Ernie Davis Biography

Ernest R. Davis, popularly known as Ernie was an American football player who was the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy. Ernie’s father passed in an auto accident away before he was born and he spent his early childhood with his maternal grandparents. At the young age, he returned to New York to live with his mother and step-father and enrolled in the Elmira Free Academy where he earned two All-American Honors. Ernie stepped in to the shoes of legendary Jim Brown in Syracuse University and with his immense talent led Orangemen to a national championship. He was the first pick in the National Football League (NFL) and was selected by Washington Redskins followed by Cleveland Browns. Destiny, however, had something else in store for Ernie as soon after his selection, he was diagnosed with Leukemia. He never got a chance to play in a professional game due to his illness and passed away at a very young age of 23 in Cleveland, Ohio. Universal Pictures film, ‘The Express’ was made on his story in which Rob Brown portrayed the role of Ernie Davis.