Art Davis

Arthur Ganong Davis (November 29, 1934 – January 29, 2021) was an American professional football player who played collegiately at Mississippi State from 1952 to 1955 and for one season with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL).

Early life Art Davis was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, where he attended Clarksdale High School. He received a football scholarship to Mississippi State after missing his entire senior high school football season breaking his leg in the first game. He was limited during his rookie season in 1956 by an injured shoulder which he suffered in the College All-Star Game vs. the Cleveland Browns as well as a knee injury he sustained in college and again with the Steelers. The knee injury would also sideline him for the 1957 season.

Coaching career After professional football, Davis started his coaching career at Biloxi High School in 1957. He then became an assistant coach at LSU under Coach Paul Dietzel in 1959 and 1960, and was the freshman coach at Georgia Tech under Coach Bobby Dodd in 1961 and 1962. Davis was hired as the defensive backfield coach at the University of Texas in 1963, and in that season under Coach Darrell Royal, the Longhorns won the National Championship and then beat Navy, 28–6, in the 1964 Cotton Bowl. He retired from college coaching after that season to pursue business opportunities in Mississippi and spend more time with his family. Later in life, Davis coached at Lee Academy in Clarksdale, Mississippi and Central Catholic High School in Portland, Oregon.

Personal Davis was married to the former Frances Habig of Jackson, Mississippi, for 58 years until her death in 2014. They have two children, four grandchildren, and four great grandchildren. Art's son, Doug, played tennis at Mississippi State in the early 1980s and grandson, Brad Jones, played first base and was team captain for the Bulldog baseball team in the early 2000s. The Davises are relatives of the Ganong Bros. candy-making family based in St. Stephen New Brunswick, Canada. Art lived in Oregon from 2001 to 2020 then moved to Starkville, MS later that year.

He died of Parkinson's disease on January 29, 2021, in Starkville, Mississippi, at age 86.