College football’s first black Heisman Trophy winner who died far too young

Ernie Davis: The Elmira Express Who Never Got to Run in the Pros
Discovered at Woodlawn Cemetery, Elmira, New York

On my walk through Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira, New York, with my CFL football in hand, I came across the grave of local hero and football legend Ernie Davis — known to many as “The Elmira Express.”

A three-sport star in high school, Davis earned a football scholarship to Syracuse University, where he quickly became a dominant force on the field. Playing halfback, he led the Orangemen to a 26-5 record, and in 1961, he made history by becoming the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy — college football’s highest honour.

His humility, sportsmanship, and excellence both on and off the field made him a national symbol of hope during a turbulent era of racial division.

Following his historic college career, Davis was selected first overall in the 1962 NFL Draft and traded to the Cleveland Browns, setting up a dream pairing alongside his Syracuse predecessor, the legendary Jim Brown. The anticipation for what the two could achieve together electrified the football world.

But the dream never took the field…

Just months after the draft, Ernie Davis was diagnosed with leukemia. Despite undergoing treatment and showing brief signs of remission, Davis passed away on May 18, 1963, at just 23 years old — without ever playing a down in the NFL.

Ernie Davis died in Cleveland on May 18, 1963.

1939-1963