Former Raiders running back, ‘Sea of Hands’ star Clarence Davis dies at 73
Longtime Oakland Raiders running back Clarence Davis died this week, the team announced on Thursday.
He was 73.
The Raiders Family mourns the loss of Clarence Davis, who passed away earlier this week. Drafted by the Raiders in 1971 after an All-American career at USC, Davis saved his best performances for some of the biggest games in NFL history » https://t.co/Kl54nyE6qgpic.twitter.com/fRosjORy40
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 6, 2022
Davis spent eight seasons with the Raiders from 1971-78. The franchise took him in the fourth round of the 1971 draft after a two-year run at USC, and he spent his entire career there before retiring after the 1978 season.
He helped lead the Raiders to a win in Super Bowl XI, the franchise’s first, in 1977 with a dominant 32-14 win over the Minnesota Vikings. Davis set a then-Super Bowl record in the game with 137 rushing yards on 16 carries.
He is, however, perhaps best known for his “Sea of Hands” catch in 1974. During their divisional round playoff game against the Miami Dolphins that season, Davis somehow hauled in a last-second touchdown pass from Ken Stabler between three different Dolphins defenders to give them the win.
46. SEA OF HANDS
— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) July 21, 2019
Dec. 21, 1974
Falling down, Ken Stabler throws 8-yard TD pass to RB Clarence Davis, who wrestles the ball away from Miami defenders, securing playoff win for Raiders.
Factoid: The loss ended Dolphins' run of consecutive Super Bowl appearances (3) and wins (2). pic.twitter.com/JXBHsV96cw
“Of all the people on the team that were eligible receivers, the one guy you would never want to throw the ball to was Clarence Davis, because he had boards for hands,” former Raiders personnel executive Ron Wolf told the NFL about that play. “But guess what? At that moment, in that time of the game, he had the softest, surest hands in the history of the game.”
In total, Davis ran for 3,640 yards and 26 touchdowns throughout his career.