Raiders’ Davidson Enjoyed Being Villain
Ben Davidson wasn’t the most accomplished player. But by the late 1960s, few were more recognizable. He played an important part in the rise of the Raiders and in bringing much needed recognition to the American Football League. Davidson died on Tuesday of prostate cancer. He was 72. A few thoughts:
Ben Davidson didn’t just come to embody the renegade image of the Oakland Raiders. Under Al Davis, he helped to create and popularize it, starting in the mid-1960s. In an era when all but a few defensive players were anonymous, Davidson was a star. He was a showman who used his football career to gain fame, fortune and the freedom to live as he wished. As he told The Los Angles Times in 2010, “I’m 70 years old and I’ve never had a real job.” (Jerry Crowe, “For Ben Davidson, the Quintessential Raider, Football Was the Ticket to a Great Life”, Los Angeles Times, July 25, 2010)
Davidson played basketball and ran track in high school. He started playing football at East Los Angeles Community College and continued his development on the University of Washington’s Rose Bowl winning teams of 1960 and 1961.
The Giants selected Davidson in the fourth round of the 1961 N.F.L. draft (46th over all). He was waived in early September, about two weeks before the start of the season. (N.F.L. teams then had a 36-man roster) The next day the Giants recalled Davidson off waivers and traded him to the Packers for a future draft pick. Although he lasted only one year in Green Bay, Davidson derived great satisfaction from beating his old team, the Giants, 37-0, in the 1961 N.F.L. championship game.
http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/05/raiders-davidson-enjoyed-being-villain/
Here is what Kevin Hunt said about him before he died.
I grew up in Kansas City a huge Chiefs fans. Needless to say I hated the Oakland Raiders. I only got to go to one game when I was a kid and boy was it a doozy. 1970 - Chiefs hosting the Raiders at old Municipal Stadium. The Chiefs had a 17-14 lead late in the game. They were running out the clock as Lenny Dawson rolls right and gained enough yards for the first and secure a victory. But after he hit the ground Ben Davidson came in with a super cheap shot spearing Dawson with his helmet. It seemed like time froze and the only player in motion was my all time favorite Otis Taylor. Otis flew across the field and jumped Davidson leading to a bench clearing brawl. Off-setting penalties were called nullifying the Chiefs first down under the rules back then. Kansas City then had to punt .. George Blanda will kick a 48 yard field goal and the game ends in a tie which will eventually cost the Chiefs the AFC West Championship. The rules were then changed so teams like the Chiefs would never get screwed again by a cheap shot like that. But too late ... my Chiefs had already taken the hit.
About 12 years later I was working as a sportscaster early in my career in Mobile, Alabama. I was the master of ceremonies of a Fisherman Liars Contest. Imagine my surprise when one of the celebrity guest judges turned out toe be Ben Davidson. We were on Dauphin Island which is connected to the mainland by a bridge. Suddenly some wicked weather swooped in and we were forced to stay on the island until it cleared up. I ended up having a few beers with Davidson late into the night and told him how much I hated him after that Dawson cheap shot. He just smiled and then talked about how he loved the Chiefs-Raiders rivalry. I was almost disappointed that I liked him. I wanted to stay a hater. He was just a much kinder & gentler soul than I would have ever imagined. So I try to cut some other athletes a little slack now and then ... but it's still fun to be hater sometimes. Good vs. Evil always seems little more interesting than Good vs Good.
http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/kevinhunt/164385
