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{{Short description|American sprinter (1932–2024)}}
{{Short description|American sprinter (1932–2024)}}
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{{For|the baseball player|Otis Davis (baseball)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2015}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
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{{for|the baseball player|Otis Davis (baseball)}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Otis Davis
| name = Otis Davis
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| birth_place = [[Tuscaloosa, Alabama]], U.S.
| birth_place = [[Tuscaloosa, Alabama]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|mf=yes|2024|9|14|1932|7|12}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|mf=yes|2024|9|14|1932|7|12}}
| death_place = [[North Bergen, New Jersey]], U.S.
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| height = {{convert|1.85|m|ftin|abbr=on|order=flip}}
| weight = {{convert|74|kg|lb|abbr=on|order=flip}}
| height = {{Convert|1.85|m|ftin|abbr=on|order=flip}}
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| weight = {{Convert|74|kg|lb|abbr=on|order=flip}}
| country = United States
| country = United States
| sport = Track and field
| sport = Track and field
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'''Otis Crandall Davis''' (July 12, 1932 – September 14, 2024) was an American [[athletics (sport)|athlete]], winner of two gold medals for record-breaking performances in the [[Athletics at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres|400&nbsp;m]] and [[Athletics at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 100 metres relay|4&nbsp;×&nbsp;400&nbsp;m relay]] at the [[1960 Summer Olympics]]. He set a new [[World record progression 400 metres men|world record]] of 44.9&nbsp;[[second]]s in the 400&nbsp;m and became the first person to break the 45-second barrier.<ref name=sr>{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/da/otis-davis-1.html |title=Otis Davis |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200417170715/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/da/otis-davis-1.html |archive-date=2020-04-17}}</ref>
'''Otis Crandall Davis''' (July 12, 1932 – September 14, 2024) was an American [[athletics (sport)|athlete]], winner of two gold medals for record-breaking performances in the [[Athletics at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres|400&nbsp;m]] and [[Athletics at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 100 metres relay|4&nbsp;×&nbsp;400&nbsp;m relay]] at the [[1960 Summer Olympics]]. He set a new [[World record progression 400 metres men|world record]] of 44.9&nbsp;[[second]]s in the 400&nbsp;m and became the first person to break the 45-second barrier.<ref name=sr>{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/da/otis-davis-1.html |title=Otis Davis |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200417170715/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/da/otis-davis-1.html |archive-date=April 17, 2020}}</ref>


==Early life==
==Early life==
Otis Crandall Davis was born in [[Tuscaloosa, Alabama]], on July 12, 1932.<ref name=USATF>[https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/otis-davis "Otis Davis"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614003045/https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/otis-davis |date=June 14, 2024}}. USA Track & Field. Retrieved March 20, 2012.</ref><ref name=NewYorkTimes9.20.24>{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/20/sports/otis-davis-ded.html|title = Otis Davis, Who Overcame Racism to Win Olympic Gold, Dies at 92|last = Sandomir|first = Richard|date = September 20, 2024|accessdate = September 20, 2024|newspaper = [[The New York Times]]|url-access = limited|archive-date=September 20, 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240920161334/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/20/sports/otis-davis-ded.html}}</ref> He was black and [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]].
Otis Crandall Davis<ref>[http://www.usatf.org/statistics/Team-USA/OlympicGames/MedalWinners.aspx "Team USA Medal Winners at the Olympic Games"]. [[USA Track & Field]]. Retrieved March 21, 2012.</ref> was born in [[Tuscaloosa, Alabama]], on July 12, 1932.<ref name=USATF>[http://www.usatf.org/HallOfFame/TF/showBio.asp?HOFIDs=204 "Otis Davis"]. USA Track & Field. Retrieved March 20, 2012.</ref> He was black and [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]]. He served four years in the [[United States Air Force]] during the [[Korean War]].<ref name=HudReporter2012>{{cite web|last=Pope|first=Gennarose|title=A truant officer…and an Olympian Two-time gold medalist inspires students to achieve|newspaper=[[The Hudson Reporter]]|date=March 18, 2012|url=http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_stories_home/17921918/article-A-truant-officer…and-an-Olympian-Two-time-gold-medalist-inspires-students-to-achieve-?instance=union%20city_story_left_column}}</ref><ref name=HudReporter12.10.08>Staab, Amanda (December 10, 2008). [http://www.hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/2417589/article-Honoring-the-brave-UC-high-school-students-hear-from-local-veterans? "Honoring the brave UC high school students hear from local veterans"]. ''The Hudson Reporter''.</ref>
His father, Johnie Davis, worked as a bellhop, and his mother, Mary Alice Davis, taught science and worked as a movie theater cashier.<ref name=NewYorkTimes9.20.24/> He grew up in a segregated Alabama,<ref name=MoseleyUO2020>Moseley, Rob and Zach Lawson. But First There Was Otis. UO Athletics. Hayward Field, University of Oregon. 2020. https://hayward.uoregon.edu/otis-davis</ref> and was raised by his maternal grandmother, Carrie Eaton.<ref name=NewYorkTimes9.20.24/>

