Bob Davenport (born April 30, 1933) is an American former gridiron football player and coach. Davenport was raised in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, and played college football at the fullback position for the UCLA Bruins football team. He was selected by the Football Writers Association of America as a first-team player on its 1954 College Football All-America Team. Davenport declined an offer from the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

as they held Sunday sporting events that contradicted his Christian commitment to observing the

Lord's Day The Lord's Day in Christianity is generally Sunday, the principal day of communal worship. It is observed by most Christians as the weekly memorial of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is said in the canonical Gospels to have been witnessed ...

. He played professionally with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fie ...

of the Western Interprovincial Football Union—a forerunner of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL)—in 1956 and 1957. He served as the head football coach at

Taylor University Taylor University is a private, interdenominational, evangelical Christian university in Upland, Indiana. Founded in 1846, it is one of the oldest evangelical Christian universities in the country. The university is named after Bishop Willia ...

Upland, Indiana Upland (pronounced as "up-land") is a town in Jefferson Township, Grant County, Indiana, United States. The population was 3,845 at the 2010 census. It is most notable for being the home of Taylor University, a Christian college with 2,103 stude ...

from 1957 to 1966, compiling a record of 53–41–3. Davenport later became a competitive cycler.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davenport, Bob 1933 births Living people American football fullbacks American players of Canadian football UCLA Bruins football players Taylor Trojans football coaches Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Players of American football from Long Beach, California Players of Canadian football from Long Beach, California American Christians