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By Bill Lilley
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 10:04 a.m. EST, Jan 28, 2009
Glenn ‘‘Jeep’’ Davis, who was known to a generation as the greatest hurdler in the world after winning gold medals in the 1956 and 1960 Summer Olympics, died this morning after a lengthy illness.
He was 74.
Davis was recognized throughout the country as an outstanding multisport athlete, long before Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson made that label hip. He was on the cover of the June 27, 1960, edition of Sports Illustrated.
In 2006, the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame acknowledged Davis as the greatest athlete in county history.
Davis owned three Olympic gold medals, won the Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete, held five world records and enjoyed a brief career in the NFL with the Detroit Lions.
But what pleased Davis most, he often said, was that he was known as a friend by all in his adopted hometown of Barberton.
Davis moved to the Magic City at the age of 15 following the deaths of his parents. His legs would later take him all over the world as a standout runner, but his heart was forever in Barberton.
The citizens of Barberton rewarded Davis for his loyalty a decade ago by erecting a bronze statue on West Park Avenue. A stern-faced Davis is depicted clearing a hurdle.
More than $30,000 of the $45,000 needed for the statue was raised from individual donations, coming a quarter or a dollar at a time.
‘‘I have met a lot of athletes,’’ said Rudy Sharkey, former Barberton High School football coach and longtime friend of Davis, ‘‘and none were as humble and gracious as Jeep.’’
Davis was born Sept. 12, 1934, in Wellsburg, W.Va., and grew up in Marietta. He lived a rough-and-tumble existence and had the displeasure of having a youth basketball coach tell him, ‘‘You'll never be a good athlete.’’
At first, those words ate at Davis. Then they drove him.
He became the first freshman to play varsity basketball at Follensbee High School in West Virginia.
Cruel fate then intervened.
Davis' father, an ironworker who loved baseball, and his mother both died within a 12-hour span.
They left behind 10 children, including a 15-year-old Jeep, who had picked up the nickname through a comic strip character as a youngster.
The 6-foot tall Davis was sent to Barberton to live with other family members.
His athletic career took off.
Davis was an All-Ohio honoree in football for the Magics. He single-handedly won the high school state track and field championship for Barberton High in 1954.
He went to Ohio State with the dream of becoming an Olympic champion.
Davis was a standout immediately at Ohio State and won his first Olympic gold medal in Australia in the middle of his sophomore season.
He returned to Ohio State and set the world record in the 440-yard dash at the 1958 Big Ten Championships. He also won the 440 at the NCAA Track and Field Championships.
Davis was a key figure on the U.S. track team that toured Europe in the summer of 1958. He set the world record in the 400-yard hurdles and won nine of the 10 races he competed in over a 14-day span.
Davis was honored as the top amateur athlete in the United States when he was voted the James E. Sullivan Award winner in 1958.
He would go on to win 26 Big Ten titles along with four NCAA championships while running for Ohio State.
He returned to the Olympics in 1960 and won gold medals in the 400 hurdles and as a member of the 1,600 relay team.
After the Olympics closed, Davis signed to play with the Detroit Lions in the fall of 1960. He caught 10 passes for 132 yards as a wide receiver before retiring after the 1962 season.
He coached the track team at Cornell University from 1963 through 1967, leading the Big Red to the Ivy League title in his final season.
Davis returned to Barberton High School. He taught mechanical drawing, but earned a greater niche as a driver's education instructor.
He also was an assistant coach on the football team and was highly regarded as Barberton's head track and field coach.
‘‘We won every title during the time Barberton was in the NEO (Northeastern Ohio) Conference,’’ Sharkey said.
‘‘And it was amazing how many exceptional hurdlers throughout the country would come to Barberton to be coached by Jeep. There was a constant stream coming in, and he did a great job with them.’’
Davis didn't charge them a dime for his expertise and relating his experiences, friends noted.
It's not hard to believe.
He also turned down $125,000 in 1960 because he believed posing for an ad promoting cigarettes would send the wrong message to kids.
Davis worked with the kids, including his own, at Barberton for 26 years before retiring from public education ` but not from teaching.
He saw a void, and an opportunity to keep working with kids, and opened Jeep's Olympic Driving School in Barberton. He also co-owned a pizza shop for a while.
Davis sustained a mild heart attack in the late 1990s and eventually turned the driving school over to his son, Tim. The school closed a couple of years ago.
As he got older, Davis often said he had a greater appreciation for his family and that his best times were spent with his wife, Dee, sons Tim and Glenn and daughter Jennifer along with grandson Caleb.
‘‘One of the best things is when we have the kids over and I make the dinner,’’ Davis said in 1999. ‘‘I'm a pretty good cook.’’
Funeral arrangements are pending.
>> Archive (1998): Driving Mr. Davis
>> Archive (1999): Heart of gold
Bill Lilley can be reached at 330-996-3811 or blilley@thebeaconjournal.com.
Glenn ‘‘Jeep’’ Davis, who was known to a generation as the greatest hurdler in the world after winning gold medals in the 1956 and 1960 Summer Olympics, died this morning after a lengthy illness.
