 Davis with the Browns in 1959 | |||||||
| No. 77, 87 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Defensive end | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born | (1934-07-24)July 24, 1934 Lisbon, Louisiana, U.S. | ||||||
| Died | April 15, 2020(2020-04-15) (aged 85) Santa Monica, California, U.S. | ||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||
| Weight | 243 lb (110 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school | Booker T Washington (Texarkana, Arkansas) | ||||||
| College | Grambling (1954–1957) | ||||||
| NFL draft | 1956: 15th round, 181st overall pick | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Willie Delford Davis[1] (July 24, 1934 – April 15, 2020) was an American professionalfootball player who was adefensive end in theNational Football League (NFL). Davis playedcollege football for theGrambling Tigers before being drafted 181st in the1956 NFL draft. He spent 12 seasons in the NFL, playing for theCleveland Browns and theGreen Bay Packers.
In the NFL, Davis was a five-time champion, including winning the first twoSuper Bowls underVince Lombardi. Individually, Davis was a six-timeAll-Pro, and was elected to thePro Football Hall of Fame in 1981.
Davis attended college atGrambling State University, where he played football for theTigers at bothoffensive tackle anddefensive end.[2][3]
Davis was selected with pick number 181 in the 15th round of the1956 NFL draft by theCleveland Browns, but he did not start his career until the1958 NFL season due to military service in theUnited States Army.[4] Davis wore number 77 and played at various positions on both offense and defense for the Browns, before being traded to theGreen Bay Packers in 1960.[4]
Davis wore number 87 during his career with the Packers, where he was moved to a permanent position at defensive end byVince Lombardi. For 10 seasons, Davis anchored the Packers' defensive line, playing 138 consecutive regular-season games and part of 162 regular-season games for his NFL career. Davis was a member of all five of Lombardi's NFL title-winning teams and played in Super Bowls I and II.
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Davis played in an era when neither tackles nor sacks were official statistics. However, John Turney, a member of theProfessional Football Researchers Association, reports that Davis had in excess of 100 sacks during his 10-year Green Bay career (1960–69), "possibly more than 120," including a minimum of 40 over the 1963–65 seasons alone.[5] Davis himself is quoted as saying, "I would think I would have to be the team's all-time leader in sacks. I played 10 years and I averaged in the 'teens' in sacks for those 10 years. I had 25 one season.[Paul] Hornung just reminded me of that the other day."[5] Davis earned All-Pro honors 5 times (1962, 64–67). He was voted to thePro Bowl five times (1963–67).
Davis recovered 22 fumbles over his Packers career, which, more than three decades removed from his retirement, remains a team record. The Packers honored his retirement with aWillie Davis Day on December 21, 1969. Davis served on theteam's Board of Directors.
During his early years with the Packers, Davis along with other players, lived in the Hotel Northland. He often told the story about how he along with the visiting officials, CBS broadcasters and crew, etc. were awoken on the morning of the Ice Bowl by a wake-up call from the front desk announcing the time and that the temperature was 17 degrees below zero.
Davis was also credited with following Vince Lombardi's lead in having no one associated with the team treat any man differently regardless of race. Davis would intentionally take the leadership position to offer to have lunch and dinner with players that had never played on an integrated team or eaten at the same table with an African American. Davis proactively and positively ensured that they acclimated well to Lombardi's culture of inclusion.
In the early 1970s, Davis worked as acolor commentator on NFL telecasts forNBC. He was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 1981. In 1986, Davis was named theWalter Camp Man of the Year. In 1987, he was given the Career Achievement Award from theNFL Alumni, and in 1988 he was elected to theWisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1999, Davis was ranked number 69 onThe Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. In 2021, he was listed as the 91st greatest player of all time byThe Athletic.[6]
Davis was a member ofKappa Alpha Psi fraternity. He received hisMaster of Business Administration (MBA) from theUniversity of Chicago Booth School of Business in 1968. He was a member of the boards of Marquette University, Alliance Bank,Dow Chemical (1988–2006),Johnson Controls (1991–2006),K-Mart,LA Gear,Manpower (2001–2020),Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1999–2020),MGM Mirage,Rally's Inc.,Sara Lee (1983–2020),Schlitz Brewing, andWICOR Inc.[7] He was president of All-Pro Broadcasting, operators of radio stationsKHTI,KATY-FM,WLDB-FM,WLUM-FM, andWZTI since 1976. In 1989 he was a finalist for the position ofNational Football League Commissioner.[8]
Davis' son is actorDuane Davis, known for his role as "Featherstone" inNecessary Roughness. He has a daughter, Lori Davis a lawyer known for her work in marijuana legislation within the Los Angeles children's court system. Davis' grandson,Wyatt Davis, was an All-American guard at theOhio State University, and currently plays for theNew York Giants.[9] His granddaughter, Harley Ann Zepeda, is a beauty pageant queen who held the titles of Miss Los Angeles County United States 2024 and Miss Wisconsin United States 2024.[10]
After being hospitalized for a month due to kidney failure, Davis died on April 15, 2020, at the age of 85.[11]
During the 2020 season, the Green Bay Packers wore a helmet decal to honor Davis, featuring his name and number.[12]
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