Bill Davies (January 25, 1916 – May 28, 1990) was an all-star football player in the

Ontario Rugby Football Union The Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) was an early amateur Canadian football league comprising teams in the Canadian province of Ontario. The ORFU was founded on Saturday, January 6, 1883 and in 1903 became the first major competition to adopt th ...

and the

Interprovincial Rugby Football Union The East Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League, its counterpart being the West Division. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the East Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagues. T ...

, playing from 1936 to 1946. Coming straight from high school in 1936, Davies first suited up for the

Montreal Indians Montreal Indians was a Canadian football team in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union. The team played in the 1936 and 1937 seasons. Canadian Football Hall of Famers *Abe Eliowitz Abe Eliowitz (November 10, 1910 – November 19, 1981) was ...

. He ended up playing for nearly every team in his hometown:

Montreal Nationals The Montreal Nationals were a Canadian football team in Ontario Rugby Football Union. The team played in the 1938 season. The teams was preceded by the CNR Nationals, who played one year, 1937, in the short lived Quebec Rugby Football Union reviv ...

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club (Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; pi ...

Montreal Bulldogs Montreal Bulldogs was a Canadian football team in Interprovincial Rugby Football Union The East Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League, its counterpart being the West Division. Although the CFL was not f ...

, Verdun Grads and the

Montreal Hornets Montreal Hornets was a Canadian football team in Interprovincial Rugby Football Union. The team played in the 1945 season. IRFU season-by-season {, class="wikitable" , - ! Season ! W ! L ! T ! PF ! PA ! Pts ! Finish ! Playoffs , - , 1945 ...

. Davies best season was with the winless

in 1939. As one of the league's "brightest stars" and "outstanding as a secondary defenseman", he won the

Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy The Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy is a Canadian football award recognizing the most outstanding football player of the Quebec Student Sport Federation (RESQ) The trophy was originally presented to the player who best exemplified skill, sportsmanship ...

as the best player in the IRFU.Jeff Russel Trophy to Bill Davies, Montreal Royals

Windsor Daily Star The ''Windsor Star'' is a daily newspaper based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Postmedia Network, it is published Tuesdays through Saturdays. History The paper began as the weekly ''Windsor Record'' in 1888, changing its name to the ''Bor ...

, November 25, 1939 He concluded his career in 1946, playing four games as one of the inaugural

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

. Davies later took up coaching, leading the Lakeshore Junior Alouettes from 1952 to 1957, winning six straight Quebec Junior championships and a national championship in 1953. He died May 28, 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Bill Ontario Rugby Football Union players Montreal Alouettes players Canadian football people from Montreal Players of Canadian football from Quebec Anglophone Quebec people 1916 births 1990 deaths