Otis Davis

Early life Otis Crandall Davis was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on July 12, 1932. 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. and was raised by his maternal grandmother, Carrie Eaton.

Career College Following the Air Force, Davis attended enrolled at Los Angeles City College, where he played basketball.

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." 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-story tower adjacent to Hayward Field. 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.

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.

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

Personal life and death Davis was married to and divorced from Lucille Mathes, and had two daughters.