumor.

Of course it really doesn’t matter whether Red’s name was John Davis or Stanley
Schomberger. He loved us and we loved him and all he stood for. That’s what matters.

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