Sam Davis (American football)
| No. 57 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Guard | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | July 5, 1944 Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died: | September 10, 2019 (aged 75) McKeesport, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 255 lb (116 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Northwestern (Miami, Florida) | ||||||||
| College: | Allen | ||||||||
| Undrafted: | 1967 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Samuel Davis (July 5, 1944 – September 10, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a guard for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1967 to 1979. He won four Super Bowls with the Steelers.
College career
[edit]Davis played football at Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina.
Professional career
[edit]Davis was an undrafted rookie in 1967. He did not start any game during his first three years of play, but started at the left offensive guard position for the National Football League's Pittsburgh Steelers from 1970 to 1979. In 1970, Chuck Noll's second year as head coach, Davis replaced Larry Gagner and started all 14 games. From 1970 to 1979, he played next to left offensive tackle Jon Kolb and the two went on to win four Super Bowl rings together with the Steelers (Super Bowls IX, X, XIII, and XIV). However, Davis injured his foot before Pittsburgh's first Super Bowl and Jim Clack started in his place in Super Bowls IX and then retained the starting job throughout the 1975 season and Super Bowl X.[1][2][3][4] In 1980, he was replaced by Ray Pinney.
Death
[edit]On September 10, 2019, at approximately 6:50 am, Davis, aged 75, was reported missing from the New Life Care Personal Home in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. He had been suffering from dementia and was legally blind. Later that evening, authorities announced that Davis was found deceased inside of the facility.[5][6] Davis' family later stated that he had died of a heart attack.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ Musick, Phil (January 10, 1975). "Steelers, Vikings Move Into Stadium". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 26. Retrieved September 11, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Browns vs. Steelers". Chicago Tribune. December 6, 1975. p. 6. Retrieved September 11, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Super Bowl IX". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
- ^ "Super Bowl X". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
- ^ "Former Pittsburgh Steelers player Sam Davis found dead". WPXI. September 10, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2019.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Former Steeler Sam Davis found dead after reported missing from McKeesport nursing home". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. September 10, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- ^ "Cause of death, funeral arrangements announced for Pittsburgh Steelers legend Sam Davis". WPXI. September 14, 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2019.