The Top 15 Softball Stories of 2022: #6… Former Raider & Softball Ump Clarence Davis Dies (Or Does He? Yes… & No!)
By
@BruntjensElla
December 27, 2022
Clarence Davis takes the handoff from Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler in NFL action from the 1970’s. Reports of this Clarence Davis’s demise were widely reported… and subsequently discredited.
We continue our list of the Top 15 Softball Stories of 2021, which will run through December 31st when we’ll present our No. 1 story of the year.
Here are the previous stories (clink on link to read):
Also, on New Year’s Day 2023, we’ll list all 15 of the top stories of the year as well as run 15 more that were considered.
We’ve surveyed the softball community and talked internally as well to come up with what were the most impactful and relevant stories of the year pertaining to the world of fastpitch softball.
Where applicable, we are providing the text to the original articles and/or references when the story first happened.
To provide comments, insights or thoughts, email: [email protected].
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Today’s Story of the Year: #6:
Former Raider Running Back Clarence Davis & Softball Ump Dies (Or Does He?)… Kind of (Oh Boy)
This is Brentt Eads of Extra Inning Softball… I’ve been blessed to have had some wonderful experiences in softball over the last two decades.
This… ain’t one of them.
Clarence Davis during his time playing for the Oakland Raiders. Photo by Focus on Sport:Getty Images.
In October of this year, I heard from a half dozen very credible different sources that Clarence Davis, a well-liked umpire in club ball, had passed away.
This was true.
Before umpiring, Clarence had played for the Oakland (now Las Vegas) Raiders NFL organization and had quite the accomplished career including making a game-winning catch in a conference championship game against the Miami Dolphins that would propel his team to the Super Bowl.
This wasn’t true… at least when it came to our softball friend. You see, the Clarence Davis from the pro football days wasn’t the same Clarence Davis who called many a game behind the plate.
This “did he or didn’t he?” story played out when the umpire Clarence passed away and several media outlets—including Extra Inning Softball—reported it as being the running back one also.
Nope… two different people.
It didn’t help that the umpire Clarence went around telling folks at the fastpitch fields about his many Raider exploits that were fascinating and compelling… just not true.
So, egg on face, we run the two original stories—the original (first below) and then the retraction.
And it wasn’t just—the Raiders’ website ran the false story as did other media outlets including Yahoo! Sports, Sports Illustrated, the New York Post and even the Daily Mail in the United Kingdom.
Here’s the pathway of how—at least for us at EIS—the story unfolded and got updated/corrected quickly thereafter!
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In Memoriam: Longtime Softball Umpire Clarence Davis Dies… But Did You Know He Was a Super Bowl Champion and Made One of the Biggest Plays in NFL History?
Originally published Oct. 5, 2022, on Extra Inning Softball
Clarence Davis umpiring on the softball fields, where many of us knew him more recently…
Sad news to report out of the softball world but also a significant one for the football world too.
Clarence Davis, who many of us would see often around the ballfields as a well-respected umpire, passed away according to reports on his Facebook page.
Clarence Davis
As one California club program posted on its own page:
“Those who knew him, he was a very kind and excellent umpire and a pretty good pro football player. He will be missed.”
Several that knew Clarence, born in Birmingham, Alabama and who was 73 when he passed away on Tuesday, reported him to be “quiet” and “calm” behind the plate and he was very well liked by players and teams who worked him.
His softball life, however—which included time as a coach as well as an umpire—was a second career after an amazing football career that saw him make an impact not just on the gridiron, but also in society and culture.
A graduate of Washington Prep High in the Los Angeles area, his football career saw him stay in California from prep to college to pro as he attended East L.A. College and then, in 1969, was an All-American running back at USC before going on to an amazing career with the Oakland Raiders that culminated in a Super Bowl title.
Regarding his time at USC, he had significant impacts on football and society in a different era.