He served four years in the [[United States Air Force]] during the [[Korean War]].<ref name=India>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/other-sports/story/double-1960-olympic-champion-otis-davis-dies-at-92-2601076-2024-09-17|title=Double 1960 Olympic champion American runner Otis Davis dies at 92|date=September 17, 2024 |publisher=India Today|accessdate=September 20, 2024|archive-date=September 17, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240917130555/https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/other-sports/story/double-1960-olympic-champion-otis-davis-dies-at-92-2601076-2024-09-17|url-status=live}}</ref>


==Career==
==Career==


===College===
===College===
Following the Air Force, Davis attended the [[University of Oregon]] on a basketball scholarship, hoping to one day becoming a professional.<ref name=HudReporter2006/> One day in 1958 while observing athletes running on the track with a friend, Davis, who had never run before, nor attended schools in his youth with sports programs other than basketball and football, decided that he could beat the athletes he saw on the track.<ref name=HudReporter2006/> He approached track coach [[Bill Bowerman]], who would later become the founding father of the [[Nike, Inc.]], and asked to join the track team. Needing [[high jump]]ers instead, Bowerman had Davis try his hand.
Following the Air Force, Davis attended enrolled at [[Los Angeles City College]], where he played basketball.<ref name=NewYorkTimes9.20.24/> In 1957, he transferred to the [[University of Oregon]] on a basketball scholarship.<ref name=HudReporter2006/><ref name=NewYorkTimes9.20.24/> One day in 1958 while observing athletes running on the track with a friend, Davis, who had never run before, nor attended schools in his youth with sports programs other than basketball and football, decided that he could beat the athletes he saw on the track.<ref name=HudReporter2006/> He approached track coach [[Bill Bowerman]], who would later become the founding father of the [[Nike, Inc.]], and asked to join the track team. Needing [[high jump]]ers instead, Bowerman had Davis try his hand.


Among Davis's first attempts, he jumped 6–0. He recalled: "I had no form. I had no style. I just jumped."<ref name=HudReporter2006/> He also hit 23–0 in the [[long jump]] with little effort, though he was flustered by the sprinting events, relating "I didn't even know how to get in the starting blocks". For his first competitive event, Bowerman entered Davis in the 220-yard dash and the 440-yard dash in the Pacific Coast Conference championships, both of which he won, missing the school record by two tenths of a second in the latter.<ref name=HudReporter2006>{{cite web|author=Hague, Jim|author-link=Jim Hague|title=Truant officer was Olympic hero Emerson High has gold medalist in midst|newspaper=The Hudson Reporter|date=May 14, 2006|url=http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_stories_home/2408547/article-Truant-officer-was-Olympic-hero-Emerson-High-has-gold-medallist-in-midst?|access-date=March 19, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504210729/http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_stories_home/2408547/article-Truant-officer-was-Olympic-hero-Emerson-High-has-gold-medallist-in-midst|archive-date=May 4, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Among Davis's first attempts, he jumped 6'0". He recalled: "I had no form. I had no style. I just jumped."<ref name=HudReporter2006/> He also hit 23'0" in the [[long jump]] with little effort, though he was flustered by the sprinting events, relating "I didn't even know how to get in the starting blocks". For his first competitive event, Bowerman entered Davis in the 220-yard dash and the 440-yard dash in the Pacific Coast Conference championships, both of which he won, missing the school record by two tenths of a second in the latter.<ref name=HudReporter2006>{{cite web|author=Hague, Jim|title=Truant officer was Olympic hero Emerson High has gold medalist in midst|newspaper=The Hudson Reporter|date=May 14, 2006|url=http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_stories_home/2408547/article-Truant-officer-was-Olympic-hero-Emerson-High-has-gold-medallist-in-midst?|access-date=March 19, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504210729/http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_stories_home/2408547/article-Truant-officer-was-Olympic-hero-Emerson-High-has-gold-medallist-in-midst|archive-date=May 4, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>


