Cleveland Browns T-Shirts at the Official Online Store of the Browns. A different account of the banquet is given by John Brown. Goodson (93) celebrates after the Browns defeated the Indianapolis Colts 32-23 during an NFL football game, in Cleveland. It would be a challenge, but Ben was a good coach, and they really wanted him. CLEVELAND â Editor's note: the video in the player above is from Jan. 10, 2021. The ovation he received, you can't describe it. You couldn't hear yourself think. Brown refused to play Davis. All other NFL-related trademarks are trademarks of the National Football League. This site is maintained for research purposes only. It was in the East, wouldn't be too far from home, and he could carry on this legacy. Rockin’ the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, p.564, Jeffrey J. Miller, ECW Press, 2007, 1959 Syracuse Orangemen football—consensus national champions, Washington Football Team first-round draft picks, "Browns' Davis succumbs in battle with leukemia", "Blood disorder expected to keep Davis on sidelines", 'syracuse.com' Mother of Ernie Davis, Marie Fleming, has passed away in Elmira; her funeral is Saturday, May 8, 2008. All those decisions were put on an individual who was considered the star. In alignment with the team's Black History Month celebration and Be the Solution social justice initiative, the Browns have launched Cleveland Huddle in ⦠"Those were those times, and if you lived in those times, you stood for whatever was going on in those times," John Brown said. It was extraordinary. I also told him that he could be a part of bringing justice and dignity, in a much quieter way, just because of how he was and I was. [24] He was diagnosed with acute monocytic leukemia and began receiving medical treatment. Ernest Davis (December 14, 1939 – May 18, 1963) was an American football player, a halfback who won the Heisman Trophy in 1961 and was its first African-American recipient. Top 50 Cleveland Browns Players In Franchise History (Updated) 45, Ernie Davis,' " Modell said. 26 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Redskins founder and owner George Preston Marshall was an avowed racist who kept the Redskins entirely white long after the other teams had integrated. I wanted him, hoped for him, to be able to run one doggone kickoff back. Barron, David, "Film The Express stretches the truth", "Centennial Spotlight", Sigma Alpha Mu Foundation website, "Stories of Service: Ernie Davis '62 and Jared Lyon G'13", "NFL.com Draft 2018 - NFL Draft History: Full Draft Year", "Ernie Davis wants no part of football racial dispute", "A 'Showdown' That Changed Football's Racial History", "WashingtonPost.com: The Redskins Book: Page 17", Davis/ernie14.html Neuman, Roger, "Pro contract was rookie record", Elmira, King, Steve, "A tragic off season", Official Website of the Cleveland Browns, December 19, 2006, "The Express’ to Film Scenes on Campus Next Week; Extras Needed", SUAthletics.com, National Football League Draft first overall picks, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ernie_Davis&oldid=1004302406, National Football League first overall draft picks, Players of American football from New York (state), African-American players of American football, Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Elmira, New York), NFL player missing current team parameter, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 1 February 2021, at 23:40. It was awful, but the way he took it, it seemed like much more of a blow to me and his teammates than it was to him. 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. Soon ⦠There was Malcolm (X), Elijah (Muhammad), Huey (Newton) and Stokely (Carmichael), Angela (Davis), J. Edgar Hoover, Richard Nixon, John Kennedy. Or when he disarmed a volatile situation at a Virginia diner that almost led to violence when he, John Brown and other friends were denied service on a trip to visit friends. Your high standards of performance on the field and off the field, reflect the finest qualities of competition, sportsmanship and citizenship. During the funeral, a message was received from President Kennedy, and was read aloud to all of the people attending the service. He would beat this, he thought, just like everything else that had come in his way throughout his young life. "Excuse me, I'm sorry," he said. ©MMXVIII Tank Productions, all pictures and logos, team names are property of the National Football League. His glands swelled, and doctors suspected mumps. "He was the star, but he was black. