Former Oklahoma QB Steve Davis killed in plane crash
STEVE DAVIS, who started every game during Barry Switzer's first three seasons as Oklahoma's head coach and won national championships in 1974 and 1975, was one of two people killed Sunday in a plane crash in South Bend, Ind.
STEVE DAVIS, who started every game during Barry Switzer's first three seasons as Oklahoma's head coach and won national championships in 1974 and 1975, was one of two people killed Sunday in a plane crash in South Bend, Ind.
Davis, 60, and Wesley Caves, 58, both of Tulsa, Okla., were killed when a small aircraft smashed into three homes in northern Indiana, officials said Monday.
Caves owned the Beechcraft Premier I twin-jet that clipped one house before slamming into two more Sunday afternoon. Caves had a pilot's license, but it was not immediately clear if he was flying the plane when it crashed.
Davis compiled a 32-1-1 record in 3 years as the Sooners' starter. The Sooners went 11-0 in 1974, then won the national title again the following year after going 11-1.
It was a storybook career for Davis, who finished with one of the best records for a starting quarterback in the sport's history. He grew up in Sallisaw in the eastern part of the state and developed a love for the Sooners. In an interview with The Oklahoman newspaper last year, he described how he hid a picture from an Oklahoma football brochure in his top dresser drawer.
"It was a shot into the huddle, and there was Bobby Warmack, who was my idol. He had that eye-black, and the double chin strap and the towel out of the front of his pants," Davis told the paper. "I took that picture, and I took a big, black magic marker and wrote 'WHEN?' "
The day Davis made his first start in the 1973 season opener, he said, his mother took the picture and wrote on it: "TONIGHT."
Oklahoma beat Baylor in the opener, then tied powerhouse Southern Cal - with Lynn Swann and Pat Haden - in the second game.
After that, Davis and the Sooners ran off 28 straight victories.
"I will never get away from the fact that I was an Oklahoma quarterback. I will never get away from the fact that I only lost one game," Davis said in the 2008 book, "The Die-Hard Fan's Guide to Sooner Football." "All of those things are a part of my legacy and my history. I am very thankful for what happened. I don't know that I would trade my career for any other quarterback that has ever played at OU."
Davis worked as a television sports commentator after his career was over, including game-day telecasts for Sooners games last season. During his college career, he spoke at a Billy Graham event.
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