Ira Davenport (athlete)

Ira Nelson Davenport (October 13, 1887 – July 17, 1941) was an American track athlete, football and baseball player, and coach. He competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics held in Stockholm, Sweden in the 800 metres where he won the bronze medal. In the 400 metres event he was eliminated in the semi-finals. For a time before the Olympics, Davenport lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he attended Minneapolis Central High School before going on to the University of Chicago. He also competed for the United States in the exhibition baseball tournament in Stockholm. Davenport ran track and played football at the University of Chicago. He served as the head football coach at Columbia College in Dubuque, Iowa, now known as Loras College, from 1920 to 1921. Davenport was later the general manager and treasurer of the Dubuque Boat and Boiler Works.