At EFA, a hoops star, too

Ernie Davis was a three-sport star at Elmira Free Academy who seemed destined for stardom at a higher level in either football, basketball or baseball.

He earned high school All-America honors in basketball as well as football. And at least one baseball scout was quoted as saying that with some adjustment to his swing, Davis might one day play in the major leagues.

Davis powered Academy to three basketball championships in the old Southern Tier Conference, predecessor of the Sullivan Trail Conference, and two Section 4 titles.

He led Academy to a 52-game winning streak in basketball. The Blue Devils went 66-1 over his last three years, losing only to Cortland, and compiled an 81-10 record over his four varsity seasons. At the time, Davis was the all-time leading scorer in Section 4 with 1,648 points, including a conference-record 1,605 points.

In his first varsity basketball game, during the 1954-55 season, Davis came off the bench in the first quarter, his broken left wrist in a cast, and scored 22 points. He was just a freshman.

Davis, 15 years old but already 6 feet tall and 175 pounds, was a starter the rest of the season, and the rest of his high school career.

(The wrist injury happened early in Davis' first junior varsity football game that year. It was the only injury that ever sidelined him.)

Two years later, Davis averaged 20.7 points as EFA compiled a 27-0 record in basketball. In his senior year, the Blue Devils went 25-0, knocking off undefeated Horseheads 88-53 late in the season.

Some of the biggest crowds in Elmira scholastic basketball history watched those games. The intracity game against Southside on Jan. 27, 1957, drew a crowd of 1,976. And 1,889 fans saw Davis' final game against Southside the following year.

In one postseason semi-pro tournament, Davis led a team of mostly high school players to the championship, despite playing against teams laden with collegiate players.

Many people who saw him play thought Davis was better in basketball than football. But Davis eventually gave up the other sports and accepted a scholarship to Syracuse.

Provided by Chemung County Historical Society, Elmira Surrounded by some of his trophies, including the Heisman Trophy.

Ernie Davis' honor roll

Ernie Davis was a high school All-American in basketball as well as football at Elmira Free Academy. These are the top awards he won in both sports, from youth through college:

Football
- Elmira Small Fry all-star, 1953
- Southern Tier Conference* (STC) all-star, 1955, '56, '57
- STC championship team member, 1955, '56
- Elmira Junior Association of Commerce (JAC) Player of the Year, 1956, '57
- The Sporting News second-team All-American, 1959
- Cotton Bowl Most Valuable Player, 1960
- Dell Crystal Ball All-American, 1960
- United Press International All-American, 1960
- ABC-NCAA All-American, 1960
- Charles R. Fisher Trophy (national college player and back of the year), 1960
- The Associated Press second-team All-American, 1960
- The Associated Press All-East team, 1960
- United Press International All-American, 1961
- The Sporting News All-American, 1961
- Newspaper Enterprise Association All-American, 1961
- Look Magazine All-American, 1961
- Central Press All-American, 1961
- Time Magazine All-American, 1961
- American Football Coaches Association All-American, 1961
- New York News All-American, 1961
- Sport Magazine Player of the Year, 1961
- Liberty Bowl MVP, 1961
- Walter Camp Trophy (college player of the year), 1961
- East-West Shrine Game selection, 1961
- Hula Bowl selection, 1962
- Syracuse University Athlete of the Year, 1961
- Heisman Trophy (outstanding player in the nation), 1961
- College Football Hall of Fame induction, 1979
- Legend of the Game selection by the Touchdown Club of America, 1997
- Syracuse University All-Century Team selection, 2000
- Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame induction, 2001

Basketball
- Neighborhood House grade school all-star, 1952-53, 1953-54
- Elmira JAC Player of the Year, 1955-56, 1956-57, 1957-58
- STC all-star selection, 1956, '57, '58
- STC tournament MVP, 1957
- STC champioship team member, 1956, '57, '58
- Scholastic All-American, 1958

* Elmira teams left the Southern Tier Conference in 1967 and formed the Sullivan Trail Conference with the Corning schools and others. That league folded in 1998.
Source: Star-Gazette files.