JAMES STEVEN DAVIS



Steve Davis is a favorite son of Oklahoma having been raised in Sequoyah County (Sallisaw) after being born (November 19, 1952) in Shreveport Louisiana during his father?s military service duty at Barksdale Air Force Base. The first-born of 4 boys, Steve grew up in a Christian home and excelled as a student and athlete. He enjoyed a ?storybook? career in his early years at Sallisaw High School. In 2013, he will be the first Black Diamond football player ever to have his jersey number (19) retired. He was a consensus All-State football player, two-sport Jim Thorpe Award winner, Oil Bowl (Oklahoma vs. Texas All-State) selection and a National Football Foundation Scholar Athlete. In 1970, Davis was elected Governor at the Oklahoma American Legion Boys State Convention held in Stillwater. He was also selected, along with Jim Stuart of Shawnee, to attend Boys Nation in Washington D.C. Davis and Stuart joined such distinguished Boys Nation alumni as Tom Brokaw, Bill Clinton, Neil Armstrong and several current congressional leaders.



Steve was recruited to play football at the University of Oklahoma. And, even though he earned the last scholarship, he soon would make a mark as a gifted athlete and leader. In 1971, Davis was the starting quarterback of the freshman team (Boomers), as first year-freshmen football players did not become eligible to play varsity football until the 1972 season. In 1973, after a red-shirt year, Steve Davis earned the starting position as the OU quarterback. In the next three seasons, under Head Coach Barry Switzer, he would lead the Sooners to a 32-1-1 record, three Big Eight Conference Championships, two National Championships (74-75) and the 1976 Orange Bowl Championship. Davis would be named the MVP of Orange Bowl and in every game the Sooners played on national television. He was a two-time team captain of the Sooners during 1974-1975 seasons and was honored by the Orange Bowl as a Hall of Fame inductee in 2007 along with Fred Smith, founder of Federal Express and John Hannah, an All-American offensive lineman from the University of Alabama. Davis? 32-1-1 record, as the three-year starting quarterback, was the most wins of any OU quarterback in history until Landry Jones, a 4-year starter, established a new record in the 2012 season. Steve was the Big Eight Newcomer of the Year in 1973, and shared the 1975-76 Christian Athlete of the Year Award from the National Fellowship of Christian Athletes Association with Archie Griffin-Ohio State and Kent Benson-University of Indiana.



Steve Davis has been a regarded public speaker since his days as a high schooler from Sallisaw. During his collegiate career and beyond, Davis spoke at many major events/programs nationally and statewide. In 1975, during his senior season at Oklahoma, Steve spoke at the Billy Graham Crusade in Lubbock Texas. The broadcast aired nationally the night before the 1975 Nebraska game. He has also spoken at most of the state Southern Baptists Youth Conferences, and to the national Southern Baptist Convention in Miami Florida. He is a national voice for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the University of Oklahoma. Davis remains an in-demand speaker to business professionals and college campuses/high schools to speak to a variety of subjects. He has spoken at many of the most regarded churches in America; First Baptist Church-Dallas, Texas, Bellevue Baptist-Memphis, Tennessee, Second Baptist-Houston, Texas, University Baptist Church-Coral Gables, Florida and Prestonwood Baptist, Plano, Texas. Steve continued to speak nationally for his passions and faith.



Following his years at OU, Davis was hired in 1976 by ABC Sports, New York as the youngest football analyst ever to work for the network. Davis commenced a dual professional career as a broadcaster and executive of the Tulsa-based, NYSE company, Helmerich & Payne, an international drilling and production company. Davis enjoyed an 18-year network broadcast career with ABC, CBS and ESPN, having broadcast virtually every major college football rivalry game in America and many of the most significant post-season games during those years. Davis stepped away from the broadcast booth to follow his son?s (Bo) athletic career at Jenks (Oklahoma) High School and as a baseball player at the University of Missouri. Additionally, Davis? broadcast career was distinguished by the broadcast partners he worked with over the years, as he shared the microphone with Keith Jackson, Al Michaels, Vern Lundquist, Gary Bender, Lindsey Nelson, Jim Lampley, Jim Simpson, Brent Musburger and other distinguished network broadcasters. During the 2012 season, Davis was the in-studio analyst for ?Game Day?, the pre-game show broadcast on the new Sooner Network (airing on FOX SW) for the University of Oklahoma. Professionally, he would launch, grow, maintain and sell multiple companies over his career before creating a real estate development company. In 1998, Davis established the Rainmaker Group that would develop multiple, life-style, residential properties in the Tulsa and Oklahoma City metros, and in Northwest Arkansas. In 2010, Davis and his business partner and fiancé Fran Evans, established the Pascova Group. The Pascova Group is currently developing a national network of pediatric and adolescent health and wellness, primary care medical office facilities.



Steve is a member of First Baptist Church, Tulsa, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Varsity ?O? Club ? University of Oklahoma and a student of college football and spiritual leadership. Steve began flying with his father at an early age and obtained his pilot?s license as a teenager. Flying was a passion for Steve and he was an instrument/multi-engine rated pilot. Steve was an avid reader, a passionate mentor and touched many lives.



Steve died in a plane crash Sunday March 17th in South Bend Indiana. Steve is survived by his parents James & Pat Davis of Sallisaw, OK, his fiancée Fran Evans of Tulsa, OK, son Bo Davis, daughter-in-law Marcy Davis, granddaughter Sophie Davis, and grandson Hudson Davis of Tulsa, OK; his brother Joe Davis, sister-in-law Barbara Davis, and nieces Lindsay Davis, Jessica Davis, and Hailey Davis of Tulsa; his brother Todd Davis, sister-in-law Susie Davis, nephews Drew Davis, sister-in-law, Bobbie Davis Brewer, Brooks Davis and niece Macy Davis of Griffin, GA, and Steve?s two nephews Tucker and Hunter Davis. Steve?s extended family includes Peggy Zulkey of Tulsa, Mike & Marsha Zulkey of Valliant, Dr. Minta Tauer of Tulsa, Dr. Mark & June Zulkey of Orangeburg, SC, and Martha Zulkey of Tulsa. Steve is preceded in death by his brother George Davis of Sallisaw, OK, and his uncle Leroy Zulkey of Tulsa, OK.



The memorial service will be held at the First Baptist Church in Tulsa on Monday, March 25th at 1:00 PM. The family offers the option to make a donation to Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Steve?s name in lieu of flowers. Fellowship of Christian Athletes, P.O. Box 700401, Tulsa, OK 74170 Moore?s

Southlawn 918-663-2233 share memories at www.moorefuneral.com