Auburn's legendary head football coach Ralph 'Shug' Jordan told a young manager not to let anybody in the closed team practice.
Buddy Davidson, the young manager, followed Jordan's request and accidentally kept the University's president at the time, Ralph Draughon, from entering practice, as was his right.
After discovering who Draughon was, Davidson said he was sure it was his last day on the job, but his loyalty impressed Jordan, who told him he wished every employee was as loyal as Davidson.
Davidson's loyalty has remained with Auburn for the next 56 years.
Graduating from the University with a degree in journalism in 1964 was not the end of Davidson's experience at Auburn.
Davidson worked as a football manager at Auburn for four years. He also worked as a student assistant in the sports information office for Norm Carlson, Auburn's former sports information director.
Davidson was sports editor and managing editor of The Plainsman, while serving as president and secretary of the A-Club during his years on the Plains.
Davidson completed press releases for the University on an IBM Selectric typewriter, copied them on a Xerox copier, stuffed them into envelopes and mailed them to newspapers, radio and television stations.
Davidson became sports information director Sept. 1, 1964, and served that role until he became an assistant athletic director in 1981.
He retired as an associate athletic director for football in 2007.
Davidson's loyalty to Auburn evolved from his love for the University, according to former athletic director David Housel.
"He loves Auburn like a child loves their parents," Housel said.
Aside from Pat Sullivan himself, nobody is more responsible for the former Auburn quarterback winning the 1971 Heisman Trophy than Davidson, according to John Pruett, Auburn's former sports information director.
Pruett said Davidson did it with a brilliantly orchestrated and understated regional and national press campaign, long before the days of the Internet and social media.
According to Pruett, no one ever loved Auburn more than Davidson, and few people - especially in athletics - ever did more for the school.
"If you want to work in the sports information industry, it's certainly not an 8-5 job, and (Davidson) personified that," said Mel Pulliam, Davidson's first full-time assistant.
Davidson has not missed an Auburn football game since Nov. 2, 1957, his birthday.
That total was 660 Saturday, Oct. 4, against LSU.
Davidson said he plans on keeping the streak alive with a trip to Starkville, Mississippi, Saturday, Oct. 11, to watch the Tigers face the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
Making it to games has become difficult since Davidson suffered a stroke before Auburn's homecoming game against Louisiana Tech.
Davidson suffers from partial paralysis on his right side, as well as an inability to talk, but is now on the road to recovery.
He is doing rehabilitation and speech therapy at the Regional Rehabilitation Hospital in Phenix City.
Auburn football games are his medicine, according to his wife Fran Davidson.
"If we took that away from him, he would give up," Fran said. "As long as he can go, and the doctors say he can go, we are going to take him."
Fran said if they showed the Auburn games in rehab, her husband would probably heal faster.
"When Auburn scored the first touchdown against LSU, Buddy stood straight up, and he's been in a wheelchair," Fran said.
Buddy still has an office at the athletic department and stops by to check on things.
"He's been an icon around here since '57," said Francis Sanda, who worked for Buddy's stat crew from 1964-70. "His love for Auburn is unquestioned. He thinks we are going unbeaten every year."
Every year in August, Housel and Buddy pick Auburn's football record for the upcoming season, usually over lunch.
"I think this year, for about the 130th straight year, (Buddy) said Auburn was going undefeated," Housel said. "Auburn never loses a game with old Buddy D."
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