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Among the notable natives of Belmont County are many athletes. To say sports are popular in the Ohio Valley and that hometown rivalries still exist would be an understatement.
This blog is a continuation of a previous blog and includes natives who made names for themselves in the arenas of football as players and/or coaches. These younger athletes have continued the rich sports tradition of the Ohio Valley.
Jose Davis (born July 29, 1978) is a former arena football quarterback. Davis attended Kent State University, where he played football.
Davis attended Bellaire High School and was a letterman in football, basketball, and baseball. He was an All-State selection in both, football and basketball.
In 2009, Jose Davis was named the coach at Bellaire High School, where he and his brother, Nate both played.
Nate Charles Davis (born May 25, 1987, in Bellaire) is a football quarterback for the Amarillo Venom of Champions Indoor Football (CIF). In college, he was the starting quarterback with the Ball State Cardinals from 2006 to 2008 where he set the record for touchdown passes with 30 during the 2007 season. Davis led his team to 12 straight victories to start the season in the Mid-American Conference championship game. He was drafted in 2009 by the San Francisco 49ers in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL draft.
Andy Dorris, born August 11, 1951, in Bellaire, is a retired American professional football player. He attended college at New Mexico State University. Dorris played in the National Football League for 10 seasons. He spent most of his professional career with the New Orleans Saints and the Houston Oilers. The Cleveland Browns drafted Andy Dorris with the 93rd pick in the 1973 NFL Draft. He initially signed a three-year contract with the team. Before the season began, Cleveland traded Dorris to the St. Louis Cardinals. He played in four games for St. Louis in his first season as a professional. In October 1973, St. Louis traded Dorris to the New Orleans Saints. Dorris spent three full seasons with the Saints.
At the beginning of the 1977 NFL season, the Seattle Seahawks acquired Dorris from New Orleans. Dorris played four games for the Seahawks. The Seahawks placed him on waivers in October 1977.
In November 1977, Dorris joined the Houston Oilers as part of a team that came to be known as "Bum's Boys". In 1979, Dorris was the starting left defensive end for the Oilers.
Dorris was known as a locker-room prankster. He and a teammate once put blue dye in a showerhead, turning a teammate's skin blue.
Houston placed Dorris on the injured reserve list at the beginning of the 1982 season, but he had already played his last game as a professional.
Joseph Scott Galloway (born November 20, 1971, in Bellaire) is a former NFL wide receiver and current college football analyst with ESPN.
He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks eighth overall in the 1995 NFL Draft and also played for the Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Washington Redskins.
Galloway played college football at The Ohio State University. While there he earned many honors and finished in the top five all-time in many of OSU's receiving records.
He made an immediate impact for the Seahawks, setting franchise season records for a rookie with 67 receptions, 1,067 receiving yards, and three 100-yard games. He also had success as a punt returner, returning 36 punts for 360 yards and a touchdown. During his second year, he started all 16 games for the Seahawks, leading the team in receptions with 57, receiving yards with 987, and touchdowns with seven. During his third year in 1997, he made 72 receptions for 1,049 yards and 12 touchdowns. In 1998, he reached double digits He is the NFL's career leader in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns among players to not be selected for a Pro Bowl.
He was a co-owner of the Arena Football League’s Columbus Destroyers from 2003 until the team disbanded in 2008. In 2012, he joined ESPN as a college football analyst.
Colton McKivitz (born August 9, 1996, in Jacobsburg ) is an offensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers. He played college football at West Virginia. McKivitz grew up in Belmont, Ohio, and attended East Richland Christian High School before transferring to Union Local High School shortly before his sophomore year. As a senior, McKivitz was named first-team All-Ohio. Union Local retired McKivitz's jersey number in 2019. A 3-star recruit, McKivitz initially committed to play college football at Miami of Ohio but later switched his commitment to West Virginia over offers from five Ohio colleges.
McKivitz was selected in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL draft with the 153rd pick by the San Francisco 49ers. He made his NFL debut in Week 2 against the New York Jets, playing eight snaps on offense and five snaps on special teams. McKivitz made his first career start on November 29, 2020, lining up at right guard and playing all 72 of the 49er's offensive snaps in a 23-20 win over Los Angeles.
Lance Mehl (born February 14, 1958, in Bellaire) played eight seasons for the New York Jets from 1980 to 1987. He was an All-American at Pennsylvania State University. Mehl was selected by the Jets in the third round (#69 overall) of the 1980 NFL Draft. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 1985.
Tim Spencer, born in Martins Ferry and a graduate of St. Clairsville High School, played for OSU, where he ran for 1371 yards in his senior season. He was then drafted by the Chicago Blitz in 1983. He played for the Arizona Wranglers in 1984. In 1985, Spencer signed to play for the San Diego Chargers, the same NFL team that drafted him in the 11th round of the 1983 NFL Draft.
His running backs coaching career includes OSU (1994-2003); Chicago Bears (2004-2012) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2014–2018. In 2019, Spencer joined the coaching staff at Lake Forest College in Illinois as a wide receiver coach.
Ben Taylor (born August 31, 1978, in Bellaire) played football at college and professional levels. He was a standout for the Virginia Tech Hokies football team, earning All-America honors in 2000 and 2001. He led the Hokies in tackles in his junior and senior seasons with 103 tackles in 2000 and 121 in 2001.
He played in a total of 49 NFL games and had 218 tackles in four seasons with the Browns and one for the Green Bay Packers. Taylor was elected to the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2017. He now teaches physical education and coaches football at Shenandoah University in Virginia.
Tim Moxley, a football player and wrestler at Barnesville High School, was a linebacker for The Ohio State University from 1985-1989. He was selected in the 9th round of the 1990 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. Moxley never played in the NFL but did play arena football in 1992.
Shawn Vincent, born in Bellaire, attended St. Clairsville High School where he was named all-conference as both quarterback and defensive back in 1986. He then played college football for the University of Akron as a defensive back. In 1991, he joined the Pittsburgh Steelers but did not return in 1992. He was inducted into the OVAC Hall of Fame in 2012 and the St. Clairsville High School Hall of Fame in 2013.