In 1977, his 13-1 Oakland Raiders team would roll over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI by a score of 32-14 and Clarence would have a huge game, rushing for 137 yards with an 8.6-yard average per carry as he gashed the Vikings’ defense with 35, 20, 18, 16 and 13-yard bursts and 16 total carries.
However, the 5-foot-10, 195-pound running back—as good as he was on the ground—will forever be noted for one huge playoff touchdown reception that has gone down in history to be known as “the Sea of Hands Catch.”
The setting: the 1974 NFL Playoffs, specifically the AFC Championship Game, and it pitted two of the juggernauts of the 70’s, the Raiders and the Miami Dolphins.
With two minutes left in the game, the Dolphins led 26-21 but Hall of Fame quarterback Kenny Stabler engineered a drive for the ages that culminated with a last-minute touchdown toss to Clarence who, ironically, was described by Stabler as having “the worst hands on the team.”
But, in a “sea of Dolphin defenders” (catch the marine-themed tie-in?), the running back made an incredible reception that has been labeled as the 17th greatest play in league history on the “NFL 100 Greatest” show.” Click HERE to access this highlight.
Here is a video on YouTube which describe the moment that led to a final score of 28-26 for the Raiders–the last touchdown being one of three that happened in the last thrilling four minutes and 37 seconds:
Earlier today, Tony Rico, the head of the Firecrackers organization headquartered in Huntington Beach, Calif., posted a wonderful tribute to Clarence… with Tony’s permission, here (with my edits for ease of reading in this article) is what he had to say about the football legend-turned-fastpitch “blue”…
Coach Tony Rico, head of the Firecrackers organization.
RIP Clarence.
I met Clarence in the 90’s, and for about eight years knew him only as Clarence the umpire.
One early Saturday a dad walked by us and said “hello Mr. Davis”, and I looked at him and said “Clarence, is Davis your last name?” He said “yes”. I said “You’re THAT Clarence Davis, the famous sea of hands catch Clarence Davis?.” He said “yes.”
I remember watching (Raiders QB) Kenny Stabler throw that touchdown pass for the Super Bowl win and I couldn’t believe I knew the man who caught the ball long before I knew he was the man who made that catch.
I asked him to tell me a story about playing in the NFL He said, “Tony, playing on Sunday with the Raiders was the easy part. Practicing with the Raiders was hell. Everyone wanted your job and it got ugly out there.”
He also told me that the best player he played against was Jack Lambert of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
I told him every dad who gave up watching football on Sundays for their daughters should be able to spend a couple of minutes with him to hear about the game. That was back in the 90s before people before they could watch it on their phones.
Rest in peace my friend. Thanks for the memories
— Tony Rico
Clarence takes the handoff from Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler in NFL action from the 1970’s.
Later in the afternoon, after I left a message for Tony to request posting permission of his nice tribute, he called me back and had some further memories of Clarence.
“He was always calm—that’s what I remember,” Coach Rico began. “I remember when I realized who he was, I told him: ‘I’ve known you all this time and we’ve only talked softball? I never want to talk softball again, just football!’”
The Firecrackers organization head relayed that he would frequently ask Clarence stories about his NFL past. Here’s one that he relished sharing this afternoon:
“Clarence told me about one game in Pittsburgh in December one year,” Tony continued. “The Raiders had a policy: Clarence wouldn’t get the ball within two yards of the goal line but in this game the offensive coordinator called his name even though the ball was on the one and a half yard line.”
“Clarence said he was wondering aloud, ‘What am I doing in? I’m not supposed to be in, we’re within two yards of the goal line!’”
“The next play called for the handoff to Clarence but there was a mix-up and Stabler ended up keeping the ball and getting tackled. In the huddle, the quarterback said to Clarence, ‘You [language deleted], I know you did that on purpose.”
“So, the next play called for a pitch-out to Clarence—there wouldn’t be a miscommunication this time—and when he got the ball, he said ran 30 yards. ‘I ran 30 yards straight to the sideline and ran out of bounds!’”
“The next play, the Raiders would score, but it wouldn’t be with Clarence!” Rico laughed.
