InducteesOtis Davis

Following a four-year stint in the Air Force, where he played basketball and baseball, Davis enrolled at the University of Oregon on a basketball scholarship. After not receiving enough playing time, he joined the track and field team. Coach Bill Bowerman initially utilized Davis as a jumper, but soon had him running with the sprinters as well. Just two years later, Davis broke the world record in the 400 meters and anchored the world record-breaking 4×400 relay team at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, winning a pair of Olympic gold medals. He also became the first person ever to run the 400 meters in under 45 seconds. Davis was the first Oregon athlete to win an Olympic gold medal. After retirement from running, he began a career coaching and teaching in the U.S. and Germany. 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, and the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2004. In 1996, he was a torch bearer for the Atlanta Olympics.