Bruce Edward Davis (June 21, 1956December 25, 2021) was an American professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for 11 seasons with the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders and the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...

. He played college football for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) ...

, switching to the offensive line after beginning his collegiate career as a defensive tackle. He won two Super Bowls with the Raiders.

Career

Davis attended the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

, and began his collegiate career with the Bruins as a defensive tackle. He moved to offensive tackle as a senior after the offensive line was beset with injuries. Davis was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the 11th round of the

1979 NFL Draft The 1979 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1979, at the Waldorf Astori ...

, his low position due to his limited time as an offensive lineman. Raiders' owner Al Davis admired his lower-body strength. Mentored out of college by the Raiders'

Art Shell Arthur Lee Shell Jr. (born November 26, 1946) is an American former professional football player in the American Football League (AFL) and later in the National Football League (NFL), a Hall of Fame offensive tackle and a two-time former head co ...

, Bruce Davis became a full-time starter at

left tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...

by 1982, when he supplanted Shell. Davis won two Super Bowls with the Raiders ( XV in 1981, XVIII in 1984), and teammates voted him the team's best offensive lineman in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

. In 1987, Davis was traded mid-season to the

, who were 5–2 and contending for the playoffs. He played in 43 consecutive games for the Oilers until he was released after the 1989 season. He had been holding out, seeking a new contract after making $435,000 in the past season. He had

arthroscopic surgery Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the ...

on both knees that offseason and fell to third on the depth chart at left tackle behind Don Maggs and David Williams. Davis re-signed with the Raiders prior to the

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

exhibition season, but he was released before the regular-season opener. He ended his 11-year career with 160 games played and 115 starts.

Personal life

Davis was born on June 21, 1956, in

Rutherfordton, North Carolina Rutherfordton (usually pronounced ( ) or ( ), among other similar variations) is a town in Rutherford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,213 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat. Geography Rutherfordton is concentrat ...

, and graduated from Henry E. Lackey High School in

Indian Head, Maryland Indian Head is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 3,894 at the 2020 U.S. Census. It has been the site of a naval base specializing in gun and rocket propellants since 1890. Production of nitrocellulose and smok ...

. After his playing career, he became a high school history and geography teacher. Davis's son Bruce II also attended UCLA and was an All-American at

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

with the Bruins, and played professionally as well for the Oakland Raiders. They are one of the few father–son combos to have played on teams that reached the Super Bowl; Bruce II was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

for the Pittsburgh Steelers squad that advanced to

Super Bowl XLIII Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champions Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

. Davis died on December 25, 2021, in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, Texas, at the age of 65.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Bruce 1956 births 2021 deaths American football offensive tackles Houston Oilers players Los Angeles Raiders players Oakland Raiders players People from Rutherfordton, North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina UCLA Bruins football players