On the softball side, he was equally quiet behind the plate when umpiring, but you didn’t challenge him, at least for long.
“You’d hear someone (a coach) chirping at Clarence,” Rico remembers, “and he’d say, ‘That’s enough, coach.” It would continue and he’d repeat: ‘Coach… that’s enough.’ If it went on anymore, he’d take two steps towards the coach in the third base box and his eyes would change. That would end the conversation!”
“Clarence once told me: ‘Nobody out here scares me.”
Not surprising when you’ve run between the tackles against 300-pound defensive lineman and towards ferocious-hitting linebackers and safeties who loved nothing more than to separate ball from ballcarrier, no matter what it took.
“I wish everyone could have had a half hour before the game to just talk with Clarence like I was able to sometimes,” Coach Rico concluded.
“He just wanted to be around the game.”
— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball
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Retraction: Longtime Softball Umpire Clarence Davis Dies… But He Was NOT the Same Clarence Davis Who Played for the Raiders (Here’s How the Mis-Story Played Out)
Originally published Oct. 7, 2022, on Extra Inning Softball
The football-playing Clarence Davis, who is alive and well living in Texas, takes the handoff from Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler in NFL action from the 1970’s.
This is Brentt Eads of Extra Inning Softball and, oh boy, did I screw up…
Here’s the story of how this palm-to-forehead incident went down over the last 48 hours; a situation that has never happened to me in my 30+ years working in media (I started when I was 8 years old, but that’s another story)…
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My late father had a sign over his desk which always stayed with me… it said,
“If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.”
Yea… I admittedly was a part of the problem on this one.
On Wednesday (Oct. 6, 2022), the news broke that one Clarence Davis had passed away and several sources—including at least six trustworthy club coaches—told me that this was the same Clarence Davis who was the All-American running back at USC before going on to fame with the Oakland Raiders in the ‘70’s and winning Super Bowl XI over the Minnesota Vikings.
This Clarence Davis also was famous for making one of the biggest plays in NFL history, a playoff last-minute reception that has become known as the “Sea of Hands Catch.”
So here was the issue: this Clarence Davis of NFL fame is/was NOT the same one who was a well-liked umpire for many, many years in the softball world. The biggest problem? He let people believe he WAS that former Raider star and MANY coaches believed this to be true.
From what several in softball have told me, he wouldn’t go out of his way to tell of his (fictitious) time in pro football with “Da Raiderz” but he didn’t correct the misinformation, either, unless directly called on it. In fact, he led many folks to believe he was THE football star and would tell anecdotes embellishing his time in pro football. Like “(Pittsburgh Steeler linebacker) Jack Lambert was the best I played against” and “Sunday games were easy compared to our Coach John Madden-led practices.”
Why?
Maybe it was a fun inside joke. Maybe it was enjoyable letting this tall tale grow and take on a life of its own.
As one coaching friend told me:
“Somewhere, (umpire) Clarence is laughing his @$$ off about all of this attention!”
So what happened involving Extra Inning? And how did the truth come out?
I was told on Wednesday–two days ago–that “Clarence Davis, the umpire who was also the NFL star” had died. A half dozen people told me that he had died and when I went to his Facebook page it was confirmed as many tributes to him were offered.
Umpire Clarence Davis
So, with “confirmation” from several trusted sources, I ran a nice tribute published Wednesday at 9 pm my time (Mountain Time) that I thought was noteworthy to our sport because of Clarence’s passing and ties to softball.
It wasn’t a quick blurb, either, it was over 1,500 words and took me half the day to research and produce including video clips and photos. And I went to bed Wednesday night thinking I had done a good thing…
… until the calls started rolling in Thursday morning.
Let’s just say several well-connected people in the know were aware that the two accomplished men—I’ll name for purposes here as “umpire Clarence Davis” and “Raider Clarence Davis—were not the same dude.
I was told the Raider Clarence Davis was alive and living in Texas.
