If and when the baseball season starts, the countdown to 43 will begin for veteran umpire Gerry Davis — a Roosevelt High grad and former bartender at Thurmer’s, a fine, but bygone, south St. Louis saloon. Counting postseason games, Davis, a big-league umpire for 39 years, has worked 4,957 games. He would be the fourth to 5,000, behind Hall of Famer Bill Klem, still active Joe West and Bruce Froemming.
Of added important to this season is that Davis, 67, has notified major league baseball that it will be his last.