Movie Tells Story of First Black Heisman Winner
Half a Century After His Tragic Death, Syracuse's Ernie Davis Makes the Big Screen
By MATT GELB
SYRACUSE, N.Y., Sept. 11, 2008—
The 1961 Heisman Trophy sits alone in a glass case in the middle of the hallway that separates the exercise room from the cafeteria and auditorium in the Syracuse University football wing at Manley Field House.
It serves as a constant reminder of the legacy of Ernie Davis. And the success Syracuse once tasted.
Davis died tragically after becoming the first African-American to win the annual award recognizing college football's most outstanding player. His inspirational story hits the big screen October 10 when "The Express" debuts in theaters around the country.
The movie is a major coup for the university. Syracuse athletic director Daryl Gross was directly involved with preliminary discussions with Universal Studios and helped launch the making of "The Express." He successfully lobbied for Friday's worldwide premiere at the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse instead of Hollywood.
In Need of a Boost
School officials hope that all the attention will serve as an inspiration and public relations boost to a struggling Syracuse team, which lost its season opener 30-10 at Northwestern University and started 0-1 for the fifth straight season.
"There's a sense of urgency for not just us as players, but I think our community, too," senior wide receiver Bruce Williams said. "We don't want this thing to die down. We really want this thing to turn around very soon."
The Syracuse program is in a drastically different state than when Davis led the school to its only national championship in 1959, and even four years ago when the Orange won a share of the Big East title.
But the football team has since lost its prominence, even on its own campus, where attendance is at a 20-year low.
"We haven't been successful with winning in the past few years," senior running back Curtis Brinkley said. "I feel like everybody needs to make a statement."
The opening weeks of the season coincide with the Sept. 12 movie premiere.
The following day, a ranked and heavily favored Penn State team comes to the Carrier Dome to renew a once bitter rivalry. The two schools haven't played one another in 18 years, but met every season except one from 1922 to 1990.
Davis Story Needs Telling
As for Davis' story, it simply needs to be told, athletic director Gross said. After an illustrious collegiate career at Syracuse, Davis succumbed to leukemia on May 18, 1963, at age 23, before he could start his professional career.
The movie title is a play on "Elimira Express," as the running back was called in college. He went to high school in Elmira, N.Y., before going on to win the second-closest vote in Heisman history and the only SU student to earn the award.
The Orange football team watched a private screening last week before the season's devastating home-opening loss to the Universitry of Akron (Ohio), 42-28.
"I'm excited for the movie and to watch," defensive tackle Arthur Jones said. "It's really going to create attention to this program."
Gary Fleder directed the movie, which stars Rob Brown as Ernie Davis and Dennis Quaid as legendary SU coach Ben Schwartzwalder. It debuts in theaters nationally Oct. 3.
Even during the darkest days of Syracuse football, Gross sees the movie as a huge boost to the program.
"It's priceless. Totally priceless," Gross told The Daily Orange recently. "You can count on two hands the number of schools that have had their university in a world motion picture like us. You think about 'Rudy,' 'Glory Road,' 'We Are Marshall.' I saw the movie. It is Syracuse. It's about Syracuse. It's just an amazing, extraordinary, priceless piece of art that the world's going to get to see."
Hollywood Comes to Syracuse
The events on the day of the premiere will bring a taste of Hollywood to the city of Syracuse. Former SU and NFL football stars Jim Brown and Floyd Littleplan to attend the festivities, along with other members of the 1959 national title team, actors from the movie and other prominent alumni.
During halftime of the Penn State game, the school will unveil a statue of Davis in a special ceremony featuring the 1959 players and the actors. The statue will eventually sit in the university's main quad.
And while Syracuse players and coaches are optimistic that the program can turn the corner, even after the deflating first loss, the team's recent performance stands is in stark contrast to the glory days.
"It's really important to get things moving in the right direction," team player Jones, a junior, said. "Coach has told us, 'Just believe.'"
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