Walter Francis "Buddy" Davis (January 5, 1931 – November 17, 2020) was an American athlete.

After winning a gold medal in the high jump at the 1952 Olympics he became a professional basketball player.

[1] Despite contracting polio at age nine and being unable to walk for three years, Davis had a standout athletic career at Texas A&M University and later won Olympic gold in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, with a leap of 2.04 metres (6 ft 8+1⁄4 in).

[1] The Philadelphia Warriors selected the 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) Davis in the second round of the 1952 NBA draft.

He spent five seasons with the Warriors and St. Louis Hawks, averaging 4.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.