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. Brown recalls that the teams sat on opposite sides of the room. John Brown has told his kids and anyone else who would listen over the years about Ernie Davis. [21][22] 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. Another statue of Davis stands on the campus of Syracuse University, near the steps of Hendricks Chapel and the Quad where pre-game pep rallies are held. 1 draft pick, Washington traded Davis to Cleveland for Mitchell, who would become the first Black player in the nation's capital. Marcas Grant takes a look at the third-year back. Visit ESPN to view the Cleveland Browns team roster for the current season ... NFL News . Rob Brown plays Davis, with Dennis Quaid portraying Davis' Syracuse University coach, Ben Schwartzwalder. "Big Bill" played for Paul Brown at Ohio State and was voted All-Big Tackle in 1943 and 1944. Davis and his black teammates were allowed to finish their meals at the banquet. Charles W. Follis, Halfback, Wooster Played 1902-06 with the Shelby Athletic Club. After recently sharing his recollection of Davis, he struggled his way out of a chair -- he just had both knees replaced -- and he grabbed the hand of a strapping young man, standing at his side. In this Oct. 11, 2020, file photo, Cleveland Browns middle linebacker B.J. His father was killed in an accident shortly after his birth, and his mother, Avis Marie Davis Fleming, could not raise him alone. "I told him it wouldn't be a cakewalk, because we're still breaking down barriers. At any rate, it was a whopping figure for that era. Floyd Little, whom Davis helped recruit to Syracuse, wore No. Willis was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1971 and the Pro Football ⦠Modell conferred with coach Paul Brown, who conferred with other doctors. NFL footage © NFL Productions LLC. "Ernie was a very sophisticated young man, a great all-around athlete," Jim Brown said. âThere were only 12,000 fans at ⦠"The place was bedlam. Davis was a member of The Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C. National Intercollegiate All-American Football Players Honor. A good dude. Mr. Modell wanted him to (play), but I don't think coach Brown did.". After surpassing most of Jim Brown's rushing records, Davis was named the Heisman Trophy winner in 1961. There were rumors, but still, people cheered and screamed. During those years, the Browns were 59-6-3, with four championships in the All-American Football Conference (AAFC) and a fifth in 1950 following the NFL/AAFC merger. It is a dramatized story, but it captures the essence of a man who was one of the greatest college football players of his time and the first Negro -- his societal designation in that era -- to win the Heisman Trophy, college football's greatest prize. He joined the Cleveland Browns in 1946 along with Bill Willis, and together, they led the Browns to five consecutive championships. Nothing ever was easy for Davis. He just simply didn't know better, the same way someone who never has had three square meals doesn't realize he's not getting what most would consider a normal day's nourishment. He died May 18, 1963. He was a Black punter in the NFL, something that people did not see before. Enjoy Quick Flat-Rate Shipping On Any Size Order. He had that thing.". "The greatest thing I think happened to him was when he went to meet President Kennedy," John Brown said. 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. "He had a great way of bringing a spirit to people from different walks of life. [17] 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 a quarter century). His only appearance at Cleveland Stadium came at a pre-season game on August 18,[2] in which he ran onto the field as a spotlight followed him. But here was the humble guy, because he didn't run around campus telling everybody that he'd met President Kennedy.". 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. 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. 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. Very few people could cross those lines.". Ernie Davis' only real NFL footnote was that, as part of a trade between Washington and Cleveland in 1962, he became the first black player drafted first overall. Davis chose to go to the Cleveland Browns where his classmate John Brown would be his roommate and Jim Brown, whom he admired, was already playing. [13] 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). "It is a great story, but Ernie Davis is not new to me. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in the fall of 1979, coinciding with the premiere of The Express and the beginning of construction of Ernie Davis Hall, a Syracuse dormitory. He was Davis' teammate at Syracuse and on the Cleveland Browns, his roommate and a close friend. Did the 49ers take advantage of having two first-round picks in the 2020 NFL Draft? "They told him as gently as they could that it was an incurable case of leukemia. He said, 'I'm not Ernie Davis.' Washington Football Team quarterback Dwayne Haskins throws a pass in the first half against the Cleveland Browns, September 27, 2020, at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Cleveland Browns are headed back to the NFL playoffs for the first time in 18 years, ending the leagueâs longest active dry spell. "This is my son -- Ernie.". The day he was honored at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York, he had a chance encounter with President John F. Kennedy, who also was in the city. Kennedy was such a fan, he asked for a meeting with Davis. The stories have grown more hushed over time, as some of those who knew him have died or grown to where their recollection has become somewhat of a faint memory. That thing, according