According to Davis, Bowerman made the first pair of Nike shoes for him, contradicting the claim that they were made for [[Phil Knight]]: "I told Tom Brokaw that I was the first. I don't care what all the billionaires say. Bill Bowerman made the first pair of shoes for me. People don't believe me. In fact, I didn't like the way they felt on my feet. There was no support and they were too tight. But I saw Bowerman make them from the [[waffle iron]], and they were mine."<ref name=HudReporter2006/>
According to Davis, Bowerman made the first pair of Nike shoes for him, contradicting the claim that they were made for [[Phil Knight]]: "I told [[Tom Brokaw]] that I was the first. I don't care what all the billionaires say. Bill Bowerman made the first pair of shoes for me. People don't believe me. In fact, I didn't like the way they felt on my feet. There was no support and they were too tight. But I saw Bowerman make them from the [[waffle iron]], and they were mine."<ref name=HudReporter2006/>

In 1959, Davis finished seventh in the 440-yard dash in the [[NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships]].<ref name=NewYorkTimes9.20.24/>

In 1960, he graduated from the University of Oregon with a [[Bachelor of Science|B.S.]] degree in Health & Physical Education.<ref name=HudReporter2006/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://otisdavisolympian.com/id65.html|title=Biography|publisher=OtisDavisOlympian.com|language=en-US|url-status=live|archive-date=November 25, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131125214319/http://otisdavisolympian.com/id65.html}}</ref> The University honored him in 2020, as one of eight gold medalists who attended the school. In addition, Davis, along with [[Bill Bowerman]], [[Ashton Eaton]], [[Steve Prefontaine]] and [[Raevyn Rogers]], are depicted on a nine-foot tower adjacent to [[Hayward Field]].<ref name=MoseleyUO2020/>


===Olympic===
===Olympic===
[[File:Otis Davis 1960b.jpg|thumb|left|Davis vs. Carl Kaufmann in the 4 × 400 m Olympic final in 1960]]
[[File:Otis Davis 1960b.jpg|thumb|left|Davis vs. Carl Kaufmann in the 4 × 400 m Olympic final in 1960]]
In 1960, Davis was competing on a national level for the [[Oregon Ducks]], and was poised to become a national AAU champion in the 440-yard run.<ref name=HudReporter2006/> That year, at the age of 28, he made the U.S. Olympic team. He ran his fastest time to date one week before participating in the [[1960 Summer Olympics]] in Rome as one of the oldest members of the track team, where he was nicknamed "Pops" by his teammates.<ref name=HudReporter2006/> He remembered: "I was still learning how to turn with the staggered starts and all. I was still learning the strategy involved. I was still learning how to run in the lanes."<ref name=HudReporter2006/>
Davis was competing on a national level for the [[Oregon Ducks]], and was poised to become a national AAU champion in the 440-yard run.<ref name=HudReporter2006/> At the age of 28, he made the 1960 United States Olympic team, placing third in the 400-meter race at the [[United States Olympic trials (track and field)|Olympic Trials]].<ref name=NewYorkTimes9.20.24/> He ran his fastest time to date one week before participating in the [[1960 Summer Olympics]] in Rome as one of the oldest members of the track team, where he was nicknamed "Pops" by his teammates.<ref name=HudReporter2006/> He remembered: "I was still learning how to turn with the staggered starts and all. I was still learning the strategy involved. I was still learning how to run in the lanes."<ref name=HudReporter2006/>