That 13 or so years ago, the wife of umpire Clarence passed and the Raiders were called and knew that wasn’t true, that they had recently talked to both Raider Clarence and his wife–so we know this story was going on for at least a decade, maybe two, and it wasn’t the first time this misinformation had someone confused.
Raider Clarence Davis (2016).
This “inner circle” convinced me that umpire Clarence—loved and as respected as he was—was NOT the Raider Clarence… and, just hours before, I had posted an article saying they were one and the same.
Oh boy.
So, what to do? I pulled the article down off the site and asked some people I respect if I should pretend it didn’t happen? Let the story die down over time? Run a retraction? Move to Siberia and start my new media life there covering the exploits of penguins and polar bears?
The answer became apparent really fast: one of the “insiders” intimately knew that the Clarence from his USC days was not the one from AFA (softball). He even sent me a photo from 2016 showing the Raider Clarence and how the umpire Clarence looked different.
Oh boy (part II).
And then my friend started cracking up telling me that the Raiders (THE NFL Raiders) had issued a statement sending out condolences that (their) Clarence had died, only to have to apologize when the truth came out… here’s an article that was picked up on this by ProFootball Talk of NBC Sports:
“The Las Vegas Raiders posted a story on their website and tweeted that Davis, 73, had died. They have deleted the story and the tweet, and they have issued a statement.
“The Raiders received notice of Clarence Davis’ passing but have found that information to be false,” the team said in a statement texted to PFT. “The Raiders extend our deepest apologies to the Davis family and the Raider Nation for the erroneous announcement.”
Florio concludes:
“Our current policy is to not post obituaries without an announcement from the team, the league, the family, or some other credible entity, like the Hall of Fame.”
Totally agree with this, but at the time I felt I had six “credible entities” who confirmed the sad news.
Umpire Clarence Davis in action.
In hindsight—always 20/20—I did see some red flags I wish I would have paid attention to more because:
* Although the umpire Clarence’s social media page had many condolences and notes of support confirming that he died, I noticed an age discrepancy: someone last summer had wished him a happy birthday which would have made it 77 or so now; not age 73 that Raider Clarence is, which I knew from doing research.
* Also, I looked extensively across the internet and couldn’t find ANYTHING on the Raider Clarence’s passing and wondered why mainstream media hadn’t picked it up. I dismissed it thinking the passing was only a day or so old and it would probably hit the wire on Thursday at some point (it DID, but not the way I thought it would!!!).
* Later, after the truth came out, one of the “inner circle” coaches said: “Brentt, I’ve had (umpire) Clarence do 15 or more of my games and I’ve talked to him and stood next to him many times—he was all of 5-foot-7 and 145 pounds!” (Raider Clarence was listed at 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds when he played). In my limited defense, I have watched games with umpire Clarence multiple times but always from the stands.
But, but, but… ugh.
And so much for the (mis)story going away quietly:
The Raiders’ apology story was picked up by Yahoo! Sports, Sports Illustrated, the New York Post and even the Daily Mail in the UK! It’s gone global!
Oh boy (part III)
It’s not like I know that the Raiders relied on my story alone for the reason they issued condolences to the Raider Clarence’s family—but it would explain why the NFL team just this week cancelled its Extra Inning subscription (kidding, kidding)—as the news was out there via many sources on social media and certainly the NFL team thought it was credible enough to issue a statement.
But I feel awful that I helped perpetuate a flat-out wrong story. I apologize to the Raider Clarence Davis and his family, the Raiders organization and their fans and anyone else misled by our article (notice I’m saying “our” now instead of “my”?).
I honestly meant well and wanted this to be a tribute to a figure in softball who has done great work and service in the sport and appeared to have had an amazing previous life in football.
Twasn’t the case here, but you live and learn including, optimistically, how to do your job better. And I’m hoping this mea culpa (i.e. acknowledgment of one’s fault or error) will help others learn not to make similar mistakes, i.e. rushing to spread news that isn’t accurate.
And, as my beloved father taught me from my youth: it’s better to be part of the solution instead of being a big part of the problem.
