Anthony Davis (born September 8, 1952), also known as "A.D.",Lance Pugmire
For former USC star Anthony Davis, college football fame never translated into fortune
''Los Angeles Times'', November 22, 2010, Accessed November 23, 2010. 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 ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

. He played in four professional leagues: the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 in sports, 1974 and most of its second in 1975 in sports, 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a w ...

(WFL),

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL),

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), and

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). Davis played

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 ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

(USC), where he was part of five national championships, two in

and three in

College career

Davis was a consensus

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

, and led the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

in rushing, scoring and kick return yardage for three consecutive seasons. He is especially remembered for scoring 11

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s in three games against Notre Dame. In a 45–23 USC win on December 2,

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

, he scored six touchdowns which set a school single game record. Two of those scores came on kickoff returns. He returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a

after Notre Dame won the

coin toss A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by a ...

and chose to kick. After Notre Dame scored on a short pass and narrowed the Trojans' lead, he returned the following kickoff 96 yards for a

. In this game, Davis had three kickoff returns for a total of 218 yards, an average of 72.7 yards per return. This set an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

record for the highest average gain per return in a single game. In his career as a Trojan he returned 37 kickoffs for 1,299 yards, an

record 35.1 yard average. His six career kickoff returns for touchdowns set an NCAA record which stood until 2009, when it was broken by C. J. Spiller of Clemson. Davis' kickoff return average of 42.5 yards in 1974, is the highest kickoff return average for any single season leader ever. He was also the first

Pacific-8 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

player to rush for more than 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons – 1,191 in 1972; 1,112 in 1973 and 1,469 in 1974. For his career at USC, he carried the ball 784 times for 3,772 yards and 44 touchdowns. Davis was also a repeat (

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

) first-team All-Pac-8 Conference selection. He was also the third multiple recipient of the W.J. Voit Memorial Trophy, awarded each year to the outstanding football player on the Pacific Coast. Davis won the Voit trophy in 1972 and 1974. On November 30,

, he started an amazing rally which brought the Trojans back from a 24–0 second quarter deficit against #4 ranked Notre Dame to a 55–24 win. Just before halftime, he scored on a seven-yard

lateral pass In gridiron football, a lateral pass or lateral (officially backward pass in American football and onside pass in Canadian football), also called a pitch or a flip, occurs when the ball carrier throws or hands the football to a teammate in a dire ...

from quarterback

Pat Haden Patrick Capper Haden (born January 23, 1953) is an American former professional football player and college administrator. He was the athletic director at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles from August 2010 to June 2016. ...

. Davis found paydirt a second time on a 102-yard kickoff return to open the second half. With only 3:25 elapsed in the third quarter, Davis scored a third touchdown on a six-yard run. Then with still 8:37 left in the same quarter, Davis added his fourth and final

of the game on a four-yard dash, dropped to his knees, went into his " endzone dance", then added a

two-point conversion In gridiron football, a two-point conversion, two-point convert, or two-point attempt is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point conversion immediately after it scores a touchdown. In a two-point conversion attempt, the team that ...

and the Trojans had the lead 27–24. Incredibly, Davis had scored 26 of the Trojans' first 27 points. In

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

ballots were due prior to the end of the season and before that year's USC-Notre Dame game. He finished second in the

voting Voting is the process of choosing officials or policies by casting a ballot, a document used by people to formally express their preferences. Republics and representative democracies are governments where the population chooses representative ...

Archie Griffin Archie Mason Griffin (born August 21, 1954) is an American former football running back who played with the Cincinnati Bengals in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, wh ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

. Afterward, Heisman voting took place after all the regular season games had been played. From 1972 to 1974, with Davis as the tailback the Trojans compiled a record, three conference titles, two Rose Bowl victories in three appearances and two

national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. He accumulated 24 school, conference, and NCAA records, including over 5,400

all-purpose yards All-purpose yards or all-purpose yardage is a gridiron football statistical measure. It is virtually the same as the statistic that some football leagues refer to as combined net yards. In the game of football, progress is measured by advancing ...

and 52 touchdowns. Davis' talents were not just limited to football, he was also successful in

as an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

and switch-hitter on USC's

, and

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is a baseball tournament held each June in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the culmination of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament—featuring 64 teams in the ...

champion baseball teams. Playing with wood bats at the time, Davis hit .273 with six

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s, 45

RBIs A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

and 13

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s for the Trojans' 1974 team. During his Trojan career, Davis won five national championships – two in football, three in baseball. As a two-sport standout, Davis holds the distinction of being the only player in school history to start for a national champion football team (1972) and a national champion baseball team (1974). He did not finish his degree at USC. The Notre Dame vs. USC game on November 27,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

was titled "Anthony Davis Day", in recognition of the 30th anniversary of the record-breaking game. While at USC, Davis was on the cover of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' magazine three times, including one foldout. He was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

in late 2005 in New York City, and enshrined on August 12, 2006, in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

Professional career

The

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

selected him in the fourth round of the 1975 January amateur entry draft (83rd overall pick) for

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB); however he rejected them, thinking they would be unable to meet his salary demands.

