THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 12, 1996 TAG: 9601120480
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
Former major league baseball player Glenn Davis broke down on the witness stand Thursday, weeping in federal court as he described how his life has changed since a Virginia Beach barroom bouncer broke his jaw in 1993.
``In my almost 35 years of life, this is by far the worst thing that ever happened to me and my family,'' Davis said, his voice breaking, his eyes and face wrinkled and deep red.
``Part of my life was taken away. Part of my body is damaged. My baseball career is affected. I can never forget that. I have constant reminders every day that remind me of what took place. . . . It has been a nightmare.''
Davis testified for three hours on the opening day of his civil trial in Norfolk's federal court. He described in detail how a Club Rogues bouncer broke his jaw, and how he has struggled since then to recover a once-sensational baseball career.
Davis, now playing in Japan, is suing bouncer Samuel C. Hampton and the now-defunct Oceanfront bar for $5.35 million.
Once one of the premier power hitters in baseball, hitting 166 home runs in parts of seven seasons for the Houston Astros, Davis had a $3.75 million contract with the Orioles when he was struck.
Sent down from the Orioles in his third season with the club, Davis was playing with the Rochester Red Wings, Baltimore's Triple-A team, when he came to Norfolk in June 1993 to play against the Norfolk Tides.
He and two teammates were at the bar in the early hours of the morning when the fight occurred.
The bouncer hit Davis three times in the face. Two of the three hits came while Davis was already down on the ground. His jaw was broken in two places. Three months later, as Davis tried to make a comeback, the Orioles released him.
He spent the 1994 season in minor-league Omaha earning $40,000 - a 99 percent pay cut from 1993. He played last year in Japan for more than $1 million, and will play there again this year for at least $1.45 million.
In his opening statement to the jury, Davis' attorney, David M. Zobel, said Hampton and the other bouncers at Rogues ``decided to use their fists and chokeholds to settle what was essentially a verbal argument.''
He said the fight was especially unnecessary because it happened outside the nightclub, in the parking lot. ``These bouncers had plenty of time to call the police,'' Zobel said.
The broken jaw wrecked what could have been Davis' big comeback year, Zobel said.
But Edward L. Breeden III, an attorney for Hampton and the nightclub, told jurors that Davis provoked the fight by grabbing Hampton by the throat and threatening to kill him.
He said Hampton slugged Davis in self-defense.
``The evidence clearly shows that Mr. Davis committed an assault and committed a battery upon Sam Hampton before Hampton did anything to him,'' Breeden said.
The lawyer said the confrontation began when one of Davis' teammates, Randy Ready, made insulting remarks to patrons entering the club, and the bouncers tried to move him away.
``Randy Ready said something to the woman that is about as gross and insulting as you can say,'' Breeden said.
Davis was the only witness Thursday.
He testified at length about the hours and days immediately after the beating, of the four weeks in which his jaw was wired shut, and the four more weeks he spent in bed at home, barely able to open his mouth, his three young daughters forbidden to hug him for fear of re-hurting the jaw.
``I couldn't talk to anybody,'' Davis said, teary-eyed.
``Everything was just boiling inside me and I had to write on a sheet of paper. . . The one thing I know how to do is play baseball. I couldn't. I was trapped. I wanted to get back on the field. I wanted to play.''
Today, Breeden will cross-examine Davis.
The trial is expected to last through next week. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
``Part of my life was taken away. Part of my body is damaged. My
baseball career is affected. I can never forget that. I have
constant reminders every day that remind me of what took place,''
Glenn Davis said.
KEYWORDS: TRIAL ASSAULT INJURIES LAWSUIT by CNB