Glenn Davis ( athlete ) Glenn Davis ( " Glenn Ashby " Jeep " Davis ; " September 12 , 1934 – January 28 , 2009 ) was an Olympic hurdler and sprinter who won a total of three gold medals in the 1956 and 1960 Olympic games . Davis later played professional football with the Detroit Lions and was a teacher and coach in his adopted hometown of Barberton , Ohio for 33 years . Childhood and early life . Davis was born in Follansbee , West Virginia . When both his parents died when he was 15 , he moved to Barberton , Ohio with his brother . He attended Barberton High School , and Marietta High School . Davis singlehandedly led his team to the 1954 Class A Ohio high school track and field championship , scoring all 20 of Barberton ’ s points . Davis won the 220 - yard dash , the broad jump and the 180 - yard low hurdles – setting a then - state record in that event – while also placing fourth in the 100 - yard dash . His point total placed him ahead of Mansfield , which scored 14 points in the meet and took second . He was offered more than 200 athletic scholarships for college , and chose to attend Ohio State University . College and Olympics . Davis won Olympic titles in the 400 meter hurdles at both the Melbourne Olympics in 1956 and the Rome Olympics in 1960 . In 1958 he was awarded the James E . Sullivan Award as the nation ' s top amateur athlete . Davis is arguably the greatest all around athlete in the history of track and field and was either at or close to world records in many events including : 100 yards / meters ( 9 . 6 / 10 . 3 ) , 200 meters ( 21 . 0 ) , 440 yards / 400 meters ( 45 . 7 WR / 45 . 2 ) , the half mile ( 1 : 52 ) , 120 yard high hurdles ( 14 . 0 ) , 200 meter low hurdles on curve ( 22 . 5 WR ) , 400 meter intermediate hurdles ( 49 . 1 WR ) , high jump ( 6 - 8 ) , and long jump ( 24 ' 8 " ) . He , Felix Sanchez , Angelo Taylor and Edwin Moses are the only four hurdlers to have won the Olympic 400 meter hurdles twice . However Davis is the only man to have set world records in the quarter mile with hurdles and without . His coach Larry Snyder who also had coached Jesse Owens said that Davis was possibly a greater talent than Jesse Owens . Davis won a third gold medal as a member of the United States 4 x 400 meter relay team in 1960 . He set world records in both flat and hurdle races . He is a member of the United States Olympic Hall of Fame . Later careers . Davis was featured on the June 27 , 1960 cover of Sports Illustrated . After his track career , Davis played wide receiver for the Detroit Lions in 1960 and 1961 . He had 10 catches for 132 yards in his two NFL seasons . He was the track coach at Cornell University from 1963 to 1967 , coaching the team to the Ivy League title in his final season . Davis was a longtime resident of Barberton , Ohio , teaching and coaching there for 33 years , and was the owner of Jeep ' s Olympic Driving School . Prior to this , Davis was a popular teacher at Barberton High School and part owner of one of the students ' favorite gathering spots , Jeep and Joe ' s Pizza . He also loved to play the harmonica . He was sometimes confused with Heisman Trophy - winning football player Glenn Woodward Davis ( 1924 – 2005 ) . The two sportsmen received occasionally each other ' s mail , but they never met .