Davis ran against the heavily favored German athlete [[Carl Kaufmann]], who was the world record holder in the [[400-meter dash]]. He won by a hair, setting a [[World record progression 400 metres men|world record]] of 44.9 [[second]]s and becoming the first man to break the heralded 45-second barrier.<ref name=HudReporter2006/> The photo of the finish, with (in full horizontal dive position) Kaufmann's nose ahead of Davis, but his torso behind, has been studied and discussed by track and field officials for years.<ref name=HudReporter2006/><ref name=Speed>Lee, Jimson (September 13, 2009). [http://speedendurance.com/2009/09/13/otis-davis-1960-400-meter-and-4x400m-olympic-champion/ "Otis Davis, 1960 400 meter and 4x400m Olympic Champion"]. SpeedEndurance.com</ref> Both athletes were awarded the world record time, recorded in the 10ths of a second in those days, but Davis was awarded the win. Two days later, they met again for the 4 × 400 m relay final. He held off the challenge, anchoring home the gold with another world record performance of 3:02.2.<ref name=HudReporter2006/><ref name=Speed/> The photo of the finish of that race was also made famous in ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' magazine.<ref name=Speed/>
On September 6, 1960,<ref name=MoseleyUO2020/> Davis ran against the heavily favored German athlete [[Carl Kaufmann]], who was born in [[Brooklyn]]<ref name=NewYorkTimes9.20.24/> and held the world record in the [[400-meter dash]]. Davis won by a hair, setting a [[World record progression 400 metres men|world record]] of 44.9 [[second]]s and becoming the first man to break the heralded 45-second barrier.<ref name=MoseleyUO2020/><ref name=HudReporter2006/> The photo of the finish, with (in full horizontal dive position) Kaufmann's nose ahead of Davis, but his torso behind, has been studied and discussed by track and field officials for years.<ref name=HudReporter2006/><ref name=Speed>Lee, Jimson (September 13, 2009). [http://speedendurance.com/2009/09/13/otis-davis-1960-400-meter-and-4x400m-olympic-champion/ "Otis Davis, 1960 400 meter and 4x400m Olympic Champion"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417123150/http://speedendurance.com/2009/09/13/otis-davis-1960-400-meter-and-4x400m-olympic-champion/ |date=April 17, 2019}}. SpeedEndurance.com</ref> Both athletes were awarded the world record time, recorded in the 10ths of a second in those days, but Davis was awarded the win. Two days later, they met again for the 4 × 400 m relay final. Davis anchored the USA team of [[Jack Yerman]], [[Earl Young (athlete)|Earl Young]] and [[Glenn Davis (athlete)|400-meter hurdles gold medalist Glenn Davis]], setting a world record of 3:02.2.<ref name=NewYorkTimes9.20.24/><ref name=MoseleyUO2020/><ref name=HudReporter2006/><ref name=Speed/> The photo of the finish of that race was also made famous in ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' magazine.<ref name=Speed/>


In 1996 he was a torch-bearer for the [[1996 Summer Olympics|Summer Olympics]] in [[Atlanta]].<ref name=USATF/><ref name=HudReporter2006/>
It was also at the 1960 games that Davis met and became friends with [[Muhammad Ali]], about whom Davis said: "Boy, you think I talk a lot, but I couldn't get a word in with him. And since he's a boxer and I'm a runner, I couldn't really argue with that. We just kind of gelled."<ref name=HudReporter2012/>


===Post-Olympic===
===Post-Olympic===
[[File:3.22.12OtisDavisByLuigiNovi16.jpg|thumb|Davis in 2012, at his desk at [[Union City High School (New Jersey)|Union City High School]] in [[Union City, New Jersey]], where he worked as a verification officer, coach and mentor]]
[[File:3.22.12OtisDavisByLuigiNovi16.jpg|thumb|Davis in 2012, at his desk at [[Union City High School (New Jersey)|Union City High School]] in [[Union City, New Jersey]], where he worked as a verification officer, coach and mentor]]
Following the Olympics, Davis competed in some sporadic track meets, such as the 1961 U.S. Nationals at [[Randall's Island]], which he won aged 29, but his competitive running career was virtually over, as he never repeated his Olympic performance. He returned to Oregon, where he obtained his degree,<ref name=HudReporter2012/><ref name=HudReporter2006/> a [[Bachelor of Science|B.S.]] Health & Physical Education, in 1960.<ref>[http://otisdavisolympian.com/id65.html "Biography"]. OtisDavisOlympian.com. Retrieved March 20, 2012.</ref> He later considered playing as [[wide receiver]] for the [[Los Angeles Rams]]. After retiring from competition, he became a high school teacher, working in [[Springfield, Oregon]], for many years, and then traveled overseas to work as an athletic director at United States military bases,<ref name=HudReporter2006/> including [[JB MDL McGuire|McGuire Air Force Base]] in New Jersey, where he taught in 1989. He also taught various after-school programs for gifted students.<ref name=HudReporter2012/>
Following the Olympics, Davis competed in some sporadic track meets, such as the 1961 U.S. Nationals at [[Randall's Island]], which he won at age 29,<ref name=NewYorkTimes9.20.24/> but his competitive running career was virtually over, as he never repeated his Olympic performance. He returned to Oregon, and later considered playing as [[wide receiver]] for the [[Los Angeles Rams]]. After retiring from competition, he became a high school teacher, working in [[Springfield, Oregon]], for many years, and then traveled overseas to work as an athletic director at United States military bases,<ref name=HudReporter2006/> including [[JB MDL McGuire|McGuire Air Force Base]] in New Jersey,<ref name=NewYorkTimes9.20.24/> where he taught in 1989.<ref name=ala>{{cite web|url=https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/otis-davis/|title=Otis Davis|publisher=Encyclopedia of Alabama|accessdate=September 20, 2024}}</ref>


