Davis also spent multiple seasons as a third baseman and center fielder, and lesser amounts of time at other positions.

Not much was known about Davis's life or career until the 1990s, when he gained some recognition from the city historian of his hometown of Cohoes, New York.

[3] Davis patrolled center field for the first two seasons of his career, leading the National League (NL) in outfield assists with 35 in 1890.

That year he was among the league's top ten players in hits, doubles, triples, total bases, runs batted in (RBI), plate appearances and assists as an outfielder.

[4] Davis never appeared as a pitcher again, but his strong arm did lead the team to move him to third base in 1892, a position he played for the next five seasons.

Davis continued to perform at an elite level throughout the 1890s, regularly ranking among the league leaders in doubles, triples, RBI, and stolen bases.

[5] On their way to practice at the Polo Grounds on April 26, 1900, Davis and teammates Kid Gleason and Mike Grady stumbled upon a raging tenement fire.

His face blistered from the heat, Davis helped his team earn a 10–10 tie with the Boston Beaneaters that evening.

The formation of the American League provided new financial opportunities to ballplayers, and induced by a $4,000 salary, Davis jumped to the Chicago White Sox in 1902.

[6] His career totals in several statistical categories rank in the top 100 players all-time, including games played, at bats, hits, runs, doubles, triples, RBI and stolen bases.

[8] Also in 1995, Davis was featured in David Pietrusza's television film Local Heroes in the segment "Knocking on Cooperstown's Door."

Before the committee voted, sportswriter Dave Anderson wrote an article in The New York Times on Davis's Hall of Fame candidacy.

He pointed out the work of Cohoes city historian Walt Lipka, which favorably compared Davis to almost all of the shortstops in the Hall of Fame.

[11] As a great deal of time had passed since his death, no relatives could be located, but a group of about 50 people from Cohoes traveled to the ceremony in support of Davis.