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Raiders pull Clarence Davis obituary after learning 'Sea of Hands' star is still alive

Former Oakland Raiders running back Clarence Davis, seen here in 1974, is still alive per the Raiders, who earlier Thursday posted that he had died. (James Flores/Getty Images)
Former Oakland Raiders running back Clarence Davis, seen here in 1974, is still alive per the Raiders, who earlier Thursday posted that he had died. (James Flores/Getty Images)

Longtime Oakland Raiders running back Clarence Davis, despite a post from the franchise to the contrary, is still alive.

The Raiders posted an obituary on Thursday announcing the death of their former running back. Hours later, after the franchise learned he was still alive, the post had been deleted.

“The Raiders received notice of Clarence Davis’ passing but have found that information to be false,” the team said in a statement, via the Las Vegas Review Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore. “The Raiders extend our deepest apologies to the Davis family and the Raider Nation for the erroneous announcement.”

The Raiders did not provide a cause of death in their initial obituary, saying only that Davis had died at 73 earlier in the week. That, however, just isn't the case — and is a rather large mistake to make.

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.

“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.