In 1991, Davis moved to [[Jersey City, New Jersey]], in order to live closer to New York, eventually settling in [[Union City, New Jersey|Union City]]<ref name=HudReporter2006/> sometime after December 2008.<ref name=HudReporter12.10.08/> In 1996 he was a torch-bearer for the [[1996 Summer Olympics|Summer Olympics]] in [[Atlanta]].<ref name=USATF/><ref name=HudReporter2006/>
In 1991, Davis moved to [[Jersey City, New Jersey]], in order to live closer to New York, eventually settling in [[Union City, New Jersey|Union City]].> Around 2002 or 2003. Davis was hired by the [[Union City School District (New Jersey)|Union City Board of Education]], and began working at [[Emerson High School (Union City, New Jersey)|Emerson High School]] as a [[truancy officer]], teacher, coach and mentor. When he was inducted into the [[National Track and Field Hall of Fame]] in 2003, he asked Emerson Principal Robert Fazio to accompany him to the ceremony in Los Angeles, and when the rest of the school's staff learned he was an Olympic medalist, they honored him with a banner posted in a hallway in the school honoring his achievements.<ref name=HudReporter2006/>

Around 2002 or 2003,<ref name=HudReporter2012/><ref name=HudReporter2006/> Davis was hired by the [[Union City School District (New Jersey)|Union City Board of Education]], and began working at [[Emerson High School (Union City, New Jersey)|Emerson High School]] as a [[truancy officer]], teacher, coach and mentor. When he was inducted into the [[National Track and Field Hall of Fame]] in 2003, he asked Emerson Principal Robert Fazio to accompany him to the ceremony in Los Angeles, and when the rest of the school's staff learned he was an Olympic medalist, they honored him with a banner posted in a hallway in the school honoring his achievements.<ref name=HudReporter2006/>


[[File:5.30.13SportsChallengeByLuigiNovi7.jpg|thumb|left|Davis refereeing the Family Fun Fest, an athletic event for special needs children]]
[[File:5.30.13SportsChallengeByLuigiNovi7.jpg|thumb|left|Davis refereeing the Family Fun Fest, an athletic event for special needs children]]
In 2012, Davis was working as a [[verification officer]] at [[Union City High School (New Jersey)|Union City High School]], mentoring students,<ref name=USATF/> some of whom have gone on to win the United States Olympians Tri-States Chapter Annual Achievement Award, which is awarded to New York, New Jersey and Connecticut students. The top five winners in 2012 were Union City students.<ref name=HudReporter2012/> He was also co-founder and, in 2012, president of the Tri-States Olympic Alumni Association, a member of the University of Oregon Hall of Fame and the [[New Jersey]] Sports Writers' Halls of Fame.<ref name=HudReporter2006/>
In 2012, Davis was working as a [[verification officer]] at [[Union City High School (New Jersey)|Union City High School]], mentoring students.<ref name=USATF/> He was also co-founder and, in 2012, president of the Tri-States Olympic Alumni Association, a member of the University of Oregon Hall of Fame and the [[New Jersey]] Sports Writers' Halls of Fame.<ref name=HudReporter2006/>

