Willie Davis (defensive end)

Willie Davis
No. 87
Position: Defensive end
Personal information
Date of birth: (1934-07-24) July 24, 1934
Place of birth: Lisbon, Louisiana
Career information
College: Grambling State
NFL Draft: 1956 / Round: 15 / Pick: 181
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Fumbles recovered: 22
Games played: 162
Player stats at NFL.com

William Delford Davis[1][2][3][4][5][6] (born July 24, 1934) is a former American football defensive end for the Cleveland Browns and the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Davis graduated from Grambling State University.

Davis wore number 87 during his career with the Packers. For 10 seasons, Davis anchored the Packers' defensive line, playing 138 consecutive regular-season games and part of 162 regular-season games for his NFL career. Davis was a member of all five of Lombardi's NFL title-winning teams and played in Super Bowls I and II.

Davis played in an era when neither tackles nor sacks were official statistics. However, John Turney, a member of the Professional Football Researchers Association, reports that Davis had in excess of 100 sacks during his 10-year Green Bay career (1960–69), "possibly more than 120," including a minimum of 40 over the 1963–65 seasons alone.[7] Davis himself is quoted as saying, "I would think I would have to be the team's all-time leader in sacks. I played 10 years and I averaged in the 'teens' in sacks for those 10 years. I had 25 one season. [Paul] Hornung just reminded me of that the other day."[7] Davis earned All-Pro honors 5 times (1962, 64–67). He was voted to the Pro Bowl five times (1963–67).

Davis recovered 21 fumbles over his Packers career, which, more than three decades removed from his retirement, remains a team record. The Packers honored his retirement with a Willie Davis Day on December 21, 1969. Davis remains on the team's Board of Directors.

In the early 1970s, Davis worked as a color commentator on NFL telecasts for NBC. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981. In 1986, Davis was named the Walter Camp Man of the Year. In 1987, he was given the Career Achievement Award from the NFL Alumni, and in 1988 he was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988. In 1999, he was ranked number 69 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.

Davis is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. He received his MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business in 1968. He is a member or former member of the boards of Alliance Bank, Dow Chemical (1988–2006), Johnson Controls (1991–2006), K-Mart, L.A. Gear, Manpower (2001–), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1999–), MGM Mirage, Rally's Inc., Sara Lee (1983–), Schlitz Brewing, and WICOR Inc. He has been president of All-Pro Broadcasting, operators of radio stations KHTI, KATY-FM, WLDB-FM, WLUM-FM, and WZTI since 1976.

Davis' son is actor Duane Davis.

References

  1. ↑ Carlson, Chuck (2004). Game of My Life: Memorable Stories of Packer Football. Sports Publishing LLC. p. 57. ISBN 1582618143. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Willie Davis - Class of 1981". Packers.com. Green Bay Packers, Inc. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  3. ↑ "FNF Company Profile and Executives - William Delford Davis, 80". wsj.com. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Willie Davis statistics". Pro-Football-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  5. ↑ "MGM Resorts International - company description". barrons.com. Barron's. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  6. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=XphTupJ-4TsC&pg=PA100
  7. 1 2 Packers.com » News » Stories » July 20, 2004: Letters To Lee Remmel
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