Ned Cline, the biographer of the Walter Davis for whom the building is actually named, tells how one Chapel Hill student told another that "the library should not have been named for Walter Davis, because Phil Ford was a much better basketball player for the Tar Heel team."

"The Walter Davis Story: One Man Who Made a Difference," profiles a man, who, until his death a year ago, was perhaps the most influential non-elected person in North Carolina politics.

Yet few North Carolinians outside the political inner circles knew who he was. And most of those who did know about his importance knew very little about how and why he was able to exercise so much influence.

Cline's book is an important first step in understanding the basis of Davis's power. "The Walter Davis Story" was underwritten by Davis's widow. In some respects it is a "family book" that tells the Davis story very sympathetically. For instance, it recounts in great detail Davis's generous financial gifts to individuals and institutions.

But Cline, a respected Greensboro journalist, does not conceal Davis's "warts," like a prison sentence for violation of federal tax laws, a bigamous marriage, a secret daughter, estrangement from another daughter, and a gambling compulsion that drove him to risk hundreds of thousands of dollars at the card tables of Las Vegas and casinos all over the world.

Davis grew up in and around Elizabeth City. He learned the basics of the trucking business from Malcolm McLean, who later made a fortune from the shipping container business. That experience helped Davis land a job in California working for trucking company owner Fred Rumbley, who quickly developed Davis's talents as a "friend maker" for his business. He sent Davis on the road with a big expense account and directions to develop good relations with prospective customers. Later, Rumbley backed Davis in a trucking business in the Texas oil fields. Its success led to an oil production company that ultimately resulted in a fortune that may have exceeded $100 million.

His wealth and his ability to entertain lavishly were put to work in North Carolina politics. One of his earliest forays resulted in funds for the library that carries his name. In the 1970s, when the electric power and other utilities operations of UNC were sold for millions of dollars, the state of North Carolina needed that money to help fund a budget deficit. Although President William Friday discouraged university campuses from lobbying in Raleigh, Davis went to work. Cline writes, "Davis, however, refused to sit on the sidelines, regardless of Friday's wishes. 'He can tell the chancellor what to do,' Davis told a fellow trustee, 'but he can't tell me what to do.'"

Davis pulled out all the stops. UNC got most of the money from the utilities sale and was able to fund the needed library.

The library campaign established a pattern with Davis advocating special projects not on the official university's priority list. As a consequence, Davis had rocky relationships with university presidents Dick Spangler and Molly Broad.

What was the secret of Davis's success? Cline writes, "If money was the mother's milk of politics, Walter Davis had demonstrated that he could be a one-man dairy."

D.G. Martin will talk about this column on WCHL-1360 today at 8:20 a.m. with Ron Stutts.