Davis ran athletic skills programs during the spring and summer in Union City, in order to reach students who did not normally participate in sporting events, and to complement the schools' physical education curricula. Among programs he directed were the Mayor's Cup, first held on June 6, 2011, in which students from the city's several elementary schools compete in events that include sprinting, spring relays and circle relays, and the Sports Challenge, which provides [[special needs]] children with the opportunity to be a part of sports activities.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/2012/12/union_city_olympian_otis_davis.html|title=Union City Olympian Otis Davis, now 80, keeps up with community contributions|publisher=[[NJ.com]]|author=Machcinski, Anthony J.|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=December 20, 2012|access-date=November 12, 2024|archive-date=June 20, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130620020005/http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index.ssf/2012/12/union_city_olympian_otis_davis.html}}</ref>

In 2023, Davis published a memoir, ''Destiny's Daredevil: The Autobiography of an Olympic Champion Helping Others Cross the Finish Line.''<ref name=NewYorkTimes9.20.24/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pr.com/press-release/890277|title=Otis Davis's Newly Released 'Destiny's Daredevil' is a Fascinating Memoir That Takes Readers on a Journey of Discovery and Unexpected Blessings|publisher=Christian Faith Publishing|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=July 5, 2023|access-date=November 12, 2024|archive-date=November 12, 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20241112203255/https://www.pr.com/press-release/890277}}</ref>

==Personal life and death==
Davis was married to and divorced from Lucille Mathes, and had two daughters.<ref name=NewYorkTimes9.20.24/>


In 1994, burglars stole Davis's gold medals from his home in New Jersey, but they were recovered and returned within a month.<ref name = NewYorkTimes9.20.24/>
Davis ran athletic skills programs during the spring and summer in Union City, in order to reach students who did not normally participate in sporting events, and to complement the schools' physical education curricula. Among programs he directed were the Mayor's Cup, first held on June 6, 2011, in which students from the city's several elementary schools compete in events that include sprinting, spring relays and circle relays,<ref>Nardone, Christine (June 8, 2001). [http://www.hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/2371917/article-Bringing-home-the-trophy-Union-City-schools-compete-for-Mayor-s-Cup? "Bringing home the trophy: Union City schools compete for Mayor's Cup"]. ''The Hudson Reporter''.</ref><ref>Sibayan, Reena Rose (July 23, 2013). [http://photos.nj.com/jersey-journal/2013/07/2013_union_city_mayors_cup_com_2.html "2013 Union City Mayor's Cup Competition"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304103212/http://photos.nj.com/jersey-journal/2013/07/2013_union_city_mayors_cup_com_2.html |date=March 4, 2016 }}. [[NJ.com]].</ref> and the Sports Challenge, which provides [[special needs]] children with the opportunity to be a part of sports activities.<ref>Machcinski, Anthony J. (December 20, 2012). [http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index.ssf/2012/12/union_city_olympian_otis_davis.html "Union City Olympian Otis Davis, now 80, keeps up with community contributions"]. NJ.com.</ref>


⚫
Davis died in [[North Bergen, New Jersey]], on September 14, 2024, at the age of 92.<ref name=NewYorkTimes9.20.24/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcsports.com/olympics/news/otis-davis-dies|title=Otis Davis, 1960 Olympic 400m gold medalist, dies at age 92|publisher=NBC Sports|accessdate=September 16, 2024|date=September 16, 2024|archive-date=September 16, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916231033/https://www.nbcsports.com/olympics/news/otis-davis-dies|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Death==
⚫
Davis died on September 14, 2024, at the age of 92.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcsports.com/olympics/news/otis-davis-dies|title=Otis Davis, 1960 Olympic 400m gold medalist, dies at age 92|publisher=NBC Sports|accessdate=September 16, 2024|date=September 16, 2024}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
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*[http://otisdavisolympian.com/ Official website]
*[http://otisdavisolympian.com/ Official website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110709132941/http://www.goducks.com/pdf1/4205.pdf?ATCLID=30960&SPID=243&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPSID=4592 University of Oregon Duck Record Holders]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110709132941/http://www.goducks.com/pdf1/4205.pdf?ATCLID=30960&SPID=243&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPSID=4592 University of Oregon Duck Record Holders]
*{{sports links}}


{{Footer Olympic Champions 400 m Men}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions 400 m Men}}
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[[Category:Sportspeople from Union City, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Union City, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:African-American track and field athletes]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]

Latest revision as of 13:11, 1 December 2024

For the baseball player, see Otis Davis (baseball).

