Davis' Heisman was second-closest ever

Ernie Davis was the first black player to win the Heisman Trophy. A 6-foot-2, 212-pound left halfback, he was Syracuse's leading ground-gainer for three seasons.

In 1961, the year he won the Heisman - the only Syracuse player to do so - Davis gained 823 yards on 150 carries, averaging 5.5 yards. He scored 15 touchdowns, including 11 on the ground, and totaled 94 points. And he led the Orangemen in receiving with 16 catches for 157 yards.

Davis received 824 votes for the Heisman Trophy, winning by 53 in the second-closest vote in history. He beat out Ohio State halfback Bob Ferguson, who got 771 votes; Texas halfback Jimmy Saxton, who got 551; and Minnesota quarterback Sandy Stephens, who got 543.

Davis had to overcome regional preferences. He won only the East, while Ferguson captured the Midwest vote, Saxton the Southwest and Stephens the Far West. Alabama quarterback Pat Trammel, who finished fifth overall, took the South.

A two-time first-team All-American, Davis broke Jim Brown's Syracuse career records for rushing (2,386 yards), total offense (3,414), scoring (220 points) and touchdowns (35).

(Brown finished fifth in Heisman voting in 1956, the year Notre Dame quarterback Paul Hornung won the award.)

Most of Davis' marks have since been broken, and Davis now stands sixth at Syracuse in career rushing yards behind Joe Morris (4,299 yards from 1978 to '81), Larry Csonka, Floyd Little, David Walker and Bill Hurley. He's second in rushing touchdowns (28) behind Little (35).

Davis still holds the Syracuse career record for average gain per carry, with 6.6 yards.

He was elected to the College Hall of Fame in 1979.