Howie Davis, who served as CoSIDA president during the 1982-83 season, underwent successful open heart surgery in early December and is now recuperating at his home in East Longmeadow, Mass.
Davis, who had a heart valve replacement 13 years ago, was having his annual checkup with his cardiologist in December when it was found that he had an enlarged aorta.
Surgery was then ordered for an ascending aorta aneurism repair. Five hours of surgery was deemed successful, as a seven-centimeter Dacron tube was inserted to replace the part of the aorta that was enlarged. This tube was grafted to each end of the aorta, and Howie was good as new.
A 1966 graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Davis began his sports information career at Kenyon College. He was there for two years before he moved to Springfield College to serve as the SID. Then, after a 12-year stint, he returned to his alma mater where he remained for 22 years. During the final nine years, he was on the staff at the University’s highly regarded sports management program.
During his time at UMass, Davis served as the CoSIDA president, was elected into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame (1989), and received the Arch Ward Award (1995).
He left UMass to assume the position of Director of Sports Media at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., as position he has held for the past two years.
For those wishing to send a note to Howie, you can mail it to his home address. It is 50 Mayfair Street, East Longmeadow, MA 01028. He plans to return to his duties at the Hall of Fame in late January or early February.