The Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame confirmed what a lot of people already knew around Oxford when they named Oxford High School Athletic Director Larry Davidson to the 2013 class of inductees last week.

Davidson, the longtime basketball coach at Oxford High School, began his career at Walter Wellborn from 1977 to 1980 and then was boys’ basketball coach at Oxford from 1980 to 2006, where he recorded a record of 415-256, with six Calhoun County tournament championships, six area championships and two final eight appearances. He was an assistant coach on Oxford’s 1988, 1989 and 1993 state football championship teams and coached tennis from 1981 to 2006. Davidson moved into the Athletic Director’s position at Oxford High School in 2006.

He graduated from Hixson High School in Chattanooga in 1972 and Jacksonville State in 1977 and received his Masters from JSU in 1980. He was a fresh faced graduate when Mr. Waldrip hired him at Walter Wellborn High School.

Three years later Oxford came calling. Davidson commented, “Coach Burgess called me and wanted me to come to Oxford. I applied and that was it. I was 26 years old when I came here.”

“Oxford is a special place because of what the community expects. It is a great place to be. It is a place where I wanted to raise my family. It has class folks in the school and the community.” Davidson added.

The award took him by surprise,” I did not know anything was going on until I got the call. It is a very humbling thing. The first thing you think of is about all the people you have been around. I have been very, very lucky to be around some really good folks : assistant coaches, coaches, administrators and people. I have been taught by many hall of famers. It is not an individual award, but it is something God blesses you with by putting you around great people.” said Davidson.

Davidson reflected on his career, “All the moments are special because of the relationships you build with the players and coaches. It is not games and wins you remember, sometimes you remember the losses more than the wins, but it is the people and the player relationships that mean the most.”

Oxford High School has come a long way in the 33 years that Davidson has been here. “ It is an exciting time for Oxford athletics. Overall, our teams are as good as they have been in all sports which is a credit to the administration, coaches and how hard they have worked.

“Dr Goodwin says it best, ‘We are a 6A school with a 1A mentality’,” says Davidson. Oxford is a special place right now and Davidson has had a key part in making it that way. You can see it in the way he goes about each day and the love he has for Oxford. We are lucky to have been around him as well.