Las Vegas Raiders release statement after wrongfully announcing the death of Clarence Davis
The Las Vegas Raiders announced the death of former running back Clarence Davis on Thursday. There was one problem, though: Davis is still alive.
After the Raiders made the announcement via Twitter, they deleted the tweet and pulled the obituary from their website after it was revealed that Davis didn’t pass away this week. He’s still alive and well at the age of 73, and the team released a second statement acknowledging the mistake, saying it received false information.
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“The Raiders received notice of Clarence Davis’ passing but have found that information to be false,” the statement read. “The Raiders extend our deepest apologies to the Davis family and the Raider Nation for the erroneous announcement.”
Davis played for the then-Oakland Raiders from 1971-78 after a standout career at USC. He was an All-American in 1969 with the Trojans and was part of the first all-Black backfield in Division I history alongside fullback Sam Cunningham and quarterback Jimmy Jones. Oakland then selected Davis in the fourth round of the 1971 NFL Draft.
During his NFL career, Davis became best-known for the “Sea of Hands” catch in a playoff game against the Miami Dolphins in 1974. He competed with Dolphins defenders Charlie Babb and Mike Kolen for the catch, and he managed to take control of the ball to come down with the catch for a game-winning touchdown. Oakland wound up winning the game 28-26 to advance to the next round of the playoffs, where it fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game.
On the whole, Davis totaled 3,640 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns on the ground while also hauling in 99 receptions for 865 yards and two touchdowns in eight years with the Raiders. He also helped Oakland to a Super Bowl XI title over the Minnesota Vikings in 1977.