OK – so tell me a bit about your dad – how did he find out he got drafted by the Steelers?
The day of the draft was my dad’s 21st birthday – in 1955. They did the first two rounds on his birthday and the remaining upteen rounds then afterwards. There wasn’t any draft hoopla then like there is now. He got a call a day or two after the draft – he didn’t even know then he was on the Steelers’ radar. He thought he was going to the Bears or the Rams – his older brother played for the Bears in 1950. He was also being courted by the CFL which drove the prices for players up a bit.
Unfortunately he only played that one season in Pittsburg despite being the n umber five overall pick. What happened?
Back then the College All Star game was played in early August and he played in the game with the rest of the best Seniors then. They played the Cleveland Browns who were the NFL champions – and he dislocated his shoulder in the game making a tackle.
In addition, he played in college with a torn-up knee. They didn’t have the technology then to figure those things out – no MRIs – and fix them like they do today. So he started off with a bad shoulder and knee. He came into the NFL as the fifth overall pick, but he was damaged goods, unfortunately.
How did he handle that?
It was a huge disappointment. He had a promising career ahead of him but but it was stopped before he got out of the starting gate,
His career was shortened – he was expected to start immediately. Paul Brown then said he was the best defensive player in the draft, which my dad always appreciated. He was a big guy for his time – 6’2″, 195 pounds and he could run. That was a big back in that era.
Any good memories he was able to share with you?
He had some good memories of that lone season. His locker was right next to Lowell Perry’s who was a terrific player who unfortunately got knocked out of the NFL in a tackle on the sidelines versus the Giants. And he loved Lynn Chandnois – how nice he was to him. He also talked about how sharp a dresser Lynn was – like a movie star!
He came into the NFL with Lou Baldacci who also played just one year before he went to the Air Force and then went into real estate sales. They became good friends because for the Blue-Grey game he was the captain of the North team and my dad was the captain of the South team, and they got to know each other after making appearances together for the game.
He also got to know Ted Marchibroda and Jack Butler, who was a nice guy but very quiet. Stautner and Frank Varrichione were also guys he got to know.
Any on-field memories that your dad shared with you?
There wasn’t a whole lot since he was hurt. He did tell me one story of playing the Chicago Cardinals in the snow in Chicago. His job was to follow Ollie Matson around who was a premier running back then. Matson was a former US Olympian – a track guy who was a real fast, big player. He felt like he did a good job shutting down Matson that game,
Any other stories stand out to you?
I know he told me he was the second highest-paid rookie that year – he got a $10,000 contract and a $2,000 signing bonus. That was good money then!
And one I really like. He told me that Dan Rooney used to pick up my mother and drive her to every game that year. My dad didn’t want my mother driving all by herself in the big city! This was the 50’s – and Pittsburgh was like a foreign land to him coming from the South. So Dan picked her up and took her to every game!
What happened after his year in the NFL?
In ’59, Art got his big break into college coaching. Paul Dietzel at LSU was my dad’s Blue-Gray Game coach in Dec. ‘1955. When dad called Coach Dietzel in hopes of using his name as a reference for a high school job, Coach Dietzel refused. “Arthur, I can’t do that, because I’d like you to join my staff.” he said.
After two years, Georgia Tech and Bobby Dodd came calling for the 1961 and 62 seasons. Dad was the “Freshman Head Coach”.
In 1963, Darrell Royal called dad to be his defensive backs coach in Austin – Coach Royal was Art’s head coach the last two years at Mississippi. State). We left Atlanta for Austin that July or August and lived with the Royals for two weeks until we found a house. My mom would feed me a bottle and help get breakfast ready for the families. The ’63 Longhorns won the natty and beat Navy and Roger Staubach in the Cotton Bowl. This was five weeks after President Kennedy’s assassination. In fact, the day of the shooting, Coach Royal was getting dressed to go greet President Kennedy at the Austin airport when the news hit on JFK’s death. Austin was the next presidential stop after Dallas.
After the ’63 season, Art was all set for ’64 when a company in Mississippi called with a lucrative job offer – about three times what he was making as a UT assistant coach. When sharing his dilemma with Coach Royal, he said, “Heck, Arthur, I don’t know how you can turn that down.” So dad took it – and to this day, it’s his life’s biggest regret. He had an offer to get back in with Tulane by a UT coaching colleague who was climbing the ranks – Jim Pittman. We declined because New Orleans felt too big for mom. Had Art taken it, he would’ve likely followed Jim to TCU.
By then, Art was the Director of Development for 13 years at Mississippi State – the chief fundraiser– from 971-1983. After that, he returned to his hometown Clarksdale to the banking / public relations side until retiring in 2001 when he and my mom moved to Oregon to watch our children grow up. He helped with some junior high and high school teams in Clarksdale and out here in Portland for a few years. Just to participate. He also got into watercolor painting around 45 years ago … you can see those at the website at www.artdavisart.com for fans who may be interested.
During his short five-year college coaching career, dad was on the “fast track” – and head coaching opportunities were inevitable. But he got out too soon – and still regrets it and wishes Coach Royal had made him stay at UT! Dad couldn’t have had better mentors in Dietzel, Dodd, and Royal. They were the “cream of the crop” on the national scene – and were absolutely fabulous to dad and our family. He remained in close contact with them until their deaths.
Another interesting tidbit … when my dad returned to his hometown to be the PR guy for one of the local banks in ’83, one of his old friends was a frequent visitor – also a Clarksdale resident. Charlie Conerly – the great Giants QB of the 1950s. Charlie was an extremely introverted and shy – but he’d come in and visit with Art, often, and talk about old teammates, games, etc.
Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
….sure enjoyed the story about Art Davis…Dan did an excellent job detailing the roads a young coach with opportunities goes down(been there having coached 40 yrs.). The Steelers of the ’50’s were an interesting team in that they could beat anyone, yet so inconsistent. part of the reason was the poor coaching by Keisling. Some outstanding players talent wise(Stautner, and Butler stand out), yet have watched a ton of film of this team, and guys like Dodrill, Mathews, and Chandnois also had their moments.