 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Ernie Davis" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(November 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 Davis with theCleveland Browns in 1962 | |
| No. 45 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Halfback |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | (1939-12-14)December 14, 1939 New Salem, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died: | May 18, 1963(1963-05-18) (aged 23) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight: | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Elmira Free (Elmira, New York) |
| College: | Syracuse (1959–1961) |
| NFL draft: | 1962: 1st round,1st pick |
| AFL draft: | 1962: 1st round, 4th pick |
| Career history | |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Ernest R. Davis (December 14, 1939 – May 18, 1963) was an Americancollege football player who was ahalfback for theSyracuse Orangemen who won theHeisman Trophy in 1961. He was the award's first black recipient.[1][2][3] Davis was selectedfirst overall by theWashington Redskins in the1962 NFL draft but was almost immediately traded to theCleveland Browns.[4] He was diagnosed withleukemia that same year,[5][6] and died shortly after at age 23 without ever playing in a professional game.[3] He was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 1979 and was the subject of the 2008 filmThe Express: The Ernie Davis Story.
Davis was born inNew Salem, Pennsylvania. His father was killed in an accident shortly after his birth, and his mother, Avis Marie Davis Fleming, could not raise him alone.[7] At 14 months, he was cared for by his maternal grandparents, Willie and Elizabeth Davis. At age 12, he went to live with his mother and stepfather inElmira, New York, where he excelled in baseball, basketball, and football in grade school. He attendedElmira Free Academy, where he earned twoAll-American honors. At the end of his senior season he was recruited by numerous colleges, and chose to attend Syracuse University after being persuaded byJim Brown, a Syracusealumnus.[8]
Davis played football for coachBen Schwartzwalder atSyracuse University from 1959 to 1961, and went on to national fame in each of those three seasons, twice winning first-teamAll-American honors. As a sophomore, Davis led the1959 Syracuse team to anational championship,[9] capping an 11–0 season with a 23–14 win over theTexas Longhorns in the1960 Cotton Bowl Classic, where Davis was namedMost Valuable Player. That same season, ElmiraStar-Gazette sports writer Al Mallette coined the nickname for Davis, the "Elmira Express". In his junior year, 1960, he set a record of 7.8 yards per carry and was the third leading rusher in the country with 877 yards, having rushed for 100 yards in six of nine games. The1960 Syracuse Orangemen finished with a record of 7–2 and did not play in a post-seasonbowl game. In Ernie's senior year, the1961 Orangemen finished with a record of 8–3, closing the season with a 15–14 victory over theMiami Hurricanes in theLiberty Bowl, played atPhiladelphia'sFranklin Field. College football used limited substitution rules at the time and players played both offense and defense.
Discrimination was prevalent in theAmerican South and during Davis'Cotton Bowl visit to host cityDallas, Texas. Author Jocelyn Selim writes that at the banquet following the 1960 game, Davis was told he could only accept his award and then would be required to leave the segregated facility. Davis and his black teammates were allowed to finish their meals at the banquet. When dessert was brought, a gentleman quietly approached them and told them they would have to leave when the doors were opened to the public for a dance. The three got up to leave and when the teammates found out, they wanted to leave too, but were told that it would only cause a bigger problem, so they stayed.
A different account of the banquet is given byJohn Brown. He was Davis' teammate at Syracuse and on the Cleveland Browns, his roommate and a close friend. According to an article in theHouston Chronicle, all the players from the game attended the banquet. Brown recalls that the teams sat on opposite sides of the room. After everyone ate and the trophies were handed out, the three black Syracuse players, Brown, Davis and Art Baker were asked to leave and were taken to another party in Dallas by localNAACP representatives. One Syracuse player,Gerhard Schwedes, recommended that the whole Syracuse team leave the banquet to show solidarity with their black teammates, but the suggestion was overruled by Syracuse officials. When theChronicle asked Brown whether the filmThe Express is a truthful portrayal of his friend, Brown said " ... in short, no."[10]
Davis became the first black athlete to be awarded theHeisman Trophy (the highest individual honor in collegiate football) and he also won theWalter Camp Memorial Trophy[11] following his 1961 senior-year season at Syracuse University. PresidentJohn F. Kennedy had followed Davis' career and requested to meet him while he was inNew York to receive the trophy.[12] Later in 1963, when Elmira chose February 3 to celebrate Davis' achievements, Kennedy sent a telegram, reading:
Seldom has an athlete been more deserving of such a tribute. Your high standards of performance on the field and off the field, reflect the finest qualities of competition, sportsmanship and citizenship. The nation has bestowed upon you its highest awards for your athletic achievements. It's a privilege for me to address you tonight as an outstanding American, and as a worthy example of our youth. I salute you.[8]
During his time at Syracuse, Davis wore the same number, 44, as had legendaryOrangemanJim Brown, helping to establish a tradition at the school that was acknowledged on November 12, 2005, when the school retired the number in an on-field ceremony. After winning the Heisman Trophy, Ernie Davis talkedFloyd Little into doing an about face and playing football for Syracuse instead of Notre Dame. Davis also played basketball at Syracuse for one season 1960–1961.Syracuse University, as a way to honor all of the athletes that have worn the number 44, was granted permission by theUnited States Postal Service to change itsZIP code to 13244.
