Donald Earl Davis (born December 16, 1943) 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 ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

who played one season with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

of 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). He was selected by the Giants in the second round of the

1966 NFL draft The 1966 NFL draft was held at the 569 Lexington Avenue, Summit Hotel in New York City on Saturday, November 27, 1965. The expansion 1966 Atlanta Falcons season, Atlanta Falcons were awarded the first pick in each round as well as the final pick ...

after playing

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at California State College at Los Angeles.

Early life

Donald Earl Davis was born on December 16, 1943, in

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana (Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, California, United States. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census. As ...

. He attended Santa Ana High School in Santa Ana.

College career

Davis first played

for the

Santa Ana Dons Santa Ana College is a public community college in Santa Ana, California. History In 1915, Santa Ana Junior College opened its doors to 25 students as a department of Santa Ana High School. It was the second community college founded in Orange ...

Santa Ana College Santa Ana College is a public community college in Santa Ana, California. History In 1915, Santa Ana Junior College opened its doors to 25 students as a department of Santa Ana High School. It was the second community college founded in Orange ...

from 1962 to 1963. The 1962 Dons went 10–0 and were named national junior college champions. He transferred to play for the Cal State Los Angeles Diablos of California State College at Los Angeles from 1964 to 1965. He played in the

Chicago Charities College All-Star Game The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League (NFL) champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year. It was also known as the ...

after his senior season.

Professional career

Davis was selected by the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

in the first round, with the 7th overall pick, of the

1966 AFL draft The 1966 American Football League draft was held on Saturday, November 27, 1965. The AFL added the Miami Dolphins as an expansion team in 1966 to bring its total to nine franchises for its seventh season. The Dolphins were awarded the first over ...

and by the

in the second round, with the 25th overall pick, of the

. He chose to sign with the Giants. He was given the nickname "

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

" while at Giants

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

in 1966 because he reportedly looked like a "glob" when he sat with his legs folded underneath him. Davis played in all 14 games, starting 11, for the team during the 1966 season, recording 3.5 sacks. He had a fight with Bookie Bolin at Giants training camp in 1967. Davis was placed on injured reserve later in 1967 and spent the entire season there. He was released in 1968.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Don Living people 1943 births American football defensive tackles Cal State Los Angeles Diablos football players New York Giants players Players of American football from Santa Ana, California 20th-century American sportsmen Santa Ana Dons football players