Ernest "Ernie" Davis - Elmira, NY - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

The headstone for Ernie Davis is made of polished red granite with with white floral decoration. He lies in the same grave as his mother Avis Marie (Davis) Fleming whose name appears on the lower left side. The football that once was on top of the monument was stolen, recovered, and stored by the cemetery for safe-keeping. The gravestone is inscribed:

ERNIE DAVIS
HEISMAN TROPHY 1961

ERNEST R.
1939 - 1963

Ernest "Ernie" Davis was born on December 14, 1939 in New Salem, PA. Shortly thereafter, his father was killed in an accident and Ernie was cared for by his maternal grandparents, Willie and Elizabeth Davis, in Uniontown, PA. At age 12, his mother, Avis Marie Davis Fleming, took him to live Elmira, NY with her and his stepfather. He excelled at football at He attended Elmira Free Academy and accepted a scholarship attend and play halfback for Syracuse University.

As a sophomore, Davis, nicknamed the "Elmira Express", led the 1959 Syracuse team to a national championship with an 11–0 won-loss record. He was voted the Most Valuable Player in the 1960 Cotton Bowl game. Davis became the first black athlete to be awarded the college football's most prestigious award, the Heisman Trophy. He also won the Walter Camp Memorial Trophy after his senior-year season at Syracuse University.

In 1961, he was drafted by the Washington Redskins of the National Football League and, almost immediately, traded to the Cleveland Browns. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with acute monocytic leukemia in 1962 and never played a professional game. He died in Lakeside Hospital, Cleveland, OH on May 18, 1963, at the age of 23. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira, NY.

Davis was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1979. In 2008, Universal Pictures created a film of his life, based on the book Ernie Davis: The Elmira Express, by Robert C. Gallagher.

Description: First African-American college football player to be awarded the Heisman Trophy . His tragic life ended when he died of leukemia at age 23. Date of birth: 12/14/1939 Date of death: 05/18/1963 Area of notoriety: Sports Marker Type: Headstone Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Daylight Hours Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log   05/15/2016 ripraff visited it