Otis Davis
Davis in 1960
Personal information
Born(1932-07-12)July 12, 1932
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, U.S.
DiedSeptember 14, 2024(2024-09-14) (aged 92)
North Bergen, New Jersey, U.S.
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight163 lb (74 kg)
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportTrack and field
Event(s)400-meter dash
4×400 m relay
College teamUniversity of Oregon
ClubPhiladelphia Pioneer Club[1]
Coached byBill Bowerman
Medal record
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome 400 m
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome 4×400 m relay

Otis Crandall Davis (July 12, 1932 – September 14, 2024) was an American athlete, winner of two gold medals for record-breaking performances in the 400 m and 4 × 400 m relay at the 1960 Summer Olympics. He set a new world record of 44.9 seconds in the 400 m and became the first person to break the 45-second barrier.[1]

Early life

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Otis Crandall Davis was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on July 12, 1932.[2][3] He was black and Native American. His father, Johnie Davis, worked as a bellhop, and his mother, Mary Alice Davis, taught science and worked as a movie theater cashier.[3] He grew up in a segregated Alabama,[4] and was raised by his maternal grandmother, Carrie Eaton.[3]

He served four years in the United States Air Force during the Korean War.[5]

Career

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College

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Following the Air Force, Davis attended enrolled at Los Angeles City College, where he played basketball.[3] In 1957, he transferred to the University of Oregon on a basketball scholarship.[6][3] One day in 1958 while observing athletes running on the track with a friend, Davis, who had never run before, nor attended schools in his youth with sports programs other than basketball and football, decided that he could beat the athletes he saw on the track.[6] He approached track coach Bill Bowerman, who would later become the founding father of the Nike, Inc., and asked to join the track team. Needing high jumpers instead, Bowerman had Davis try his hand.

Among Davis's first attempts, he jumped 6'0". He recalled: "I had no form. I had no style. I just jumped."[6] He also hit 23'0" in the long jump with little effort, though he was flustered by the sprinting events, relating "I didn't even know how to get in the starting blocks". For his first competitive event, Bowerman entered Davis in the 220-yard dash and the 440-yard dash in the Pacific Coast Conference championships, both of which he won, missing the school record by two tenths of a second in the latter.[6]

According to Davis, Bowerman made the first pair of Nike shoes for him, contradicting the claim that they were made for Phil Knight: "I told Tom Brokaw that I was the first. I don't care what all the billionaires say. Bill Bowerman made the first pair of shoes for me. People don't believe me. In fact, I didn't like the way they felt on my feet. There was no support and they were too tight. But I saw Bowerman make them from the waffle iron, and they were mine."[6]

In 1959, Davis finished seventh in the 440-yard dash in the NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships.[3]

In 1960, he graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.S. degree in Health & Physical Education.[6][7] The University honored him in 2020, as one of eight gold medalists who attended the school. In addition, Davis, along with Bill Bowerman, Ashton Eaton, Steve Prefontaine and Raevyn Rogers, are depicted on a nine-foot tower adjacent to Hayward Field.[4]

Olympic

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Davis vs. Carl Kaufmann in the 4 × 400 m Olympic final in 1960

Davis was competing on a national level for the Oregon Ducks, and was poised to become a national AAU champion in the 440-yard run.[6] At the age of 28, he made the 1960 United States Olympic team, placing third in the 400-meter race at the Olympic Trials.[3] He ran his fastest time to date one week before participating in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome as one of the oldest members of the track team, where he was nicknamed "Pops" by his teammates.[6] He remembered: "I was still learning how to turn with the staggered starts and all. I was still learning the strategy involved. I was still learning how to run in the lanes."[6]

On September 6, 1960,[4] Davis ran against the heavily favored German athlete Carl Kaufmann, who was born in Brooklyn[3] and held the world record in the 400-meter dash. Davis won by a hair, setting a world record of 44.9 seconds and becoming the first man to break the heralded 45-second barrier.[4][6] The photo of the finish, with (in full horizontal dive position) Kaufmann's nose ahead of Davis, but his torso behind, has been studied and discussed by track and field officials for years.[6][8] Both athletes were awarded the world record time, recorded in the 10ths of a second in those days, but Davis was awarded the win. Two days later, they met again for the 4 × 400 m relay final. Davis anchored the USA team of Jack Yerman, Earl Young and 400-meter hurdles gold medalist Glenn Davis, setting a world record of 3:02.2.[3][4][6][8] The photo of the finish of that race was also made famous in Life magazine.[8]

