Paul Adamian/Willie Davis

Paul Adamian, the focus of a major civil liberties court case stemming from antiwar activities in Nevada, died March 8.

Adamian was fired by the Nevada Board of Regents after he participated in an antiwar protest following the 1970 U.S. invasion of Cambodia and the shootings of protesting students at Kent State. He retained the loyalty of many students who grieved when he died.

“Even if he had not involved himself in our campus dramas … and the antiwar movement, his teaching was so plugged-in, effortless almost, and completely removed from the detached academic norm,” said one former student.

And former Reno Silver Sox centerfielder Willie Davis died at his home in Burbank on March 9.

Davis’s speed and base-stealing eventually resulted in his succeeding Dodger Duke Snider in Los Angeles.

While with the 1959 Silver Sox, a California League team that played other Class C teams like Visalia and Bakersfield, Davis (not to be confused with two pro football players of the same name) led the league in hits, runs, triples and batting average.

“He was obviously the best ball player the Silver Sox ever produced,” said Tom Myers, once a Silver Sox bat boy. “Two years in the minors in those days was very unusual. Everyone knew he’d go on to be the heir to Duke Snider. … He also was nice to bat boys.”

There is more on both men at our Newsview blog.