Willie Davis
| Willie Davis | |
|---|---|
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Position (s): Defensive End |
Jersey numbers: 77, 87 |
| born on July 24, 1934 in Lisbon , Louisiana | |
| died on April 15, 2020 in Santa Monica , California | |
| Career information | |
| Active : 1958 - 1969 | |
| NFL Draft : 1956 / Round: 17 / Pick: 181 | |
| College : Grambling State University | |
| Teams | |
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| Career statistics | |
| Games | 162 |
| Touchdowns | 2 |
| Interceptions | 2 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
William Delford "Willie" Davis (born July 24, 1934 in Lisbon , Louisiana , † April 15, 2020 in Santa Monica , California ) was an American American football player . He played as a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) with the Cleveland Browns and the Green Bay Packers .
youth
Willie Davis was born in Louisiana but grew up in Texarkana , Arkansas , where he also attended high school . He had two siblings and was raised by his mother alone. Davis played basketball and baseball and, against his mother's wishes, American football. At first she knew nothing of his passion for football and only noticed it when Willie came home too late after an away game. Ultimately, however, she accepted her son's hobby.
Player career
College career
In 1952, Willie Davis received an athletic scholarship to Grambling State University , a college for dark-skinned students. The mother of Willie was only willing to accept the offer of the College after her the coach of "Grambling State Tigers" had assured that his son and the other players in general in the Sunday worship would go and to Sunday school. Davis was team captain for the Tigers for his final two college years and was voted All-American in 1955 . That year he also played in the Orange Blossom Classic with his college team . His team won the game against Florida A&M University 28:21.
Professional career
Davis was founded in 1956 by the Cleveland Browns in the 17th round of the 181st spot drafted . Before he could play for the Browns, he had to do his military service in the US Army . There, too, he played football on a military team. In 1958 he then joined the Browns trained by Paul Brown . The next two years of play should not be happy for Davis. He had to change the player position again and again, although he was originally signed as a defensive end. So it was also used as an offensive tackle and defensive tackle . Although Brown wanted to use Davis as an offensive tackle in 1960, he was given up to the Green Bay Packers before the season. Vince Lombardi , the Packers trainer, was convinced of Davis and especially of his speed. He realized that he was the ideal player to put pressure on the opposing quarterback in the passing game. Lombardi used Davis from then on as a defensive end. In addition to players like Bart Starr , Willie Wood , Ray Nitschke , Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor, this developed into a leading player in the team from Green Bay .
In Davis's first year of play, the Packers were able to move into the NFL final, but were defeated by the Philadelphia Eagles at 17:13. The next two years should be much more successful for Davis. In 1961 he won his first championship title in the NFL, in the final the Packers had beaten the New York Giants 37-0. The following year the Packers were able to defend their title and defeated the Giants again in the title game, this time 16: 7.
In 1965, Davis won his third NFL title. His team met the Browns in the NFL championship game and defeated them 23:12. In the following two game rounds, the Packers remained the dominant team in the NFL. After the regular season 1966, the Packers met in the championship game of the NFL on the Dallas Cowboys . The cowboys supervised by Tom Landry had to admit defeat with 34:27. The victory meant for the Packers entry into the "AFL-NFL Championship Game" . The game was later renamed the Super Bowl . Opponents in Super Bowl I were the Kansas City Chiefs , who had to leave the field with a 35:10 defeat.
Winning Super Bowl II should cause Davis and the Packers a lot more trouble. In the NFL final you met the Cowboys again after the Packers had previously defeated the Los Angeles Rams 28: 7 in the play-offs. The game against the team from Dallas was played in Green Bay at −25 degrees Celsius and should go down in NFL history as the Ice Bowl . The Cowboys were an equal opponent in the game for a long time, only a few seconds before the end of the game, quarterback Bart Starr could decide the game with a touchdown. Opponents in the upcoming Super Bowl II were the Oakland Raiders . The kicker the Packers Don Chandler had a very good day in his last professional game. He scored four field goals and three point after touchdowns , adding a total of 15 points to make his team 33:14.
Willie Davis played for the Packers for two more years. However, the team could no longer build on the great successes of previous years. In 1969 he ran on December 21, 1969 for the last time for the team from Wisconsin . The day of the game against the Chicago Cardinals was renamed "Willie Davis Day" in honor of the Packers .
After the career
Willie Davis was employed after his playing career in the organization of the Green Bay Packers. He also worked as a presenter for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). While still playing, he studied at the University of Chicago , where he graduated in economics. Davis was a managing director of the All-Pro Broadcasting Cooperation and sat on the supervisory boards of other companies, including well-known companies such as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Kmart .
Davis died in April 2020 at the age of 85.
Honors
Willie Davis played five times in the Pro Bowl , the final game of the best players of the season. He was voted All-Pro six times . He became a member of the 1960s NFL All-Decade Team , the Pro Football Hall of Fame , the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame , the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame, and the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. The Sporting News magazine named him 69th on the list of the 100 best football players of all time in 1999.
Web links
- Willie Davis in the nndb (English)
- Willie Davis in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame
- Willie Davis in the Wisconsin Sports Hall of Fame
- Short biography ( memento from November 25, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
- Willie Davis in the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame
- Biography (PDF; 31 kB)
- William Davis in the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame
Individual evidence
- ↑ Draft List of NFL 1956
- ^ Annual statistics of the Packers 1960
- ^ Statistics NFL final 1960
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Packers 1961
- ↑ Statistics NFL final 1961
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Packers 1962
- ↑ Statistics NFL final 1962
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Packers 1965
- ↑ Statistics NFL final 1965
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Packers 1966
- ↑ Statistics play-off game Packers vs. Cowboys 1966
- ↑ Statistics Super Bowl I.
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Packers 1967
- ↑ Statistics Ice Bowl
- ↑ Statistics Super Bowl II
- ^ Willie Davis' business
literature
- Chuck Carlson: Game of My Life: 25 Stories of Packers Football. Sports Publishing, Campaign 2004, ISBN 1-58261-814-3 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Davis, Willie |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Davis, William Delford |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American football player and entrepreneur |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 24, 1934 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Lisbon , Louisiana |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 15, 2020 |
| Place of death | Santa Monica , California |