Ernie Davis
Ernest Davis was an American football player, a halfback who won the Heisman Trophy in 1961. Davis played college football for Syracuse University and was the first pick in the 1962 NFL Draft. He was diagnosed with leukemia in the summer of 1962, and died less than a year later at age 23. Davis was the subject of the 2008 Universal Pictures film The Express: The Ernie Davis Story.
About Ernie Davis in brief
Ernest Davis was an American football player, a halfback who won the Heisman Trophy in 1961 and was its first African-American recipient. Davis played college football for Syracuse University and was the first pick in the 1962 NFL Draft. He was diagnosed with leukemia in the summer of 1962, and died less than a year later at age 23, without ever playing in a professional game. Davis was the subject of the 2008 Universal Pictures film The Express: The Ernie Davis Story, based on the non-fiction book The Elmira Express, by Robert C. Gallagher. Davis led the 1959 Syracuse team to a national championship, capping an 11–0 season with a 23–14 win over the Texas Longhorns in the 1960 Cotton Bowl Classic, where Davis was named Most Valuable Player. In his junior year, 1960, he set a record of 7. 8 yards per carry and was third leading rusher in the country with 877 yards, having rushed for 100 yards in six of nine games. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy sent a telegram to Davis, reading: Seldom has an athlete been more deserving of such a tribute of such high standards of performance on the field and off the field, reflect the finest qualities of sportsmanship and citizenship.
Davis became the first black athlete to be awarded the Heisman trophy, and also won the Walter Camp Memorial Trophy following his 1961 senior-year season at Syracuse University. Davis found discrimination prevalent in the American South during his Cotton Bowl visit to host city Dallas, Texas. Davis and his black teammates were allowed to finish their meals at the banquet. After everyone ate and the trophies were handed out, the three black Syracuse players, including Jim Brown and Davis were asked to leave and were taken to another party in Dallas by local NAACP representatives. The three got up to leave when the doors were opened to the public for a dance, 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. In February 3, 1963, Elmira chose to celebrate Davis’ achievements by awarding the trophy to him while he was in New York to meet with President Kennedy. The trophy was given to him by the town of Elmira, New York, and he was awarded it by the city’s mayor.
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This page is based on the article Ernie Davis published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 14, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
