Mike Davis, BRHS High School
circa, 1984
In this instance, Mike was kneeling beside the mat watching his son (Sawyer) wrestle in junior high school. This was a familiar place for Mike—a two-time state champion in his high school days—all under the expert tutelage of the one and only Coach Charles Lee.
Lee started the wrestling program at Benjamin Russell High School in 1955 after being asked by Hamp Lyon, the athletic director at the time. Lyon made a great choice. Under Coach Lee, the BRHS Wildcats won 11 straight wrestling state championships between 1958-1969. He was inducted into the Alabama Hall of Fame, where Mike and his dad, Charles Davis, then Captain of the Quarterback Club, were present.
Alabama Hall of Fame Induction
Standing left to right: Judge Coley, Mike Davis, Freddy Shockley, Tommy Greene, Charles Davis. Sitting left to right: Coach Shug Jordan, Coach Charles Lee.
In 1961, all Alabama state wrestling champions were matched against all Georgia state wrestling champions: one match for each class. Alabama won overall, and all three BRHS state champions won their match: Buster Sellers, Mike Davis, and Joe Foshee. They also won the team trophy for the most points of all the Alabama teams.
Alabama/Georgia Championship 1961
Buster Sellers, Mike Davis, Joe Foshee
Coach Lee produced 72 individual state champions and 102 gold medals. Under Lee the BRHS Wildcats won more than 200 dual matches. He coached 13 seasons from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, attaining an unbelievable 196-5 team record.
In 2017, Lee was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Our very own Mike Davis was fortunate to have had the incredible experience and honor of being a part of his legacy.