Dave Stevens (amputee sportsman)

Last updated

Dave Stevens
Dave Stevens at bat.jpg
Stevens with the Saint Paul Saints in 1996.
Born(1966-01-12)January 12, 1966
Occupation(s)Athlete and sports broadcast professional

Dave Stevens (born January 12, 1966) is an athlete and a 7 time Emmy Award winning sports broadcasting professional. Stevens, a congenital amputee, is the only athlete ever to play college football or minor league baseball without legs. [1] He stands 3-foot 2-inches tall and runs using his hands.

Contents

At Wickenburg High School (Wickenburg, Arizona), 1980–1984, Stevens was a three-sport athlete playing football, baseball and wrestling. He set three Arizona state records: most takedowns in wrestling, most career baseball walks, and the season record for walks. [2]

He was a college athlete at Augsburg College where he played varsity football, baseball and wrestled. [1] While at Augsburg College, Stevens also traveled to Ireland, Australia and New Zealand to play football for Team USA. He was also invited to the Olympic Baseball West Regional tryouts in 1983, playing in the outfield with former Major League players Barry Bonds and Oddibie McDowell.

After his college career, Stevens played independent league baseball for the St. Paul Saints in 1996. During his time with the Saints he was proficient at catching fly balls that landed within 25 feet of him. Marty Scott was the Saints manager when Stevens played, "He touched a place in my heart," Scott said. "He's limited physically, but it's not a handicap. I have admiration for what he's accomplished." [3] During his time with the Saints, Stevens also became one of the few players ever to pinch hit for Darryl Strawberry in his professional career. Stevens also started 1 game at 2nd base with the Saints.

In 2012 Wickenburg High School renamed their Most Valuable Player award to the "Dave Stevens Hustle Award" in honor of his amazing career at the High School in the 1980s.

In November 2013, Stevens joined the WWAFT Amputee Football Team as a Quarterback and Defensive Lineman. He continued to tour with the team as they took on NFL alumni and raise awareness for our wounded military heroes. Stevens played in 19 games with the WWAFT team on the way to a 21–0 record vs NFL Competition.

He has been featured on several TV shows, including CBS Morning News, The Today Show, Good Morning America, This Week in Baseball, Baseball Tonight, Extra, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, Baseball America, The National Enquirer, Star Magazine, People, & ESPN's SportsCenter. He also appears in 2 books about his career "Slouching Toward Fargo" by Neal Karlan and "Baseball Graffiti" by Ed Howsam.

Stevens tried out for the Dallas Cowboys, the Cincinnati Reds and the Minnesota Twins. He has also worked out with the Tampa Rays and Minnesota Twins in Florida, taking batting and fielding practice, as well as throwing out the first pitch in 3 games. Stevens continues to work out with Minor League baseball teams around the country.

Stevens worked as the Assignment Desk Manager at ESPN then as the Coverage and Content editor. He worked at ESPN for 20 years. He has covered 11 Super Bowls, 3 World Series, 3 NCAA Final Fours, and various other historic sports events. He's a father of three boys and is a motivational speaker. [1] Prior to ESPN he worked at KSTP-TV in Minneapolis.

He is currently a reporter for the Disability Channel, along with co-hosting a Celebrity Amputee Golf tournament yearly in the Orlando area.

Stevens is also a highly sought after professional motivational speaker for the Dave Clark Foundation.

Stevens has also been a member of the Disability Dream & Do Foundation since 2016.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Winfield</span> American baseball player (born 1951)

David Mark Winfield is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) right fielder. He is the special assistant to the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. Over his 22-year career, he played for six teams: the San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, California Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins, and Cleveland Indians. He had the winning hit in the 1992 World Series with the Blue Jays over the Atlanta Braves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Augsburg University</span> Lutheran university in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.

Augsburg University is a private university in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was founded in 1869 as a Norwegian-American Lutheran seminary known as Augsburg Seminarium. Today, the university enrolls approximately 3,000 undergraduate and 800 graduate students. Augsburg is known for its emphasis on service learning; volunteering in the community is both an instructional strategy and a required part of a student's coursework.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association</span> Athletic conference of NCAA Division III schools in Michigan and Indiana

The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the NCAA's Division III. There are nine teams in the conference, all located in the states of Michigan and Indiana. The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association was established on March 24, 1888, making it the oldest college athletic conference in the United States. The current members of the MIAA include Adrian College, Albion College, Alma College, Calvin University, Hope College, Kalamazoo College, University of Olivet, Saint Mary's College of Notre Dame, Indiana, and Trine University, formerly known as Tri-State University. Olivet, Alma and Albion are the only charter members remaining in the conference. Former members include such colleges as Michigan State University, previously Michigan Agricultural College, (1888–1907), Eastern Michigan University, previously Michigan State Normal College, (1892–1926), Hillsdale College (1888–1961), and Defiance College (1997–2000).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference</span> NCAA Division III athletic conference in Minnesota

The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. All 13 of the member schools are located in Minnesota and are private institutions, with only two being non-sectarian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Theismann</span> American football player and broadcaster (born 1949)

Joseph Robert Theismann is an American former professional football player, sports commentator, corporate speaker, and restaurateur. He rose to fame playing quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). Theismann spent 12 seasons with the Washington Redskins, where he was a two-time Pro Bowler and helped the team to consecutive Super Bowl appearances, winning Super Bowl XVII over the Miami Dolphins and losing Super Bowl XVIII. He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Wuerffel</span> American football player (born 1974)

Daniel Carl Wuerffel is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Gators, where he was a prolific passer under head coach Steve Spurrier. Wuerffel led the NCAA in touchdown passes in 1995 and 1996 and set numerous school and conference records during his career. During his senior year in 1996, he won the Heisman Trophy while leading the Gators to their first national championship. In 2013, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Flemming</span> American sportscaster

David Braxton Flemming is an American sportscaster who has been a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball since 2003. Flemming also calls college football, college basketball, major league baseball, and golf on ESPN, as well as the World Series and World Baseball Classic for MLB International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon State Beavers</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Oregon State University

The Oregon State Beavers are the athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. Oregon State's mascot is Benny the Beaver. Both the men's and women's teams share the name, competing in 7 NCAA Division I men's sports and 9 NCAA Division I women's sports respectively. The official colors for the athletics department are Beaver Orange, black, and white.