He was 74.
Davis was recognized throughout the country as an outstanding multisport athlete, long before Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson made that label hip. He was on the cover of the June 27, 1960, edition of Sports Illustrated.
In 2006, the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame acknowledged Davis as the greatest athlete in county history.
Davis owned three Olympic gold medals, won the Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete, held five world records and enjoyed a brief career in the NFL with the Detroit Lions.
But what pleased Davis most, he often said, was that he was known as a friend by all in his adopted hometown of Barberton.
Davis moved to the Magic City at the age of 15 following the deaths of his parents. His legs would later take him all over the world as a standout runner, but his heart was forever in Barberton.
The citizens of Barberton rewarded Davis for his loyalty a decade ago by erecting a bronze statue on West Park Avenue. A stern-faced Davis is depicted clearing a hurdle.
More than $30,000 of the $45,000 needed for the statue was raised from individual donations, coming a quarter or a dollar at a time.
‘‘I have met a lot of athletes,’’ said Rudy Sharkey, former Barberton High School football coach and longtime friend of Davis, ‘‘and none were as humble and gracious as Jeep.’’
Davis was born Sept. 12, 1934, in Wellsburg, W.Va., and grew up in Marietta. He lived a rough-and-tumble existence and had the displeasure of having a youth basketball coach tell him, ‘‘You'll never be a good athlete.’’
At first, those words ate at Davis. Then they drove him.
He became the first freshman to play varsity basketball at Follensbee High School in West Virginia.
Cruel fate then intervened.
Davis' father, an ironworker who loved baseball, and his mother both died within a 12-hour span.
They left behind 10 children, including a 15-year-old Jeep, who had picked up the nickname through a comic strip character as a youngster.
The 6-foot tall Davis was sent to Barberton to live with other family members.
His athletic career took off.
Davis was an All-Ohio honoree in football for the Magics. He single-handedly won the high school state track and field championship for Barberton High in 1954.
He went to Ohio State with the dream of becoming an Olympic champion.
Davis was a standout immediately at Ohio State and won his first Olympic gold medal in Australia in the middle of his sophomore season.
He returned to Ohio State and set the world record in the 440-yard dash at the 1958 Big Ten Championships. He also won the 440 at the NCAA Track and Field Championships.
Davis was a key figure on the U.S. track team that toured Europe in the summer of 1958. He set the world record in the 400-yard hurdles and won nine of the 10 races he competed in over a 14-day span.
Davis was honored as the top amateur athlete in the United States when he was voted the James E. Sullivan Award winner in 1958.
He would go on to win 26 Big Ten titles along with four NCAA championships while running for Ohio State.
He returned to the Olympics in 1960 and won gold medals in the 400 hurdles and as a member of the 1,600 relay team.
After the Olympics closed, Davis signed to play with the Detroit Lions in the fall of 1960. He caught 10 passes for 132 yards as a wide receiver before retiring after the 1962 season.
He coached the track team at Cornell University from 1963 through 1967, leading the Big Red to the Ivy League title in his final season.
Davis returned to Barberton High School. He taught mechanical drawing, but earned a greater niche as a driver's education instructor.
He also was an assistant coach on the football team and was highly regarded as Barberton's head track and field coach.
‘‘We won every title during the time Barberton was in the NEO (Northeastern Ohio) Conference,’’ Sharkey said.
‘‘And it was amazing how many exceptional hurdlers throughout the country would come to Barberton to be coached by Jeep. There was a constant stream coming in, and he did a great job with them.’’
Davis didn't charge them a dime for his expertise and relating his experiences, friends noted.
It's not hard to believe.
He also turned down $125,000 in 1960 because he believed posing for an ad promoting cigarettes would send the wrong message to kids.
Davis worked with the kids, including his own, at Barberton for 26 years before retiring from public education ` but not from teaching.
He saw a void, and an opportunity to keep working with kids, and opened Jeep's Olympic Driving School in Barberton. He also co-owned a pizza shop for a while.
Davis sustained a mild heart attack in the late 1990s and eventually turned the driving school over to his son, Tim. The school closed a couple of years ago.
As he got older, Davis often said he had a greater appreciation for his family and that his best times were spent with his wife, Dee, sons Tim and Glenn and daughter Jennifer along with grandson Caleb.
‘‘One of the best things is when we have the kids over and I make the dinner,’’ Davis said in 1999. ‘‘I'm a pretty good cook.’’
Funeral arrangements are pending.
>> Archive (1998): Driving Mr. Davis
>> Archive (1999): Heart of gold
Bill Lilley can be reached at 330-996-3811 or blilley@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Barbertucky, OH
Posted 12:36 PM, 01/28/2009
Here is to a life very well lived. God bless the Davis family.
Posted 12:49 PM, 01/28/2009
be more like Jeep !!!! and live. It's better this way!!
Akron, Oh
Posted 01:25 PM, 01/28/2009
Jeep was an excellent man and more should try to strive to be more like him.
My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.
Akron, OH
Posted 01:45 PM, 01/28/2009
Take it from a student athlete of his. I am a better man today for having been coached and taught be Glenn "Jeep" Davis. He will be missed.
