He had to learn a lot on just functioning and being able to perform at his highest level. He had to look out for teammates, understand for the coach. All those decisions were put on an individual who was considered the star. Syracuse running back Ernie Davis picks up six yards against Kansas around his right end before being run out of bounds.
He handled things without ever selling out. That night, Davis met President John F. Kennedy while in New York to receive his trophy. You never think it could happen to you. The Washington football team selected Davis with the first overall pick in the draft, and immediately traded him to the Browns. Trainers sent him to a hospital, and doctors discovered he had leukemia. One day, I got hold of myself.
Very few people could cross those lines. Davis ended up following Brown to Syracuse. He was given Brown's No. Floyd Little, whom Davis helped recruit to Syracuse, wore No. The university retired the No. Although freshmen weren't allowed to play in varsity games, Davis quickly became the team star by dominating in practice. 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.
People tried to make him into a character they wanted him to be, but it wasn't in his personality. He had to learn a lot on just functioning and being able to perform at his highest level. He had to look out for teammates, understand for the coach. 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.
All those decisions were put on an individual who was considered the star. You're the greatest cat, but you're inferior. On one level, you're the greatest; the other level, you can't eat at a restaurant. He handled things without ever selling out. He wasn't an Uncle Tom. 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 s and '60s when faced with racial intolerance and hatred. After surpassing most of Jim Brown's rushing records, Davis was named the Heisman Trophy winner in Kennedy, who also was in the city.
Kennedy was such a fan, he asked for a meeting with Davis. But here was the humble guy, because he didn't run around campus telling everybody that he'd met President Kennedy.
Not long after, Davis was drafted first overall by the Washington Redskins , who immediately traded him to Cleveland for Hall of Fame running back Bobby Mitchell. At any rate, it was a whopping figure for that era. Behind the scenes, Davis began having nose bleeds and bleeding gums, which he figured were normal accompaniments to the physical nature of football.
Alarms began to sound during workouts for an exhibition game between college and pro all-stars. There were more tests and similar results. At one point, Davis was cleared to play his rookie season by one doctor, who said he wasn't contagious or at risk because it was a blood disease.
He would beat this, he thought, just like everything else that had come in his way throughout his young life. Modell conferred with coach Paul Brown, who conferred with other doctors. Those doctors told Brown that Davis would be in harm's way if he played. Brown refused to play Davis. It was a point of contention between Modell and Brown, but Brown won.
Modell and coach Paul Brown, but here was a guy who reached the optimum. I wanted him, hoped for him, to be able to run one doggone kickoff back.
I think that would have satisfied him. Modell wanted him to play , but I don't think coach Brown did. 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. Before a preseason game with the Pittsburgh Steelers , Davis was introduced with the team. One of the most publicized incidents occurred after Davis was selected the Cotton Bowl MVP in when he was informed that he could accept his award at the post-game banquet but would then immediately have to leave the segregated facility.
Although popular lore holds that the entire team agreed to boycott the banquet, at least one teammate has insisted that the idea was overruled by Syracuse officials. A man of firsts, Davis was the first African American man to win the Heisman Trophy, the first to join the prestigious Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity a nationally recognized fraternity that was initially all-Jewish and, in , the first African American player to be picked first overall in the NFL draft.
Although the details are somewhat disputed, Davis' contract was considered to be the most lucrative ever offered to an NFL rookie. His teammates and supporters looked forward to seeing the 6-foot-2, pound Davis sharing the backfield with Brown, breaking countless records and leading the Cleveland Browns to a decade of victorious seasons. Those seasons would never come, however, as Davis was diagnosed with acute monocytic leukemia during preparations for the College All Star Game.
Treatment began immediately, and Davis was optimistic that he would recover from his condition. When his cancer went into remission that fall, it seemed only a matter of time before he made his pro debut, but Cleveland coach Paul Brown feared for Davis' health and kept him on the sidelines.
The disease would prove incurable, and Davis died on May 18, , never having played a professional football game. Both the House and the Senate eulogized him, and his wake was held in The Neighborhood House in Elmira, New York, where more than 10, mourners paid their respects.
Davis' character and his athletic accomplishments caught the eye of John F. Kennedy , who had followed his college career.
They finally had the chance to shake hands and talk when Davis was in New York to accept the Heisman Trophy in December , an encounter that thrilled the young football star. In , when he heard Davis would be honored by his high school with a school holiday, the president 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.
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