World Football League

Davis was selected by the

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

in the

second round The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

of the

1975 NFL draft The 1975 NFL draft was held January 28–29, 1975, at the New York Hilton at Rockefeller Center in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected quarterback Steve Bartkowski. Player selectio ...

, 37th overall. At the time, the Jets had veteran quarterback

Joe Namath Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943), nicknamed "Broadway Joe", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seaso ...

and offered a major stage, but the team's management were not willing to give in to his contract demands. In

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, Davis opted to play for the

Southern California Sun The Southern California Sun were an American football team based in Anaheim, California, that played in the World Football League in 1974 and 1975. Their records were 13–7 in 1974 and 7–5 in 1975. Their home stadium was Anaheim Stadium. Th ...

of the upstart

(WFL); he signed a five-year, $1.7-million deal that reportedly included a $200,000 cash bonus and a

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

. He led the WFL in rushing with 1,200 yards on 239 carries and 16 touchdowns at the time of its demise. He also caught 40 passes for 381 yards and one touchdown, while on kickoff returns he ran back 9 for 235 yards and one touchdown. In all, he scored 18 TDs in the WFL for 133 points. His 16 touchdowns for rushing over 12 games is a WFL record. He also threw the ball and completed four of eleven attempts for 102 yards and a touchdown. The league folded during the season in October, and Davis moved on.

Canadian Football League

Davis headed to the

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, and became the league's first "million dollar man." His time with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

was not happy; his star ego clashed with CFL legend and Argos' head coach

Russ Jackson Russell Stanley Jackson (born July 28, 1936) is a former professional Canadian football player. Jackson spent his entire 12-year professional football career with the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a member of t ...

's idea of a team player as a receiver. He rushed 104 times for 417 yards, caught 37 passes for 408 yards, and scored four touchdowns; Davis later stated that his heart wasn't in it with playing for the Argonauts. During the final regular season game against the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

(in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

), Argonauts

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Matthew Reed, desperate to find an open receiver, threw an

incomplete pass An incomplete pass is a term in gridiron football which means that a legal forward pass is not successfully caught by an eligible offensive player within the field of play. An incomplete pass can occur if (1) the ball hits the ground in the field ...

to Davis. When Reed returned to the bench, assistant coach Joe Moss told him never to throw the ball to Davis again; he had one carry and called himself the most expensive passing decoy in football.

National Football League

The

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

had acquired the NFL rights to Davis in the

1976 NFL expansion draft The 1976 National Football League (NFL) expansion draft was held March 30–31, 1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime ...

, with his old USC head coach John McKay hoping to turn some new magic, but Davis' NFL career was a disappointment. Tampa Bay had lost all fourteen games in

, and injuries to the Bucs' top two quarterbacks in the

preseason In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

put extra pressure on the offense. In eleven games for the Bucs in

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

, he rushed 95 times for 297 yards (3.1 yard average), caught eight passes, and scored a touchdown. In , Davis played two games for the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

, where he broke his leg in the same spot twice in one season. He later played two games for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

, where he rushed three times for seven yards.

United States Football League

In the spring of

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

at age thirty, over four years after he last played with the Rams, Davis had a short stint with the Los Angeles Express of the new

USFL The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

, rushing twelve times for 32 yards.

Personal life

Following his football career, Davis found initial success as a

real estate developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to other ...

in the 1980s and early 1990s, while also occasionally acting in minor film and television roles. In 1990, Davis fulfilled a long-time dream and started playing professional baseball in the short-lived

Senior Professional Baseball Association The Senior Professional Baseball Association, referred to commonly as the ''Senior League'', was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over, with a minimum age of 32 for catchers. The league began play in 1989 and had ei ...

, playing as an

for the San Bernardino Pride club. The Pride had a record of 13–12 and were in third place when the league canceled the season on December 26, less than the halfway point in a planned 56-game schedule. In 2020, he was featured in the documentary "Quiet Explosions: Healing the Brain" produced and directed by Jerri Sher. The film discusses CTE, a degenerative brain disease from repetitive brain trauma that Davis suffers from.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Anthony 1952 births Living people All-American college football players American football running backs Baseball outfielders Baseball players from Texas Canadian football running backs College Football Hall of Fame inductees Houston Oilers players Los Angeles Express players Los Angeles Rams players Players of American football from Huntsville, Texas San Bernardino Pride players Players of American football from Irvine, California Southern California Sun players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Toronto Argonauts players USC Trojans baseball players USC Trojans football players