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{{Short description|American soccer player}}
{{About|the American soccer player|the American political consultant|Rick Davis (politics)|the basketball player|Ricky Davis|the techno music pioneer known as Rick|Richard Davis (techno artist)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name           = Rick Davis
| fullname = Richard Dean Davis
| image = 
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1958|11|24}}
| birth_place = [[Denver, Colorado]], United States
| height = {{height|ft=5|in=8}}
| position = [[Midfielder]]
| collegeyears1 = 1977
| college1 = [[Santa Clara Broncos men's soccer|Santa Clara Broncos]]
| years1 = 1978–1984
| years2 = 1981–1982
| years3 = 1983–1986
| years4 = 1986–1987
| years5 = 1987–1990
| years6 = 1989
| clubs1 = [[New York Cosmos (1971–1985)|New York Cosmos]]
| clubs2 = [[New York Cosmos (1971–1985)|New York Cosmos]] ''(indoor)''
| clubs3 = [[St. Louis Steamers (1979–1988)|St. Louis Steamers]] (''indoor'')
| clubs4 = [[New York Express]] (''indoor'')
| clubs5 = [[Tacoma Stars (MISL)|Tacoma Stars]] (''indoor'')
| clubs6 = [[Seattle Storm (soccer)|Seattle Storm]]
| caps1 = 129
| caps2 = 17
| caps3 = 123
| caps4 = 23
| caps5 = 98
| goals1 = 15
| goals2 = 3
| goals3 = 89
| goals4 = 7
| goals5 = 31
| nationalyears1 = 1977–1988
| nationalteam1 = [[United States men's national soccer team|United States]]
| nationalcaps1 = 35
| nationalgoals1 = 7
}}

'''Richard Dean Davis''' (born November 24, 1958) is an American former [[Association football|soccer]] [[midfielder]], and former [[Captain (association football)|captain]] of the [[United States men's national soccer team|U.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 the [[National Soccer Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1127529-40-greatest-usmens-players-of-all-time|title=Fans|access-date=July 1, 2018|publisher=bleacherreport.com}}</ref>

==Youth==
Davis was born in [[Denver]], Colorado, and began playing soccer at the age of seven for an AYSO soccer team in [[Claremont, California]].<ref name="NSHOF">[http://www.soccerhall.com/Spotlight%20HallofFamer/RickDavis_spotlight.htm Hall of Fame Spotlight: Rick Davis]</ref>  He was an [[All-America]]n high school player at [[Damien High School]] in [[La Verne, California]]. In 1977, he played a single season of [[College soccer in the United States|college soccer]] at [[Santa Clara University]]<ref>[http://www.santaclarabroncos.com/sports/m-soccer/2009-10/files/history_and_records_(41-52).pdf Santa Clara Broncos Media Guide]</ref>  While at Santa Clara, he was a member of the Broncos team which took the U-19 National Open Championship (McGuire Cup).

==Professional==
[[File:Cosmos cipolletti 1980.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Davis (first from left, lower row, #17) with the New York Cosmos in Argentina, March 1980]]
An American on a team of international superstars with the [[New York Cosmos (1971–1985)|New York Cosmos]], he helped the team to three [[North American Soccer League (1968–84)|NASL]] league titles in [[1978 North American Soccer League season|1978]], [[1980 North American Soccer League season|1980]] and [[1982 North American Soccer League season|1982]]. 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.<ref>[http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1979.html#NASL The Year in American Soccer - 1979]</ref> He was selected as an NASL all-star Honorable Mention in the [[1983 North American Soccer League season|1983]] season.<ref>{{cite news|title=1983 All-Stars |date=September 18, 1983|work=United Press International|url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/09/18/The-New-York-Cosmos-who-won-the-regular-season-point/2065432705600/ |access-date=January 13, 2017|via=UPI Archives}}</ref>

In 1983, the [[St. Louis Steamers (1979–1988)|St. Louis Steamers]] of the [[MISL I|Major 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 the [[Baltimore Blast (1980-92)|Baltimore Blast]].  He played one more season with the Steamers before moving to the [[New York Express]], an MISL expansion team heavily staffed by former Cosmos players.<ref>''MISL OPENS NEW SEASON WITH MORE PROMISE THAN PROBLEMS'' Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Thursday, November 13, 1986.</ref> The team lasted until the 1986-1987 All-Star break when it folded.<ref>''MISL's Express ceases operations'' Evening Tribune (San Diego, CA) - Tuesday, February 17, 1987</ref>

In March 1987, Davis moved to the [[Tacoma Stars (MISL)|Tacoma Stars]] for the remainder of the 1986–1987 season.<ref>''STARS GET EX-COSMO RICKY DAVIS FROM RUINS OF NEW YORK EXPRESS'' Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Saturday, March 7, 1987</ref>  In January 1989, Davis injured his knee, requiring multiple surgeries. He was on the roster for the 1989 [[Seattle Storm (soccer)|Seattle Storm]] of the [[Western Soccer Alliance]].<ref>[http://www.soundercentral.com/1989_seattle_storm.htm 1989 Seattle Storm]</ref>  In 1990, he retired from playing professional soccer.

