Francis Marion "Cotton" Davidson (November 30, 1931 – December 23, 2022) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

and punter in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) and

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

(AFL). Davidson attended

Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...

, and played professionally for the NFL's

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

(1954, 1957), and the AFL's Dallas Texans (1960–1962) and

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

(1962–1968). Davidson has the record for the lowest career completion percentage in NFL history, minimum 1500 passing attempts, at 43.9%.

Professional career

Baylor at Houston during the 1952 football season

Davidson was selected in the first round of the 1954 NFL draft by the

. In addition to playing quarterback, he also was a

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

and punter. An original Dallas Texan, Davidson was the first starting quarterback for the franchise. After the 1954 NFL season, Davidson received word that he had been drafted by the U.S. Army. He served in the Army for two years and did not take part in the 1955 NFL season or the 1956 NFL season. By the time Davidson returned to the Colts for the 1957 NFL Season, John Unitas was the team's starting quarterback. While in the military, Davidson played quarterback for the Fort Bliss Falcons from 1955 to 1957. A game between the Fort Bliss Falcons and the Cannonneers of Fort Sill, Oklahoma, was played for a trophy called "The Little Brown Dud." The Cannoneers won the game and took home the Little Brown Dud. Cotton was awarded All-Army Quarterback in 1955. After the 1962 season opener, he was traded to the

for the first overall selection in the

1963 American Football League draft The 1963 American Football League draft was held in Dallas on Saturday, December 1, 1962. The Kansas City Chiefs drafted as the Dallas Texans, as their relocation would take place a few months later. With the first overall selection, they took ...

. Just two weeks later, Davidson started at quarterback in his first game with the Raiders. Playing against his former team, he threw for 248 yards and rushed for a touchdown in a 26–16 loss to the Texans. The high moments of his career were being selected to the

American Football League All-Star Game The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFL All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to AFL–NF ...

twice: in

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

and in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

. He was honored as the

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

of the 1961 AFL All-Star Game while with the Texans. Davidson finished with an all-time record of 19–33–1 as a starter.

Personal life and death

Davidson died on December 23, 2022, at the age of 91 in Waco, Texas.Cotton Davidson
/ref>

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Cotton 1931 births 2022 deaths People from Gatesville, Texas Players of American football from Texas American football quarterbacks Baylor Bears football players Baltimore Colts players Dallas Texans (AFL) players Oakland Raiders players American Football League players American Football League All-Star players

Professional career

Personal life and death

See also

References

External links