David Allen Johnson is a former Olympic decathlete from the United States. A native of Montana, he grew up in Missoula and Corvallis, Oregon. He was part of Reebok's "Dan & Dave" advertising campaign, with fellow decathlete Dan O'Brien, leading up to the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, where he won a bronze medal in the decathlon. After retiring from competitive athletics he became a school teacher and administrator, serving as athletic director of Corban University in Salem, Oregon starting in 2009. Johnson accepted a position as Director with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Oregon in June 2012. On November 14, 2012, Johnson resigned from Corban to devote more time to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He now coaches pole vault & hurdles at South Salem High School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyle Maynard</span> American mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter

Kyle Maynard is an American speaker, author and mixed martial arts athlete, known for becoming the first quadruple amputee to ascend Mount Kilimanjaro without the aid of prosthetics. He is also founder of the No Excuses Crossfit gym.

Bob Neal is an American sportscaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campbell Fighting Camels</span> Sports teams of Campbell University

The Campbell Fighting Camels are the athletic teams that represent Campbell University, located in Buies Creek, North Carolina, in intercollegiate sports at the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Coastal Athletic Association since the 2023–24 academic year. The football program competes in the FCS, formerly known as I-AA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand View Vikings</span> Athletic teams of Grand View University, Iowa

The Grand View Vikings are the athletic teams that represent Grand View University, located in Des Moines, Iowa, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) since the 2015–16 academic year. The Vikings previously competed in the defunct Midwest Collegiate Conference (MCC) from 1989–90 to 2014–15.

Anthony Robles is an American wrestler who won the 2011 NCAA individual wrestling national championship in the 125-pound weight class, despite being born with only one leg. He is the author of the book Unstoppable: From Underdog to Undefeated: How I Became a Champion, which was published in September 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Armstrong (sportscaster)</span> American television sports announcer

Dave Armstrong is a former American television sports announcer for professional and college sports. He spent nine years as the play-by-play announcer for two Major League Baseball teams, in the NFL he has worked with both the Seattle Seahawks and the Kansas City Chiefs broadcasting regular and pre-season games and also announced several games for the NBA’s Denver Nuggets. He also broadcast Big 12 college basketball games for ESPN Regional Television and Big 12 Now and called games in this conference from 1988 up until his retirement in 2022. His signature “Wow!” is known as the exclamation mark on exceptional plays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limestone Saints</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Limestone University, South Carolina, US

The Limestone Saints are the athletic teams that represent Limestone University, located in Gaffney, South Carolina, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sporting competitions. The Saints compete as members of the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) for most sports, having joined that league in July 2020 after 22 years in Conference Carolinas (CC). Limestone maintains CC membership in two sports, specifically men's wrestling and women's acrobatics & tumbling. Men's wrestling is one of two sports in which the SAC and CC operate as a single league, the other being women's field hockey. The SAC operates the field hockey championship, while CC operates the wrestling championship. The men's volleyball team competes as an independent. The swim team competed in the Bluegrass Mountain Conference before being dropped in 2018; the field hockey and wrestling teams were members of the ECAC–Division II before 2018, when the SAC and CC established their alliance in those two sports. The football team had been independent, but entered into a scheduling agreement with the SAC in 2015. This agreement was replaced in 2017 by formal affiliate membership, which continued until the Saints joined the SAC full-time in 2020.

Steven Kenneth Zabriskie is an American former television sports announcer who is best known for calling Major League Baseball and college football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of sports in the United States</span>

The history of sports in the United States shows that American football, baseball, softball and indoor soccer evolved out of older British sports. However, volleyball, skateboarding, snowboarding and Ultimate are American inventions, some of which have become popular in other countries. American football and baseball diverged greatly from the European sports from which they arose, having evolved into distinctly American sports; baseball has achieved international popularity, particularly in East Asia and Latin America, while American football remains a niche. Sports like Lacrosse and surfing derives from indigenous activities that predate Western and European contact.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cal Lutheran Kingsmen and Regals</span> California Lutheran University varsity teams

The Cal Lutheran Kingsmen and Regals are the athletic teams that represent California Lutheran University, located in Thousand Oaks, California, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division III level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) since the 1991–92 academic year. The Kingsmen and Regals previously competed in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) 1986–87 to 1988–89; and as an NAIA Independent from 1989–90 to 1990–91.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Spencer, Sheldon (April 17, 2011). "Sidelines: Stevens' spring training". ESPN. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  2. Tougas, Chelsea (March 12, 2012). "Dave Stevens Encourages Students to Follow Their Dreams". Worcester State University. Archived from the original on December 12, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  3. Ziegal, Vic (May 21, 1996). "Impossible Dream Dave Stevens Of St. Paul, Born Without Legs, Is Minor Miracle In The Making". New York Daily News. Retrieved April 5, 2012.