Willie Davis, a Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive lineman who helped the Green Bay Packers win each of the first two Super Bowls, has died. He was 85.
The Packers confirmed Davis' death to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Wednesday, as did his former teammate and fellow hall member, Dave Robinson.
Davis died in a Santa Monica, Calif., hospital. His wife, Carol, told the Packers her husband had been hospitalized for about a month with kidney failure and passed away peacefully.
Davis was raised in Texarkana and graduated from Texarkana's Booker T. Washington High School.
"The Green Bay Packers family was saddened today to learn about the passing of Willie Davis," Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy said. "One of the great defensive players of his era, Willie was a significant contributor to the Packers' five NFL championship teams during the 1960s.
"I enjoyed getting to know Willie and his wife, Carol, especially when he served as our honorary captain for the 2010 NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl 45, and again for the 2014 NFC Championship Game. He also was a great role model for our players, having gone on to a very successful career after football and serving on the Packers Board of Directors."
A 15th-round draft pick from GramblingState, Davis began his NFL career by playing both offense and defense for the Cleveland Browns in 1958 and '59. He had his greatest success after getting traded to the Packers.
He remained with the Packers until finishing his NFL career in 1969 as a five-time All-Pro. Although tackles and sacks weren't measured at the time Davis played, his 22 career fumble recoveries showcased his dominance and big-play ability.
He was voted to the NFL's All-Decade Team for the 1960s and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1981.
Davis helped the Packers win the NFL championship in 1965 before capping the 1966 and 1967 seasons with titles in the first two Super Bowls.
But he didn't initially embrace the move to Green Bay.
Davis noted in his book, Closing The Gap: Lombardi, the Packers Dynasty and the Pursuit of Excellence, that he had just signed a contract with the Browns and believed he was being groomed as Cleveland's future starting left tackle on offense when he learned about the trade on the radio. Green Bay acquired Davis in a July 1960 trade that sent wide receiver A.D. Williams to Cleveland.
"At the time, I felt slightly betrayed," Davis wrote . "I felt the organization didn't care much about me, like I was being thrown away. I also panicked, wondering what this would mean for my future. I absolutely did not want to play in Green Bay. In fact, I was so turned off by the idea that my first thought was about retiring."
He instead stuck it out and developed into one of the top defensive linemen of his era.
"Willie's extraordinary athleticism was an undeniable factor in Green Bay's winning tradition of the 1960s under Coach Vince Lombardi," Hall of Fame President David Baker said. "Willie was a man of true character on and off the field. The Hall of Fame will forever keep his legacy alive to serve as inspiration to future generations."
Davis earned a master's degree in business administration from the University of Chicago late in his NFL career, which helped him make a successful transition to the business world after he stopped playing.
"We all knew football wasn't going to last forever," Davis wrote. "The longevity of the average football player was less than 10 years, and that meant there were many men who were jobless with little financial security by the time they were in their early 30s. That was a scary prospect. I wanted to make sure I didn't fall into that category."
Davis served on the Packers' board of directors from 1994-2005.
Sports on 04/16/2020