Otho Davis
Encyclopedia
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
athletic trainer. He was the head athletic trainer for Kent State University
Kent State University
Kent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
from 1957-65. In 1965, he moved to Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
for six seasons. In 1971, O joined the Baltimore Colts
History of the Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls....
for two seasons, his first foray in the NFL.
It was in Philadelphia, however, that Otho Davis became a premiere athletic trainer. Hired by the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in 1973, Davis served as head athletic trainer for the club until his retirement after the 1995 season. He was named Athletic Trainer of the Year five times.
For eighteen years (1971 to 1989), Davis served as the executive director of the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA). The NATA headquarters in Dallas, Texas was renamed in his honor. In 1981, Davis was inducted into the National Athletic Trainers' Hall of Fame. One of the highest honors for an athletic trainer to receive.
On May 1, 1993 Davis was also enshrined into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame - Philadelphia Chapter. In 1982, he received the Distinguished Service Award for Sports Medicine from the American Orthopedics Society for Sports Medicine. His other honors include having been inducted into the Southwest Athletic Trainers' Association (Texas and Arkansas) Hall of Fame in 1987 and being a member of "Who's Who in the East." He is also a member of the Kent State University Hall of Fame and an Honorary member of the Kent State Varsity "K". Davis also held memberships in various professional organizations, including the International Narcotic Enforcement Officers Association.
Davis was also nominated in April, 1993 by the Professional Football Writers Association (PFWA) for the Horrigan Award. This honor is bestowed upon the league or club official or player for his qualities and professional style in helping pro football writers do his or her job.
Davis served as the charter president of the Pennsylvania Athletic Trainers' Society.
Davis was a member of the Board of Advisors of the Ed Block Courage Award
Ed Block Courage Award
The Ed Block Courage Award is an annual award presented to selected players in the National Football League , who are voted by their teammates as role models of inspiration, sportsmanship, and courage. Named in memory of Ed Block, a well-liked humanitarian and trainer for the Baltimore Colts, the...
which honors a player from all 32 NFL teams each season who, in the eyes of their teammates, best displays courage. Davis worked with Ed Block as an Associate Athletic Trainer during his tenure with the Baltimore Colts.
He also was a member of the Board of Governors of the Maxwell Football Club and was a past member of the executive committee of the Professional Football Athletic Trainers' Society.
A native of Elgin, TX, Davis, 61 (2/8/34), attended South Park High in Beaumont (TX) and later earned a B.S. degree in physical education from Lamar University
Lamar University
Lamar University, often referred to as Lamar or LU, is a comprehensive coeducational public research university located in Beaumont, Texas, United States. Lamar confers bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees and is classified as a Doctoral Research University by the Carnegie Commission on Higher...
in 1957 and an M.A. degree in 1964 from Kent State, where he was head athletic trainer from 1957-1965. Prior to that, he served in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corp from 1954-56 with the United States Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and was athletic trainer for the Beaumont (TX) "Exporter" baseball club in 1956.
In 1999, John Madden named Davis to his All Madden Team as the all time athletic trainer. The same year he was named to the Eagles Honor Roll.
On May 2, 2000, Davis passes away after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
In 2009, Otho Davis was nominated as the first athletic trainer for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He finished 6th in the fans voting at Fans Choice in his first year of eligibility.
He is the father of four sons: Mark, Harry, Richard, and Tom.