Anthony Davis (running back, born 1952)
No. 28 | |
Born: | 2, Pick: 37 | September 8, 1952
---|---|
Drafted by | New York Jets |
Career history | |
As player | |
1975 | Southern California Sun (WFL) |
1976 | Toronto Argonauts (CFL) |
1977 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFL) |
1978 | Houston Oilers (NFL) |
1978 | Los Angeles Rams (NFL) |
1983 | Los Angeles Express (USFL) |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Anthony Davis (born September 8, 1952), also known as "A.D.",[1] is an American former professional football player who was a running back. He played in four professional leagues: the World Football League (WFL), Canadian Football League (CFL), National Football League (NFL), and United States Football League (USFL).
Davis played college football and baseball at the University of Southern California (USC), where he was part of five national championships, two in football and three in baseball.
College career
Davis was a consensus
On November 30,
In
Davis' talents were not just limited to football, he was also successful in baseball as an outfielder and switch-hitter on USC's 1972, 1973, and 1974 College World Series champion baseball teams.[1] Playing with wood bats at the time, Davis hit .273 with six home runs, 45 RBIs and 13 stolen bases for the Trojans' 1974 team.
During his Trojan career, Davis won five national championships – two in football, three in baseball.[1] As a two-sport standout, Davis holds the distinction of being the only player in school history to start for a national champion football team (1972) and a national champion baseball team (1974). He did not finish his degree at USC.[1]
The Notre Dame vs. USC game on November 27, 2004 was titled "Anthony Davis Day", in recognition of the 30th anniversary of the record-breaking game.
While at USC, Davis was on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine three times, including one foldout.[4][5][6] He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in late 2005 in New York City, and enshrined on August 12, 2006, in South Bend, Indiana.
Professional career
The
World Football League
Davis was selected by the
He led the WFL in rushing with 1,200 yards on 239 carries and 16 touchdowns at the time of its demise. He also caught 40 passes for 381 yards and one touchdown, while on kickoff returns he ran back 9 for 235 yards and one touchdown. In all, he scored 18 TDs in the WFL for 133 points. His 16 touchdowns for rushing over 12 games is a WFL record. He also threw the ball and completed four of eleven attempts for 102 yards and a touchdown. The league folded during the season in October,[7][8][9] and Davis moved on.
Canadian Football League
Davis headed to the Canadian Football League in 1976, and became the league's first "million dollar man." His time with the Toronto Argonauts was not happy; his star ego clashed with CFL legend and Argos' head coach Russ Jackson's idea of a team player as a receiver. He rushed 104 times for 417 yards, caught 37 passes for 408 yards, and scored four touchdowns; Davis later stated that his heart wasn't in it with playing for the Argonauts.[10]
During the final regular season game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (in Hamilton, Ontario), Argonauts quarterback Matthew Reed, desperate to find an open receiver, threw an incomplete pass to Davis. When Reed returned to the bench, assistant coach Joe Moss told him never to throw the ball to Davis again; he had one carry and called himself the most expensive passing decoy in football.[11]
National Football League
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had acquired the NFL rights to Davis in the 1976 NFL expansion draft, with his old USC head coach John McKay hoping to turn some new magic, but Davis' NFL career was a disappointment. Tampa Bay had lost all fourteen games in 1976, and injuries to the Bucs' top two quarterbacks in the preseason put extra pressure on the offense. In eleven games for the Bucs in 1977, he rushed 95 times for 297 yards (3.1 yard average), caught eight passes, and scored a touchdown.
In 1978, Davis played two games for the Houston Oilers, where he broke his leg in the same spot twice in one season. He later played two games for the Los Angeles Rams, where he rushed three times for seven yards.
United States Football League
In the spring of 1983 at age thirty, over four years after he last played with the Rams, Davis had a short stint with the Los Angeles Express of the new USFL, rushing twelve times for 32 yards.
After football
Following his football career, Davis found initial success as a
In 1990, Davis fulfilled a long-time dream and started playing professional baseball in the short-lived Senior Professional Baseball Association, playing as an outfielder for the San Bernardino Pride club.[12] The Pride had a record of 13-12 and were in third place when the league canceled the season on December 26, less than the halfway point in a planned 56-game schedule.[13]
In 2020, he was featured in the documentary "Quiet Explosions: Healing the Brain" produced and directed by Jerri Sher.[14] The film discusses CTE, a degenerative brain disease from repetitive brain trauma that Davis suffers from.[15]
See also
- List of NCAA major college yearly punt and kickoff return leaders
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Lance Pugmire, For former USC star Anthony Davis, college football fame never translated into fortune, Los Angeles Times, November 22, 2010, Accessed November 23, 2010.
- ^ "Davis' spree leads USC to 45-23 rout". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 3, 1972. p. 1B.
- ^ "Davis' 102-yard dash ignites SC, 55-24". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 1, 1974. p. 1D.
- ^ a b Jares, Joe (December 9, 1974). "That California earthquake". Sports Illustrated. p. 30.
- ^ Underwood, John (October 1, 1973). "Undefeated but improving". Sports Illustrated. p. 22.
- ^ Putnam, Pat (November 5, 1973). "'Twas a great day for the Irish". Sports Illustrated. p. 30.
- ^ "'It's over' for WFL". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 22, 1975. p. 1E.
- ^ "World Football League collapses in hopeless debt". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. October 23, 1975. p. 34.
- ^ "Ghost of season past kills WFL". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). Associated Press. October 23, 1975. p. 13.
- ^ Lynch, John (1990-07-14). "WHERE ARE THEY NOW?: ANTHONY DAVIS : A.D.'s Past Always Present : Notre Dame Nemesis Treasures Long Run as USC, Valley Legend". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
- ^ Campbell, Neil (November 8, 1976). "Argos work hard to maintain tradition". The Leader-Post. (Regina, Saskatchewan). Canadian Press. p. 16.
- ^ 1990 San Bernardino Pride. The Trading Card Database. Retrieved on March 7, 2016.
- ^ Baseball: Senior Baseball Season Canceled. New York Times. Retrieved on March 8, 2016.
- ^ "QUIET EXPLOSIONS opens exclusively at the Laemmle in Glendale, CA Oct. 8-14 – Jewish News and Israel news – Breaking News". jewishnews.com. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
- ^ "'Quiet Explosions' at SpIFF features Rypien, Spokane | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
External links
- Anthony Davis at the College Football Hall of Fame
- Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference
- Anthony Davis at IMDb