to those that knew him, was a paintbrush of generosity, humanity, dignity and competitiveness that he spread over a canvas of racial intolerance, a speech impediment, a barely integrated college campus, 100 yards of football turf and nearly 8,395 days of life. He handled things without ever selling out. This contributed to Modell's decision to replace Brown before the 1963 season. According to an article in the Houston Chronicle, all the players from the game attended the banquet. In his physical prime but with no real prospect of playing professionally, Willis took a job as the hea⦠Black. Last updated on September 27, 2018 at 11:40 pm ET. In Ernie's senior year, the 1961 Orangemen finished with a record of 8–3, closing the season with a 15–14 victory over the Miami Hurricanes in the Liberty Bowl, played at Philadelphia's Franklin Field. A professional football career was unlikely for Willis when he graduated from Ohio State in 1945. [6] At 14 months, he was cared for by his maternal grandparents, Willie and Elizabeth Davis, in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. That same season, Elmira Star-Gazette sports writer Al Mallette coined the nickname for Davis, the "Elmira Express". Browse Cleveland Browns Store for the latest Browns T-Shirts, Tank Tops, Tees and more for men, women, and kids. He never once said to me, or in my presence, 'Why me?' "I've lived these things, the Ernie Davis story," Brown said in a recent interview. I don't think he was getting that message from too many schools (that were recruiting him), because there wasn't a whole bunch of us at any one place to tell him the truth. Many considered Brownâs best sport to be lacrosse, and he was inducted into both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the U.S. Lacrosse National Hall of Fame. [23], While preparing to play in the College All-Star Game against the Green Bay Packers in Chicago in the summer of 1962,[4] Davis awoke with a swollen neck and was hospitalized,[1] with mumps or mononucleosis initially suspected. [11] He was also a candidate in the University’s Army ROTC program and was commissioned as a second lieutenant following graduation.[12]. 44 jersey in 2005. Although Davis' leukemia was in remission at the time, Brown felt letting him play would hurt team morale. It was unbelievable, and that made him happy. He'd get through it, just like he had when he overcame a once-ridiculed stammer. Former Cleveland Brownsâ Clay Matthews speaks during halftime of an NFL football game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019, in Cleveland. After selecting Ernie Davis with the No. I had a little bit of an attitude. He had to look out for teammates, understand for the coach. John Brown laughs at young men today when they tell him they wouldn't have been as accommodating as Davis or a lot of other black people in the 1950s and '60s when faced with racial intolerance and hatred. The Browns drafted 31 players in the 30-round draft that year and didnât come away with much. Visit ESPN to view the Cleveland Browns team stats for the 2020 season. The coach wasn't identifying what's going on in his life outside of football, so he had to know when to step up and when not to step up. Traded to Cleveland for Bobby Mitchell and Leroy Jackson, Davis died in 1963 and never played professionally. The university retired the No. Cleveland Browns Long Sleeve T-Shirts and Long Sleeve Tees at the Official Online Store of the Browns. [22] It was the most lucrative contract for an NFL rookie up to that time.[22]. This leukemia was something that his will, diligence and trust in doctors -- and Modell -- could be overcome, too. 44 jersey, and a legacy had begun. Davis was sluggish and slow. He only spent one season in Cleveland and joined the Minnesota Vikings after. Davis signed a three-year, $200,000 contract with the Browns in late December 1961 in San Francisco while preparing for the East-West Shrine Game. Behind the scenes, Davis began having nose bleeds and bleeding gums, which he figured were normal accompaniments to the physical nature of football. Willis earned first-team all-league accolades seven times in eight seasons as the fledgling Browns navigated from the All-America Football Conference to the NFL. "The PA announcer said, 'Here is another member of the Browns' offensive team, No. Syracuse coach Ben Schwartzwalder was a frequent visitor, but it took the help of Jim Brown, a former Syracuse star who already was with the Cleveland Browns, to get Davis to attend Syracuse. He attended Elmira Free Academy, where he earned two All-American honors. Steelers GM Kevin Colbert had multiple chances during Wednesday's discussion with reporters to firmly stand behind Ben Roethlisberger being the team's QB in 2021. John Kuntz, cleveland.com Facebook Share Syracuse University, as a way to honor all of the athletes that have worn the number 44, was granted permission by the United States Postal Service to change its ZIP code to 13244. Davis went to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore when he was dying, three months after being diagnosed and through chemical treatments experienced a