PASSINGS

Glenn “Jeep” Davis, 74, a three-time Olympic gold-medal hurdler, died Wednesday at a hospice in Barberton, Ohio, after a long illness.

Davis was gold medalist in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and in the 400-meter hurdles and 1,600-meter relay at the 1960 Rome Games.

In 1958, Davis set world records in the 440-yard run and in the 400-meter low hurdles. He holds the Ohio State University record for the outdoor 50-yard hurdles (6.1 seconds) and was an eight-time Big Ten champion while competing for the Buckeyes from 1956 to 1959.

Davis won the Sullivan Award as the nation’s top amateur athlete in 1958.

After the Olympics he had a brief NFL career, playing wide receiver for the Detroit Lions in 1960 and ’61.

He coached track and field at Cornell University from 1963 to 1967, then returned to Ohio. In a 33-year career at Barberton High School, he taught mechanical drawing and driver’s education and was the head track coach and an assistant football coach.

Born Sept. 12, 1934, in Wellsburg, W. Va., Davis got his nickname from a character in a comic strip. When he was 15, his mother and father died within 12 hours of each other, and Davis moved to Ohio to live with an older brother.

The rugged all-around athlete also played basketball and football in high school.