Chick Davies “Chemist by Profession, but a Baseball Player by Choice”

Lloyd in his Philadelphia Athletics uniform, 1914.

In the early 20th century, Baseball fever exploded in Peabody like never before.

The reason?

Lloyd Garrison “Chick” Davies.

Lloyd came by his talent naturally. His cousin, John Atkinson Leighton, also played ball and had one season with the Syracuse Stars in 1890. When Lloyd began at Peabody High in 1906, he soon showed he had plenty to give the school and the town. A southpaw pitcher and batter, Lloyd led Peabody High School on to a championship in the North Shore League in 1910.

After graduation, he went onto major in chemistry at the Massachusetts Agricultural College in Amherst (now UMass Amherst). While there he caught the eye of Connie Mack, the manager for the Philadelphia Athletics. And in 1912, Lloyd agreed to play for Mack when he graduated in 1914.

Lloyd’s debut in Boston as a major league Baseball player came on September 3, 1914. Hundreds of fans poured into Fenway Park for Chick Davies Day.

Mack offered Davies another contract for the next year but he didn’t offer him any more money. And so, Lloyd came back to Peabody and worked at the Danvers Bleachery. But his Baseball career didn’t end. He played several years for semi-professional teams, including the Springfield Ponies and the New Haven Profs. And in 1925, Lloyd was once again recruited by the major league, the New York Giants. He helped them win the World Series in 1926. In that year, he led the National League with 6 saves and 29 games finished.