20 Facts About Otis Davis

Otis Crandall Davis was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on July 12,1932.

Otis Davis grew up in a segregated Alabama, and was raised by his maternal grandmother, Carrie Eaton.

Otis Davis served four years in the United States Air Force during the Korean War.

One day in 1958 while observing athletes running on the track with a friend, Otis 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.

Otis Davis approached track coach Bill Bowerman, who would later become the founding father of the Nike, Inc.

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

Otis 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.

Otis Davis 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.

On September 6,1960, Otis Davis ran against the heavily favored German athlete Carl Kaufmann, who was born in Brooklyn and held the world record in the 400-meter dash.

Otis 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.

Otis Davis anchored the USA team of Jack Yerman, Earl Young and 400-meter hurdles gold medalist Glenn Otis Davis, setting a world record of 3:02.2.

Otis Davis returned to Oregon, and later considered playing as wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams.

In 1991, Otis Davis moved to Jersey City, New Jersey, in order to live closer to New York, eventually settling in Union City.

Otis 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.

In 2012, Otis Davis was working as a verification officer at Union City High School, mentoring students.

Otis Davis was 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.

Otis 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.

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

Otis Davis was married to and divorced from Lucille Mathes, and had two daughters.

Otis Davis died in North Bergen, New Jersey, on September 14,2024, at the age of 92.