Born Dec. 14, 1939, in New Salem, Pa., Earnest “Ernie” Davis experienced adversity decades before he would break racial barriers as the first African-American Heisman Trophy winner. His father perished in an accident shortly after his birth, and in February 1941, his mother, Avis, left him with her parents because of her inability to raise Ernie by herself. He spent the next 11 years in Uniontown, Pa., before reuniting with his mother at the age of 12 in Elmira, N.Y. Davis began attending Elmira Free Academy, earning All-America honors as a football and basketball player and also excelling at baseball. Although he led the basketball team to 52 consecutive victories, football remained his first love.

Recruited by numerous Division I schools, Davis ultimately decided to stay in the Empire State and attend Syracuse, thanks to the persuasion of College Football Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown. A childhood hero of Davis’, Brown was a Consensus First Team All-American for the Orange and had just been named the NFL Rookie of the Year. Following in Brown’s footsteps, Davis donned the famous No. 44 jersey at Syracuse, worn by three Syracuse Hall of Famers (Brown, Davis and Floyd Little). During the 2015 college football season, Syracuse unveiled “Plaza 44” with statues of Brown, Davis and Little along with a statue of Hall of Fame head coach Ben Schwartzwalder. A man of firsts, Davis became the first African-American to join any chapter of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity, a nationally recognized Jewish fraternity.

"Ernie was just like a puppy dog, friendly and warm and kind," Schwartzwalder told Sports Illustrated. "He had that spontaneous goodness about him. He radiated enthusiasm. His enthusiasm rubbed off on the kids. Oh, he'd knock you down, but then he'd run back and pick you up. We never had a kid so thoughtful and polite."

Davis played under Schwartzwalder from 1959-61, making an immediate impact from day one. As a sophomore, Davis led Syracuse to the school’s first and only national championship in 1959. Named a Second Team All-American, he rushed for 686 yards and 10 touchdowns on 98 carries. The Orange capped off a perfect 11-0 season with a 23-14 win over Texas in the 1960 Cotton Bowl. Despite pulling a hamstring the day before, Davis earned game MVP honors after recording two first-half touchdowns and a crucial interception that set up the Orange’s final touchdown. His first score came on the longest touchdown pass in Cotton Bowl history, an 87-yard bomb from 1959 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Gerhard Schwedes.

It was on that Cotton Bowl trip that Davis first encountered the rampant discrimination of the South. At a banquet following the game, he and his African-American teammates were asked to leave the ballroom after eating their meal and receiving their awards. According to teammate John Brown, who was among those removed from the event, they were escorted to another party in Dallas by local NAACP representatives. Schwedes suggested the entire team leave the banquet in protest, but Syracuse officials declined in an effort to prevent a bigger scene.

The preseason No. 1 for Davis’ junior year in 1960, Syracuse had its chances of winning another national championship spoiled by back-to-back losses to Pittsburgh and Army after a 5-0 start. A consensus First Team All-American, Davis carried the ball 112 times for 877 yards and eight touchdowns and caught 11 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns. He ranked second in the nation in yards per attempt (7.8), third in rushing yards, seventh in yards from scrimmage (1,018) and ninth in touchdowns from scrimmage (10).

In his final season, Davis led the Orange back to postseason glory after a 15-14 win over Miami (Fla.) in the Liberty Bowl capped off his collegiate career. He helped Syracuse overcome a 14-0 halftime deficit to the Hurricanes with a third-quarter touchdown that trimmed the lead to 14-8. Davis finished the game with 140 yards on 30 carries. Again named a consensus First Team All-American, Davis became the first African-American to receive the Heisman Trophy. He also claimed the 1961 Walter Camp Memorial Trophy as the most outstanding back in the nation. He finished his Syracuse career with 2,386 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns, and 392 receiving yards and five touchdowns.

Davis became the first African-American to be drafted first overall in the NFL Draft when the Washington Redskins selected him in the top spot in 1962. Redskins’ founder and owner George Preston Marshall refused to draft an African-American player until former Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall told Marshall he would revoke the franchise’s 30-year lease on D.C. Stadium if the organization didn’t draft an African-American player. General Manager and head coach Bill McPeak ultimately made the decision to draft Davis, but Davis immediately demanded a trade from the Redskins because of the situation. Davis was traded to the Cleveland Browns, joining former teammate John Brown and mentor Jim Brown.

Signed to the most lucrative rookie contract at that time, Davis agreed to a three-year, $200,000 contract with the Browns. However, the franchise’s dream of pairing Davis and Jim Brown in the backfield was shattered with the news that Davis was diagnosed with acute monocytic leukemia. He passed away on May 18, 1963, at the age of 23. More than 10,000 mourners paid their respects to the “Elmira Express” at his wake in Elmira, N.Y. Although he never played a down in the NFL, the Browns retired his number 45 jersey following his death. Davis was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1979.

"The way he carried himself, the way he did not drown in his own tears, the way that he did not hang on his sickness, the way that he functioned as a human being under all of those conditions was tremendous courage," Jim Brown told ESPN.com for a biography on Davis.