Winthrop "Wink" Davenport Jr. (April 12, 1942 – May 3, 2022) was an American lead volleyball official, former college basketball player, former National team volleyball player. He is best remembered as the most prominent volleyball official in the United States, arising from his frequent service as a volleyball referee officiating the nation's most important matches. He is a holder of U.S.A. Volleyball's 1996 Wilbur H. Peck Referee – Emeritus Award. Biography Davenport was born in Binghamton, New York on April 12, 1942, the second of three children of Winthrop Davenport and the former Elizabeth Mae Langford. Davenport has an older brother David Andrus Davenport (born 1939) and had a younger sister, Edith Lynne Davenport (1948 - 2014). He was baptized at First Presbyterian Church in Binghamton on June 20, 1943. He was awarded a scholarship to play basketball at Wesleyan, where he had a distinguished college career. United Press International named him first-team small college all-New England. He was captain of the basketball team his senior year. He left Wesleyan holding the school record for most points scored in a game (44) and for career scoring average (19.6). In addition to basketball, Davenport lettered twice as a member of the Wesleyan golf team. At Wesleyan he joined Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. In the late 1950s Davenport became active playing AAU volleyball at a YMCA in his hometown of Binghamton, New York. In 1966 he moved to Santa Monica, California, where he joined the Santa Monica Volleyball club team. The team was one of the top amateur teams in the nation, and competed at the USVBA Open Nationals. Following the tournament Davenport was selected for the US National Men's Volleyball Team. He competed at the 1967 Pan American Games, where the team won the gold medal. In 1968 he played on the National Team when it competed at the Summer Olympics in Mexico City. The following year, he was again selected to play on the National team at the 1969 World Cup. In 1971 Davenport captained Santa Monica's USVBA club team, which won the USVBA National Championship in the Men's Open Division. He earned All-America honors at the tournament. Davenport remained a member of the US National team through 1971. Davenport retired from playing competitively at the end of 1971 due to chronic knee problems. However his involvement in the game continued as an official. In this capacity he made his