While attending Syracuse, Davis was a member of theSigma Alpha Mu fraternity, a nationally recognized Jewish fraternity. Davis was the first African-American to become part of the organization not only at the Syracuse chapter, but for the national fraternity as a whole.[13] He was also a candidate in the university's ArmyROTC program and was commissioned as asecond lieutenant following graduation.[14]
Davis was posthumously inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 1979.
Davis was a member ofThe Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C. National Intercollegiate All-American Football Players Honor.
In 1999,Sports Illustrated included him on its All-Century Team for college football.[15]
Davis was thefirst overall pick in the1962 NFL draft on December 4, 1961.[16] Selected by theWashington Redskins,[17] he was then almost immediately traded to theCleveland Browns.[4]
He was alsodrafted two days earlier by theBuffalo Bills of theAmerican Football League.[18]
Redskins founder and ownerGeorge Preston Marshall was an avowed racist who kept the Redskins entirely white long after the other teams had integrated.[19] He openly admitted that his unwillingness to sign a black player was an effort to appeal to his mostly Southern fan base (they had been the southernmost team in the league for aquarter century). The signing only came whenInterior SecretaryStewart Udall issued an ultimatum to Marshall: sign a black player by the start of the 1962 season, or he would revoke the Redskins' 30-year lease on D.C. Stadium (nowRobert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium).[16] The stadium was a city-owned facility, and the Washington city government has long been legally reckoned as a branch of the federal government (given that the Constitution gives Congress ultimate authority over the capital). Marshall could not bring himself to draft a black player, so he left the decision to general manager and head coachBill McPeak, who picked Davis. Davis refused to play for the Redskins and demanded a trade.[20] A deal with Cleveland was engineered by Browns coachPaul Brown without the knowledge of the ownerArt Modell. This had been standard operating procedure with the Browns from their inception in 1946; Brown served as his own general manager, and had enjoyed a free hand in football matters.[21][22] The Redskins traded the rights to Davis to the Cleveland Browns forBobby Mitchell and first-round draft pickLeroy Jackson. Davis chose to go to the Cleveland Browns where his classmateJohn Brown would be his roommate andJim Brown, whom he admired, was already playing.
Davis signed a three-year,$200,000 contract with the Browns in late December 1961 inSan Francisco while preparing for theEast-West Shrine Game.[23][24] Originally reported at $80,000, the contract, according to Davis's attorney, Tony DeFilippo, consisted of $80,000 for playing football, including a $15,000 signing bonus; $60,000 for ancillary rights, such as image marketing; and $60,000 for off-season employment.[24] It was the most lucrative contract for an NFL rookie up to that time.[24]
The Browns' dream of pairing Davis with Jim Brown took a tragic turn when Davis was diagnosed withleukemia. The rift between Coach Brown and Modell worsened when Modell brought in doctors who said Davis was well enough to play and Brown still refused to allow it. Although Davis' leukemia was in remission at the time, Brown felt letting him play would hurt team morale. This contributed to Modell's decision to replace Brown before the1963 season.[citation needed]
Davis was allowed to practice on the field without physical contact and helped Brown draw up game plans but he never played a meaningful down. His only appearance atCleveland Stadium came at apre-season game on August 18,[2] in which he ran onto the field as a spotlight followed him. Following his death, the Brownsretired his number 45 jersey.[25]
While preparing to play in theCollege All-Star Game against theGreen Bay Packers inChicago in the summer of 1962,[5] Davis awoke with a swollen neck and was hospitalized,[1] withmumps ormononucleosis initially suspected.[26] He was diagnosed withacute monocytic leukemia and began receiving medical treatment. Davis went toJohns Hopkins inBaltimore when he was dying—three months after being diagnosed—and, through chemical treatments, experienced a four- to five-month remission. The disease was then incurable, and Davis died at age 23 at ClevelandLakeside Hospital on May 18, 1963.[3]
Both houses of theUnited States Congress eulogized Davis, and a wake was held at The Neighborhood House in Elmira, New York, where more than 10,000 mourners paid their respects. During the funeral, a message was received fromPresident Kennedy, and it was read aloud to all of the people attending the service. Davis is buried atWoodlawn Cemetery in Elmira. His commemorative statue now stands in front of the school named in his honor, Ernie Davis Academy. Another statue of Davis stands on the campus of Syracuse University, near the steps ofHendricks Chapel and the Quad where pre-game pep rallies are held. He was elected to theCollege Football Hall of Fame in the fall of 1979. In the southern-tier region of New York, the best high-school football players, in their final year of eligibility, are invited to play in the Ernie Davis Classic. The game is traditionally played Thanksgiving Day, or the night before Thanksgiving.
Amotion picturebiography,The Express: The Ernie Davis Story, directed byGary Fleder and based on the non-fiction bookThe Elmira Express: the Story of Ernie Davis by Robert C. Gallagher, began production in April 2007[27] and was released on October 10, 2008.Rob Brown plays Davis, withDennis Quaid portraying Davis'Syracuse University coach,Ben Schwartzwalder.
In 2011, rival schoolsSouthside High School (Elmira, New York) andElmira Free Academy combined their athletic teams, which together were renamed the Elmira Express, named after Ernie Davis.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