four to five month remission. The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. Bill Willis, at 6-2 and 210 pounds, was small by pro football standards in 1946, yet he performed in a class by himself, particularly on defense.In the eight years he played for the Cleveland Browns from 1946 through 1953, he was a first-team All-League selection seven times and a second-team choice once. There were more tests and similar results. I'm sure there were a lot of people that were around that told their kids.". [1][2][3] Davis played college football for Syracuse University and was the first pick in the 1962 NFL Draft, where he was selected by the Cleveland Browns. Ken Carpenter and John Sandusky, the Brownsâ first ⦠At the end of his senior season he was recruited by numerous colleges, and chose to attend Syracuse University after being persuaded by Jim Brown, a Syracuse alumnus.[7]. "Somebody rushed up to him and asked for his autograph. I think that would have satisfied him. His commemorative statue now stands in front of the school named in his honor, Ernie Davis Academy. Davis was the number-one pick in the 1962 NFL Draft on December 4, 1961. He wasn't an Uncle Tom.". ", Said John Brown: "Oh man, that night. "There was a lot of growth in him," said Jim Brown. Davis ended up following Brown to Syracuse. Davis found discrimination prevalent in the American South during his Cotton Bowl visit to host city Dallas, Texas. The disease was incurable and Davis died at age 23 at Cleveland Lakeside Hospital on May 18, 1963.[3]. 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. [10] 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. While attending Syracuse, Davis was a member of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity, a nationally recognized Jewish fraternity. Following his death, the Browns retired his number 45 jersey. Along the way, a local sportswriter dubbed him, "The Elmira Express.". Now he's telling us why he thinks he's moving on from San Francisco next month. Ernie Davis' only real NFL footnote was that, as part of a trade between Washington and Cleveland in 1962, he became the first black player drafted first overall. Though the Bengals drafted him, Coleman never played a single game with them. Charles (Doc) Baker, Halfback, no college Played 1906-08 and 1911 for the Akron Indians Henry McDonald, Halfback, Canandaigua Academy Played 191⦠Should the Cardinals regret taking hybrid defender Isaiah Simmons over an offensive tackle? Before a preseason game with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Davis was introduced with the team. In high school, he was so good in football that he was one of the rare Negro athletes in the 1950s to be recruited by dozens of predominantly white universities. As a sophomore, 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. His humility drew acceptance by even some of the more intolerant players and coaches, who often had no choice but to admire and respect his athletic greatness and competitive nature, if nothing else. Browse Cleveland Browns Store for the latest Browns T-Shirts, Tank Tops, Tees and more for men, women, and kids. It was a point of contention between Modell and Brown, but Brown won. When he was 12, his mother, then re-married, re-claimed Ernie and moved him to Elmira, N.Y. ⢠⢠⢠Ernie Davisâshown with his 1961 Heisman Trophyâwas the first African-American the Redskins drafted and the first black player to win the Heisman. The gentlemen's agreement had been in effect ever since segregationist George Preston Marshall entered the league as owner of the Boston Redskins. 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. Davis was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1979. During his time at Syracuse, Davis wore the same number, 44, as had legendary Orangeman Jim 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. That's why, when he was told of his terminal illness in the summer of 1962, he -- at least publicly -- seemed barely fazed. Davis played football for coach Ben Schwartzwalder at Syracuse University from 1959 to 1961, and went on to national fame in each of those three seasons, twice winning first-team All-American honors. They didn't have anything, nothing to save him. ", "He was going to the movies one night (in Cleveland)," added John Brown. He had to learn a lot on just functioning and being able to perform at his highest level. Davis also played basketball at Syracuse for one season 1960-1961. In 2011, rival schools Southside High School (Elmira, New York) and Elmira Free Academy combined their athletic teams, which together were renamed the Elmira Express, named after Ernie Davis. Davis was born in New Salem, Pennsylvania. [13] Selected by the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) in December 1961,[14] he was then almost immediately traded to the Cleveland Browns and issued number 45. Though Davis' cleats never churned a football field again, he did set foot on the field at Cleveland Stadium in what Modell -- and those who were there -- will tell you was one of the most memorable nights in Browns lore.
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