JSU mourns the loss of Tiger Mascot Wavy Dave
December 21, 2006
(JACKSON, Miss.) – For more than 20 years, Jackson State University’s beloved “Wavy Dave” wowed fans, thrilled children and inspired diehard spirit at football and basketball games as the JSU Tiger mascot.
On Thursday, Dec. 21, “Wavy,” known to family and friends as David Chambers, died at Central Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
Chambers, 41, had spent the past several weeks at the south Jackson hospital’s critical care unit after suffering a heart attack brought on by his longtime battle with kidney failure.
“David “Wavy” Chambers has been a symbol of Tiger Pride for a very long time,” said Jackson State President Ronald Mason Jr. “His game day presence and his work with the Baby Tigers warmed the hearts of JSU fans for more than two decades. In his last years, despite serious health challenges, he never failed to bring smiles to the faces of the thousands of JSU fans. He will be missed.”
JSU Athletics Director Robert Braddy shared those sentiments.
“Knowing Dave was like knowing a member of your family,” Braddy said. “He was a member of the JSU family. He was one of the University's biggest supporters. He bled blue and white. Our sentiments go out to Dave's family.”
Best known for his animated end-zone antics of riding a unicycle and plowing headfirst into goal posts, Chambers exuded a style of sportsmanship that endeared him to generations of Tiger fans.
Often, the Jackson resident also would be seen at sporting events with a mini entourage of “Baby Tigers” in tow performing flips, dance routines and pranks on unwitting referees. The youths were inner-city children who Chambers mentored.
Chambers’ battle with kidney failure began about a decade ago after an allergic reaction to medication for a lung infection resulted in kidney poisoning.
After spending years on kidney dialysis, Chambers was given a reprieve from his weekly dialysis sessions when a co-worker at the former Skytel donated Chambers one of his kidneys.
However, earlier this year the donated kidney failed.
JSU Director of Accountability and Coordination Curtis Johnson, a longtime friend of Chambers, said even through his illness, Chambers “set the standard for what a Jackson State Tiger should be.”
“I’ve never talked about him as my friend,” said Johnson, who has known Chambers for more than 20 years. “I’ve always talked about him as my child. He was like my oldest son.”
Johnson said he met the young Chicago native before he enrolled at Jackson State in the early 1980s. Later, he recalled welcoming Chambers to the University.
“I was a student worker in the Office of Admissions then,” Johnson said. “His mom was so worried that she asked if I would pick him up from the bus station. After that, I couldn’t get rid of him.”
Said Johnson of Chambers: “There wasn’t a more true blue Tiger than Wavy.” Hilliard Lackey, president of the JSU National Alumni Association, said Chambers left a lasting legacy at the University.
“Wavy Dave was an institution and a Jackson State icon, but more importantly, he was a warm, caring human being that was truly loved, respected and admired.”
David Chambers is survived by his mother, Joyce Chambers, and several siblings.
Details of funeral arrangements for David Chambers are still pending
Posted By: Jehan Bunch
Friday, January 5th 2007 at 11:50AM
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