"Yesterday was my 23rd birthday. Compared to some, that doesn't seem like a whole lot of life to talk about. Thing is, I don't know how much more is in front of me. I'm not sure how to end this or even if I want to.
It's funny, most people think my life has been all about football. I've even thought that myself. But football is just a game. What matters, is what you play for.
Sometimes, when the game is close and everything is on the line, that's when you forget the crowd and the noise. That's when it's just you against somebody else, to see who is the better man. That's what I like about the game. Because at that moment, you're friends and you're enemies...and you're brothers."
Ernie Davis died at the age of 23 on May 18, 1963, of acute monocytic leukemia. Ten Thousand people attended his funeral, where a telegram from President Kennedy was read, in which Kennedy said of Davis:
"He was an outstanding young man of great character who served—and, my hope is, will continue to serve—as an inspiration to the young people of this country."
Davis was a member of The Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C., National Intercollegiate All-American Football Players Honor Roll. He was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1979.
Although Davis never played a down in the NFL, the Cleveland Browns retired his No. 45 jersey.
On November 12, 2005, Syracuse University retired the No. 44, in recognition of former running backs Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, and Floyd Little, all of whom made their mark in Syracuse football history wearing No. 44.
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