In 1996 he was a torch-bearer for the Summer Olympics in Atlanta.[2][6]

Post-Olympic

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Davis in 2012, at his desk at Union City High School in Union City, New Jersey, where he worked as a verification officer, coach and mentor

Following the Olympics, Davis competed in some sporadic track meets, such as the 1961 U.S. Nationals at Randall's Island, which he won at age 29,[3] but his competitive running career was virtually over, as he never repeated his Olympic performance. He returned to Oregon, and later considered playing as wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams. After retiring from competition, he became a high school teacher, working in Springfield, Oregon, for many years, and then traveled overseas to work as an athletic director at United States military bases,[6] including McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey,[3] where he taught in 1989.[9]

In 1991, Davis moved to Jersey City, New Jersey, in order to live closer to New York, eventually settling in Union City.> Around 2002 or 2003. Davis was hired by the Union City Board of Education, and began working at Emerson High School as a truancy officer, teacher, coach and mentor. When he was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2003, he asked Emerson Principal Robert Fazio to accompany him to the ceremony in Los Angeles, and when the rest of the school's staff learned he was an Olympic medalist, they honored him with a banner posted in a hallway in the school honoring his achievements.[6]

Davis refereeing the Family Fun Fest, an athletic event for special needs children

In 2012, Davis was working as a verification officer at Union City High School, mentoring students.[2] He was also co-founder and, in 2012, president of the Tri-States Olympic Alumni Association, a member of the University of Oregon Hall of Fame and the New Jersey Sports Writers' Halls of Fame.[6]

Davis ran athletic skills programs during the spring and summer in Union City, in order to reach students who did not normally participate in sporting events, and to complement the schools' physical education curricula. Among programs he directed were the Mayor's Cup, first held on June 6, 2011, in which students from the city's several elementary schools compete in events that include sprinting, spring relays and circle relays, and the Sports Challenge, which provides special needs children with the opportunity to be a part of sports activities.[10]

In 2023, Davis published a memoir, Destiny's Daredevil: The Autobiography of an Olympic Champion Helping Others Cross the Finish Line.[3][11]

Personal life and death

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Davis was married to and divorced from Lucille Mathes, and had two daughters.[3]

In 1994, burglars stole Davis's gold medals from his home in New Jersey, but they were recovered and returned within a month.[3]

Davis died in North Bergen, New Jersey, on September 14, 2024, at the age of 92.[3][12]

References

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  1. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Otis Davis". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Otis Davis" Archived June 14, 2024, at the Wayback Machine. USA Track & Field. Retrieved March 20, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Sandomir, Richard (September 20, 2024). "Otis Davis, Who Overcame Racism to Win Olympic Gold, Dies at 92". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 20, 2024. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e Moseley, Rob and Zach Lawson. But First There Was Otis. UO Athletics. Hayward Field, University of Oregon. 2020. https://hayward.uoregon.edu/otis-davis
  5. ^ "Double 1960 Olympic champion American runner Otis Davis dies at 92". India Today. September 17, 2024. Archived from the original on September 17, 2024. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Hague, Jim (May 14, 2006). "Truant officer was Olympic hero Emerson High has gold medalist in midst". The Hudson Reporter. Archived from the original on May 4, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  7. ^ "Biography". OtisDavisOlympian.com. Archived from the original on November 25, 2013.
  8. ^ a b c Lee, Jimson (September 13, 2009). "Otis Davis, 1960 400 meter and 4x400m Olympic Champion" Archived April 17, 2019, at the Wayback Machine. SpeedEndurance.com
  9. ^ "Otis Davis". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  10. ^ Machcinski, Anthony J. (December 20, 2012). "Union City Olympian Otis Davis, now 80, keeps up with community contributions". NJ.com. Archived from the original on June 20, 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
  11. ^ "Otis Davis's Newly Released 'Destiny's Daredevil' is a Fascinating Memoir That Takes Readers on a Journey of Discovery and Unexpected Blessings". Christian Faith Publishing. July 5, 2023. Archived from the original on November 12, 2024. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
  12. ^ "Otis Davis, 1960 Olympic 400m gold medalist, dies at age 92". NBC Sports. September 16, 2024. Archived from the original on September 16, 2024. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
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