| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Richard Dean Davis | ||
| Date of birth | (1958-11-24)November 24, 1958 (age 66) | ||
| Place of birth | Denver, Colorado, United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1977 | Santa Clara Broncos | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1978–1984 | New York Cosmos | 129 | (15) |
| 1981–1982 | New York Cosmos(indoor) | 17 | (3) |
| 1983–1986 | St. Louis Steamers (indoor) | 123 | (89) |
| 1986–1987 | New York Express (indoor) | 23 | (7) |
| 1987–1990 | Tacoma Stars (indoor) | 98 | (31) |
| 1989 | Seattle Storm | ||
| International career | |||
| 1977–1988 | United States | 35 | (7) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Richard Dean Davis (born November 24, 1958) is an American formersoccermidfielder, and formercaptain of theU.S. national team for much of the 1980s. He is considered by fans the best U.S.-born player of the North American Soccer League era and is a member of theNational Soccer Hall of Fame.[1]
Davis was born inDenver, Colorado, and began playing soccer at the age of seven for an AYSO soccer team inClaremont, California.[2] He was anAll-American high school player atDamien High School inLa Verne, California. In 1977, he played a single season ofcollege soccer atSanta Clara University[3] While at Santa Clara, he was a member of the Broncos team which took the U-19 National Open Championship (McGuire Cup).
An American on a team of international superstars with theNew York Cosmos, he helped the team to threeNASL league titles in1978,1980 and1982. He began playing with the team during the 1978 season and was selected as the 1979 North American Player of the Year in his second season.[4] He was selected as an NASL all-star Honorable Mention in the1983 season.[5]
In 1983, theSt. Louis Steamers of theMajor Indoor Soccer League signed Davis away from the Cosmos. Davis moved just in time to avoid the collapse of the Cosmos. Despite numerous nagging injuries, Davis led the Steamers in scoring and was an integral part of the team's run to the MISL championship series which the Steamers lost to theBaltimore Blast. He played one more season with the Steamers before moving to theNew York Express, an MISL expansion team heavily staffed by former Cosmos players.[6] The team lasted until the 1986-1987 All-Star break when it folded.[7]
In March 1987, Davis moved to theTacoma Stars for the remainder of the 1986–1987 season.[8] In January 1989, Davis injured his knee, requiring multiple surgeries. He was on the roster for the 1989Seattle Storm of theWestern Soccer Alliance.[9] In 1990, he retired from playing professional soccer.
Davis became an integral part of the U.S. national team in 1977, first with the U.S. Olympic team and U20 teams, then the senior national team. Between September 11 and October 4, 1976, the U.S. U-20 national team played the qualifying games for the1977 FIFA World U-20 Championship. While the team went 5–2, it failed to qualify. Davis led the team scoring with eight goals. When he was 18 years old, he made his senior national team debut in a September 15, 1977 match againstEl Salvador. Even more, he scored his first international goal in that game. He became a regular on the team, playing in all eight U.S. matches in 1977.[10] Davis continued to play for the Olympic team, which qualified for the1980 Summer Olympics. However, PresidentCarter'sboycott of those games, held inMoscow, stopped the team from competing. Davis played for the U.S. in the1984 Olympics, where he scored two goals in the U.S. victory overCosta Rica. In 1984, he was also named theU.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year, the first year of the award. He played again at the1988 Summer Olympics. Davis' experience and leadership led him to being named captain of the U.S. national team. In this capacity, he led the team during 1988, and was looking forward to the1990 FIFA World Cup qualifying games in 1989.[11] However, he suffered a serious knee injury in January 1989. Although he tried to work himself back into shape in order to make the World Cup roster, U.S. coachBob Gansler never called him back to the team, and Davis retired from playing. Overall, he earned 36caps (a record at the time), scoring nine goals for the senior national team.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Goals | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 15, 1977 | San Salvador, El Salvador |  El Salvador | 2–1 | 1 | Friendly |
| 2 | February 3, 1979 | Seattle, Washington |  Soviet Union | 1–3 | 1 | Friendly |
| 3 | October 4, 1980 | Dudelange, Luxembourg |  Luxembourg | 2–0 | 1 | Friendly |
| 4 | October 7, 1980 | Lisbon, Portugal |  Portugal | 1–1 | 1 | Friendly |
| 5 | November 9, 1980 | Mexico City, Mexico |  Mexico | 1–5 | 1 | 1982 World Cup Qualifying |
| 6 | March 21, 1982 | Port of Spain, Trinidad |  Trinidad and Tobago | 2–1 | 1 | Friendly |
| 8 | July 29, 1984 | Stanford, California |  Costa Rica | 3–0 | 2 | 1984 Summer Olympics |
| 9 | October 9, 1984 | Los Angeles, California | El Salvador | 3–1 | 1 | Friendly |
After his retirement from playing, Davis became the head coach and general manager of theLos Angeles Salsa of theAmerican Professional Soccer League. In 2004, he was named Director of Programs forAYSO, and in 2006, he was named its National Executive Director. On March 9, 2010,AYSO announced the resignation of Davis effective May 11, 2010. In the fall of 2018 Rick joined the coaching staff for the Salina Central Men's Soccer Team.
Davis has also had a long career in soccer broadcasting. In 1989, he andJP Dellacamera provided live commentary for the match pitting the champions of theWestern Soccer Alliance and theAmerican Soccer League. He would provide television commentary at both the 1990 and 1994 World Cups for ABC. He continues to work as a commentator forLos Angeles Galaxy games.
Davis was elected to theNational Soccer Hall of Fame in 2001.[12]
| Year | Team | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Cosmos | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1979 | New York Cosmos | 29 | 6 | 13 | 25 |
| 1980 | New York Cosmos | 14 | 1 | 8 | 10 |
| 1981 | New York Cosmos | 17 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 1982 | New York Cosmos | 21 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 1983 | New York Cosmos | 29 | 5 | 12 | 22 |
| 1984 | New York Cosmos | 8 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| TOTAL | NASL | 129 | 15 | 41 | 71 |
| Year | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983/84 | St. Louis | 43 | 36 | 21 | 57 | 16 |
| 1984/85 | St. Louis | 40 | 27 | 31 | 58 | 4 |
| 1985/86 | St. Louis | 40 | 26 | 29 | 55 | 12 |
| 1986/87 | New York | 23 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 2 |
| Tacoma | 20 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 2 | |
| 1987/88 | Tacoma | 53 | 22 | 29 | 51 | 12 |
| 1989/90 | Tacoma | 25 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 |
| TOTAL | MISL | 244 | 127 | 124 | 251 | 54 |
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