Otis Davis, BS '60

Otis Davis’ track and field career lasted just three years, but in that brief amount of time he broke two world records and won two Olympic gold medals, and made enough of an impact to be inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame, the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, the University of Oregon Hall of Fame, and the New Jersey Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame, and also receive the Bill Hayward Amateur Athlete of the Year award.

That said, when your resume leads with the fact that you were the first human in history to run 400 meters in fewer than 45 seconds, you’re no stranger to achieving great things in a short amount of time.

Following a four-year stint in the Air Force, where he played basketball and baseball, Davis enrolled at the UO on a basketball scholarship. A natural small forward playing guard for the Ducks, Davis struggled for minutes, and after seeing the track team practicing at Hayward Field from his dorm in Douglass one day, decided to try his luck there instead. Bill Bowerman initially utilized Davis as a jumper, but soon had him running with the sprinters as well.

That was in 1958. Just two years later, Davis broke the world record in the 400 meters and anchored the world record-breaking 4x400 relay team at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, winning a pair of gold medals for his efforts.

“I felt on top of the world,” said Davis, who at the time was still so new to competitive running that he spent the trip to Italy learning lane-running tactics. “Everybody should be able to experience that in their life.”

During the 400-meter final, Davis became the first person in history to run the distance in fewer than 45 seconds, besting the likes of Germany’s Carl Kaufmann—undefeated at the distance over the previous two years—in the process.

“I hadn’t given a thought about my time,” said Davis. “I just figured I’d run as fast as I could run.”

Davis retired from competing in 1961, and became a teacher in Springfield, Oregon, for many years, before moving to Union City, New Jersey, where he became a verification officer, coach, and mentor. He is the founder and former president of the US Olympians Tri-States Chapter, and founded and currently runs United Athletes, LLC, where he oversees an annual event at the New York Athletic Club to recognize young athletes who have good grades and who have shown a commitment to community service.

“My fate seems to be my ability to create and conduct programs for kids,” Davis said. “Now I want to expand them and get more students involved.”

Davis received the Bill Hayward Amateur Athlete of the Year award in 1961, and was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1981, the University of Oregon Hall of Fame in 1992, the New Jersey Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame in 1996, and the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2004. In 1996 he was a torch bearer for the Atlanta Olympics.