==National team==
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 the [[1977 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 against [[El Salvador national football team|El 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.<ref>[https://www.rsssf.org/tablesu/usa-intres-det70.html USA - Details of International Matches 1970-1979] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100205054634/http://www.rsssf.com/tablesu/usa-intres-det70.html |date=February 5, 2010 }}</ref>  Davis continued to play for the Olympic team, which qualified for the [[1980 Summer Olympics]].  However, President [[Jimmy Carter|Carter]]'s [[boycott]] of those games, held in [[Moscow]], stopped the team from competing.  Davis played for the U.S. in the [[Football at the 1984 Summer Olympics|1984 Olympics]], where he scored two goals in the U.S. victory over [[Costa Rica]].  In 1984, he was also named the [[U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year]], the first year of the award.  He played again at the [[Football at the 1988 Summer Olympics|1988 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 the [[1990 FIFA World Cup]] qualifying games in 1989.<ref>[https://www.rsssf.org/tablesu/usa-intres-det80.html USA - Details of International Matches 1980-1989] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120909000829/http://www.rsssf.com/tablesu/usa-intres-det80.html |date=September 9, 2012 }}</ref>  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. coach [[Bob Gansler]] never called him back to the team, and Davis retired from playing.  Overall, he earned 36 [[Cap (sports)|caps]] (a record at the time), scoring nine goals for the senior national team.

===International Goals===
{| class="wikitable collapsible expanded"
|-
! # !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Result !! Goals !! Competition
|-
| 1 || September 15, 1977 || [[San Salvador, El Salvador]] || {{fb|SLV}} || 2–1 ||1 || Friendly
|-
| 2 || February 3, 1979 || [[Seattle, Washington]] || {{fb|URS}} || 1–3 ||1 || Friendly
|-
| 3 || October 4, 1980 || [[Dudelange, Luxembourg]]|| {{fb|LUX}} || 2–0 || 1 || Friendly
|-
| 4 || October 7, 1980 || [[Lisbon, Portugal]] || {{fb|POR}} || 1–1 || 1 || Friendly
|-
| 5 || November 9, 1980 || [[Mexico City, Mexico]] || {{fb|MEX}} || 1–5 || 1 || [[1981 CONCACAF Championship qualification|1982 World Cup Qualifying]]
|-
| 6 || March 21, 1982 || [[Port of Spain, Trinidad]] || {{fb|TRI}} || 2–1 ||1 || Friendly
|-
| 8 || July 29, 1984 || [[Stanford, California]]|| {{fb|CRC}}|| 3–0 || 2 || [[Football at the 1984 Summer Olympics|1984 Summer Olympics]]
|-
| 9 || October 9, 1984 || [[Los Angeles, California]]|| {{fb|SLV}}|| 3–1 || 1 || Friendly
|}

==Team management==
After his retirement from playing, Davis became the head coach and general manager of the [[Los Angeles Salsa]] of the [[American Professional Soccer League]].  In 2004, he was named Director of Programs for [[American Youth Soccer Organization|AYSO]], and in 2006, he was named its National Executive Director.  On March 9, 2010, [[American Youth Soccer Organization|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.

==Broadcasting==
Davis has also had a long career in soccer broadcasting.  In 1989, he and [[JP Dellacamera]] provided live commentary for the match pitting the champions of the [[Western Soccer Alliance]] and the [[American Soccer League (1988-1989)|American Soccer League]].  He would provide television commentary at both the 1990 and 1994 World Cups for ABC.  He continues to work as a commentator for [[Los Angeles Galaxy]] games.

Davis was elected to the [[National Soccer Hall of Fame]] in 2001.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rick Davis - 2001 Inductee {{!}} National Soccer Hall of Fame |url=http://www.nationalsoccerhof.com/players/rick-davis.html |access-date=2023-12-19 |website=Rick Davis - 2001 Inductee {{!}} National Soccer Hall of Fame |language=en}}</ref>

==Statistics==

===NASL===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Team
!GP
!G
!A
!PTS
|-
|1978
|[[New York Cosmos (1971–1985)|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
|}

===MISL===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Team
!GP
!G
!A
!PTS
!PIM
|-
|1983/84
|[[St. Louis Steamers (1979–1988)|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 Express|New York]]
|23
|7
|6
|13
|2
|-
|
|[[Tacoma Stars (MISL)|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
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.nasljerseys.com/Players/D/Davis.Ricky.htm NASL/MISL stats]
* [http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/ussoccerplayers/2010/05/10-questions-with-rick-davis-soccer.html 10 Questions With... Rick Davis]
* {{FIFA|199567}}

{{1983 NASL All-Stars}}
{{US Soccer Athlete}}
{{National Soccer Hall of Fame members}}
{{United States squad 1984 Summer Olympics}}
{{United States squad 1988 Summer Olympics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Rick}}
[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American men's soccer players]]
[[Category:American soccer commentators]]
[[Category:Footballers at the 1984 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players]]
[[Category:North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players]]
[[Category:New York Cosmos (1970–1985) players]]
[[Category:New York Express players]]
[[Category:North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players]]
[[Category:National Soccer Hall of Fame members]]
[[Category:Olympic soccer players for the United States]]
[[Category:Soccer players from Denver]]
[[Category:St. Louis Steamers (original MISL) players]]
[[Category:Tacoma Stars players]]
[[Category:Seattle Storm (soccer) players]]
[[Category:Santa Clara Broncos men's soccer players]]
[[Category:United States men's under-20 international soccer players]]
[[Category:United States men's international soccer players]]
[[Category:Western Soccer Alliance players]]
[[Category:Men's association football midfielders]]
[[Category:Damien High School alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]