A national title at SU

Davis led Orange to their only championship and fit right in to a line of legendary backs.

Provided by Chemung County Historical Society, Elmira A two-time first-team All-American, Ernie Davis was also a second-team selection as a sophomore. He was picked for eight All-America teams as a senior.

Syracuse sophomore halfback Ernie Davis warmed up for the Cotton Bowl as a nation watched from home, nursing New Year's Eve headaches. He kicked a few long-distance field goals, and noticed a twinge. Pulled hammy, someone said.

In the clubhouse, the trainer wrapped the hamstring. Davis was suddenly listed as "probable," but with stretching, by game time, the team physician said: good to go.

In the Syracuse offensive huddle, Davis stood near fellow running back and senior captain Gerhard Schwedes who, the year prior to Davis lacing up pads, led the Orange in rushing. Schwedes recalls that day, national championship day, Jan. 1, 1960.

"It was the third play of the game, and we had no idea if Ernie would be able to go," Schwedes said. "It was a halfback pitch, and I was supposed to get the ball. Ernie lined up as a flanker."

Ger Schwedes sprinted out, took a pitch and looked downfield. In a perfect world, the short receiver and Davis, running a deep route, would be lined up. No such luck.

"The short man was covered, and Ernie was nowhere to be found," said Schwedes, who today owns a business in Syracuse that designs employee recognition programs.

"Ernie ran the wrong pattern, a post pattern. He was 40 yards downfield, 7 or 8 yards beyond the defensive back. I saw him and just flung it up there and he went and got it."

Top-ranked Syracuse cruised to victory that day, capping the 1959 national championship, the school's only one. The 23-14 win over No. 2 Texas gave Syracuse an 11-0 record.

Davis being hurt and outrunning a defense is the way Schwedes most recalls his backfield mate. Maybe more so than Davis being the first black man to win the Heisman Trophy. Perhaps more than losing his friend to an equal-opportunity killer. But never more than for the fun they had rolling over out-manned opponents together.

Ben Schwartzwalder, who coached the Orange to a 153-91 mark over 25 years, wanted Ernie Davis at Syracuse University to run the football in the wake of Jim Brown. To run it in his now-famed unbalanced line wing-T. It was Brown, though, who was instrumental in bringing in the next athlete worthy of wearing the treasured No. 44.

"Syracuse was representative of America in general back then," Brown said. "They were gonna do you a favor if you came in and were a certain type of player with certain types of behaviors. I knew I'd have an opportunity there, and I knew Ernie would flourish there as well."

In his freshman season, Davis was asked to lead the team in calisthenics. In those days, freshmen weren't allowed on the varsity, but they could practice with the team. Joe Szombathy was an assistant coach for the Orange that season.

"The freshman coach had Ernie put them through a drill, and from that point, (Davis) had everyone's respect," said Szombathy, who coached at SU for 17 seasons. Szombathy's respect didn't come cheap. The coach for offensive ends had been the co-captain for the 1952 Orange Bowl team, the first Syracuse team to accept a bowl bid.

"Ernie had charisma. He was the type of person you loved immediately, he was popular with all his teammates and he was well respected," Szombathy said.

Davis, at times, received more than respect. Ger Schwedes explained:

Star-Gazette file photo Two Penn State defenders try to bring down Ernie Davis as the Syracuse sophomore carries the ball in a 20-18 Orange victory.

"It was the Maryland game his sophomore year, '59, and Ernie got a pitchout right - student body right. He went to the sideline and was covered, then reversed the field."

Davis picked up a few blockers and was off to the races. A 50-plus-yard touchdown run. "The next week Schwartzwalder put that play in," Schwedes said, laughing. "He diagrammed it out and called it the Ernie reverse." It's how most who knew him at Syracuse remember the man. With a smile or a laugh or a story of upright integrity. Even those who never met him were affected the same way.

Larry Kimball became the sports information director at SU shortly after Davis died. He talked about how Davis helped make No. 44 a selling point for future recruits.

"Jim Brown helped recruit Ernie, and Ernie helped recruit Floyd Little," said Kimball. "They made 44 famous."

"In fact, Floyd Little was going to Notre Dame," Szombathy said. "There were no signings in those days, but when Floyd visited Syracuse, he fell in love, then when he met Ernie, he sold him on wearing 44."

On the field, Davis was the focus of the offense. But in the championship year, each of the three backs carried more than 90 times, each averaging more than 6 yards a carry. Most players were two-way in those days, playing offense and defense, a fact that's often forgotten about Davis and his counterparts.

"I was on the right, Ernie on the left, and Art Baker was the fullback," Schwedes said. "Art was no slouch. On defense, Ernie and I were cornerbacks. He was 6-4, 200 pounds at cornerback. Not bad. Then again, we had all big people."

That season the Orange defense allowed just 193 yards in 10 regular-season games while ripping up 451 yards of offense per game.

Schwedes remembers a lot, and each year when 30 to 40 of the 1959 team get together at one Syracuse home game, they recall the smile, the humility and the personality. But they can't ever forget plays like that third play of the Cotton Bowl.

"To this day, I think it's still the longest scoring play in Cotton Bowl history, 87 yards," Schwedes said. (It is.) "Ernie ran the total opposite of what he was supposed to run - still outran them all. He was truly special."