Ernie Davis as a Football Role Model Essay

Introduction

Ernie Davis was an African American football player born in New Salem Pennsylvania on 14th Dec 1939. He was an exceptional player born ahead of his time, as he stood out on the football field as the first African American to win the Heisman trophy in 1961, and to be chosen for the NFL. He played for Syracuse University during his college years, where he gained popularity through his achievements as a player in the football team. One such achievement was the 1959 Cotton Bowl Classic where his team won 23-14 over the University of Texas (Gallagher, 2008). In the following year, he was selected as the Cotton Bowl Classic’s most valuable player, and he continued with this outstanding record, to be the third leading rusher country-wide during his junior year at Syracuse University (Gallagher & Little, 2008). His career flourished in the late 50’s and early 60’s, lasting from 1959-1962 and dying in 1963 from Leukaemia. His premature death occurred after he had signed a lucrative professional football deal for a beginner, and robbed him of the chance of experiencing football as a professional player.

Main body

Unfortunately, Davis died without ever playing a match with his role model Jim Brown of Cleveland Browns. He had set his career in the footsteps of Jim Brown and he wore Brown’s jersey, number 44. He eventually got the nickname ‘Elmira Express’ attributed to his speed (Gallagher, 2008). However, Davis managed to achieve more than his role model did, as he became the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy. His role model Jim Brown had only ranked fifth in 1956, despite his outstanding year as a senior in Syracuse (Mieczkwoski, 2008). Brown had complained that his loss of the title was due to racism within the University that led to his unpopularity in the voting. Overall, Davis achieved in his sophomore year more than his role model ever did in his football career in college.

Just like Jim Brown, Ernie Davis’ career existed at a time when racism was still rampant in America, and there was heightened awareness with the civil rights movement and other anti-racism demonstrations at their peak. When he won the MVP trophy, the organizers informed his team that he could only attend the banquet to receive the trophy, but he would have to leave soon after (Selim, 2008). There are contradicting accounts about the banquet, with his fellow player John Brown narrating that they all attended the banquet, while others refute this claim and state that they rejected the invite on racial grounds. However, it was a more enlightened time unlike the era of Jim Brown, because Davis managed to win the Heisman trophy through popular vote. Five years earlier, Brown had failed to win sufficient votes despite his outstanding performance, but the civil rights movement had enlightened the nation and more white people had begun to have an open mind towards African Americans in society. There is even an account of a white child who claimed to be taking chocolate milk in order to become black like Ernie Davis (Selim, 2008).

Conclusion

He was the first African American and only SU player to acquire the greatest college football honor in Syracuse University as holder of the Heisman Trophy. More so, he was one of the players who led the SU football team to the National Championship, and his achievements while in SU went further, with him ranking 5th in the list of leading rushers countrywide, while still a junior. He was a maverick in SU football, and “he is currently ninth on Syracuse’s career rushing yards record list with 2,386 yards” (SUathletics, 2006). His final achievement was after his death when he was included in the Hall of Fame in 1979, marking him as one of the great sportsmen in American history.

References

Gallagher, C.R. (2008). The Express: The Ernie Davis Story. Random House Publishing Group.

Gallagher, C.R. & Little, F. (2008). Ernie Davis, the Elmira Express: The Story of a Heisman Trophy Winner. Bartleby Press.

Mieczkwoski, Y. (2008). “Why Ernie Davis Matters”. History News Network. Web.

Selim, J. (2008). “Ernie Davis’ Last Down”. CR. Web.

SUathletics (2006). Ernie Davis, Football, 1959-61. Web.