Douglas Sherone Davis (July 2, 1944 – February 10, 2011) was a professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

tackle for seven seasons for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. He was born July 2, 1944, in Elkton, Md. and was the son of Newton and Grace Reynolds Davis. He was married to Roberta and had a son Brian Davis. His siblings include (sisters) Christine Thomas, Bertha (Lowell) Kennedy, Nancy (James) Griffith, Brothers Larry (Phyllis) Davis, Kenneth Davis, Earnst (Brenda) Davis. Doug graduated from Centerburg High School in Central Ohio in 1962 and continued his education at the University of Kentucky. He was a member of the Wildcat football team from 1962 to 1966. He was chosen by the Wigman of America to be a National High School All American All Star player which earned him the right to play in the All-Star game in Dallas, Texas. Drafted in the 5th round, first pick by the Minnesota Vikings, he appeared in 148 career regular season games. Along with Grady Alderman, Mick Tingelhoff, Jim Vellone and Milt Sunde, he formed a highly-effective offensive line which played a significant role in the Vikings reaching Super Bowl IV in 1970. Following his football career, Davis worked as a highly respected national sales director for a water technology company for 25 years in Sarasota FL. He died on 10 February 2011 in

Brandon, Florida Brandon is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 114,626 at the 2020 ...

where he lived. He was 66.

References

1944 births 2011 deaths People from Elkton, Maryland Players of American football from Maryland American football offensive tackles Kentucky Wildcats football players Minnesota Vikings players People from Brandon, Florida Players of American football from Hillsborough County, Florida {{offensive-lineman-1940s-stub