CLINTON, OH
Posted 02:02 PM, 01/28/2009
JEEP WAS A GREAT INSPRIATION TO ALL WHO KNEW HIM. HE WAS A KIND AND LOVING MAN WHO WILL BE GREATLY MISSED NOT ONLY BY HIS FAMILY BUT ALL OF US WHO HAD THE PLEASURE OF KNOWING HIM. WHEN MY OLDER SON WAS YOUNG HE ALLOWED HIM TO TAKE HIS GOLD MEDALS TO SCHOOL FOR SHOW AND TELL, WHICH WAS AN HONOR TO MY SON. MY PRAYERS AND THOUGHTS GO OUT TO HIS FAMILY. JEEP WILL LIVE ON WITH OUR MEMORIES. BARBERTON HAS TRUELY LOST ONE OF THEIR HEROS.
CLINTON, OH
Posted 02:13 PM, 01/28/2009
JEEP WAS GREAT INSPRIATION TO EVERYONE WHO KNEW HIM. HE WAS A KIND AND LOVING MAN. HE ALLOWED MY SONS TO TAKE HIS GOLD MEDALS TO SCHOOL FOR SHOW AND TELL WHEN THEY WERE YOUNG, WHICH WAS AN HONOR TO THEM. HE TALKED HIGHLY OF HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN WHO HE LOVED VERY MUCH. HE WILL BE MISSED BY EVERYONE WHO HAD THE PLEASURE OF KNOWING. MY PRAYERS AND THOUGHTS GO OUT TO HIS FAMILY. HE WILL LIVE ON IN OUR MEMORIE FOREVER. BARBERTON HAS TRUELY LOST ON OF THEIR HEROS.
Akron, Oh
Posted 02:18 PM, 01/28/2009
My prayers go out to the Davis Family. Jeep was my track coach during my days at Barberton High. He was an amazing person. He will be missed by many. If only our school systems had more teachers like Jeep.
Richfield, OH
Posted 03:29 PM, 01/28/2009
Jeep was awesome. I believe they did a survey and he was voted best athlete ever from Summit County.
Posted 04:33 PM, 01/28/2009
rest in peace Mr. Davis. thanks for bringing some magic to the Magic City! in a day of sports icons, you are a legend. you'll be greatly missed for the impact you had on all that came in contact with you. God bless you and your family. ~Scott Snowden, BHS Class of 1998
barberton, oh
Posted 05:08 PM, 01/28/2009
God bless you Jeep Davis
akron, oh
Posted 05:17 PM, 01/28/2009
we were all blessed to have known such a great man.jennifer i remember when my dad died and you and your dad were there for my family. jennifer you i still call a true friend sorry we lost touch.i am truely sorry for your lose. but we should celebrate his life not cry. a life well lived and full of happiness. edith davis (claar) class of 1992
Bourg, La
Posted 07:47 PM, 01/28/2009
I remember Jeep with loving thoughts. Always admired his calm and quite ways. I have often, through the year thought of him. He was the kind of person that leave his mark on your soul.I wish his family well. I know that he is with the angels now looking down on us all. Feel sorry not for his death, but be happy for his full filling life and his loving family.
barberton, oh
Posted 08:24 PM, 01/28/2009
A Barberton icon, not to be forgotten! Loved him when I was in school.
Barberton, OH
Posted 06:38 AM, 01/29/2009
Glenn Davis,
A man above and a pioneer. I talked to Mr. Davis a few years back about weight training. He told me that he was training with weights for track and field when it really hadn't much been thought of yet. He attributed much of his training success to his use of free weights and a regular routine of exercise. What a gentleman. Thank you Glenn Davis.
peninsula, OH
Posted 08:13 AM, 01/29/2009
Jeep was my track coach at Barberton high, he was very kind. Wish his family well. Go man Go!!
Barberton, Oh
Posted 08:52 AM, 01/29/2009
What is a hero? According to Webster it is a figure renowned for exceptional courage and fortitude. The person that has worn that hat for many years is Glen "Jeep" Davis.
Jeep had been an inspiration to many people young and old. He shared his smile with all.
He will be missed a great deal. Thanks for all the good memories Jeep!!!
cambridge, oh
Posted 11:37 AM, 01/29/2009
Jeep Gave me my first job... having worked at Jeep N Joes was a great way to meet everyone in high school. A coke and small plain pizza seemed to be the Barberton High diet... Jeep was definitely one of the most personable people you could ever know or meet... Truly an inspiration to many and it seemed like he never forgot anyone's name... what an incredible Man... It has been my pleasure to know him and say shake his hand every time I saw him... Thanks Jeep.. condolences to all of Jeep's family and friends.. Mick and Lori Maag
Barberton, OH
Posted 12:51 PM, 01/29/2009
R.I.P Mr. Davis you will be greatly missed. May God be with you now!
columbus, oh
Posted 01:59 PM, 01/29/2009
My Sincere condolences to the Davis Family! Jeep was my driving instructor in high school (class of 76!) He was a nice man and great teacher!
