Dick C.E. Davis (born November 28, 1946) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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who played one season in the

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(NFL) with the

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and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

. He was selected by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

in the twelfth round of the 1969 NFL/AFL draft after playing

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at the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

Early life

Dick C.E. Davis was born on November 28, 1946, in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. He attended

Omaha North High School Omaha North High Magnet School is a public high school located at 4410 North 36th Street in the city of Omaha, Nebraska. The school is a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) magnet school in the Omaha Public Schools district ...

in Omaha, participating in football, wrestling, and track. He averaged 10.4 yards per carry in football and also set the Metropolitan Conference record for most touchdowns per game. Davis was a two-time state champion in wrestling as well and was named the ''

Omaha World-Herald The ''Omaha World-Herald'' is a daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, the primary newspaper of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It was locally owned from its founding in 1885 until 2020, when it was sold to the newspaper ...

'' athlete of the year. He was inducted into the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame Foundation in 1999.

College career

Davis was a member of the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding t ...

of the

from 1965 to 1968 and a three-year

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from 1966 to 1968. He rushed 29 times for 154 yards and one touchdown in 1966 while also catching two passes for 18 yards. In 1967, he totaled 162 carries for 717 yards and one touchdown, and 17 receptions for 210 yards and one touchdown. Davis was named first-team All- Big Eight by the

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for the 1967 season. As a senior in 1968, he rushed 158 times for 606 yards and two touchdowns while also catching seven passes for 80 yards. Davis was a two-time

Academic All-American An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the ...

at Nebraska and graduated with a bachelor's degree. He was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 1995.

Professional career

Davis was selected by the

in the 12th round, with the 306th overall pick, of the 1969 NFL/AFL draft. On September 27, 1969, he was demoted to the Browns' taxi squad after the team activated running back Charles Leigh. Davis did not appear in any games for the Browns during the 1969 season. Davis signed with the

on February 12, 1970. Head coach

Lou Saban Louis Henry Saban (October 13, 1921 – March 29, 2009) was an American football player and coach. He played for Indiana University in college and as a professional for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) between ...

said that the Broncos had been interested in Davis since his college career at Nebraska. He played in two games for the Broncos during the 1970 season but did not record any statistics. On October 24, 1970, it was reported that Davis had been waived so that the Broncos could activate Clem Turner. On November 25, 1970, it was reported that Davis had signed with the

. He played in four games, starting two, for the Saints during the 1970 season, rushing 27 times for 94 yards while also catching four passes for 29 yards. In July 1971, he was fined by the Saints for failing to report to training camp. A spokesperson for the Saints said that Davis had indicated that he may try to play in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

. Davis was released by the Saints later in 1971.

Personal life

Davis spent some time playing

flag football Flag football is a variant of gridiron football (American football or Canadian football depending on location) where, instead of Tackle (football move)#Gridiron football, tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or ...

in a recreational league after his NFL career. He earned a master's degree from the

University of Nebraska Omaha The University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was origin ...

, and a

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from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. In 1980, he was given a national Human and Civil Rights award by the

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for his work as a principal in the Omaha Public Schools system. He served on the state of Nebraska's Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education from its founding in 1991 until January 2012. Davis served on the

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as well. He was also the CEO of Davis Companies, a family business that provides "insurance, bonding and consultation" services.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Dick Living people 1946 births American football running backs Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Cleveland Browns players Denver Broncos players New Orleans Saints players Players of American football from Omaha, Nebraska Omaha North High School alumni 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen University of Nebraska Omaha alumni