The Express

The Ernie Davis Story

By: Robert C. Gallagher

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer

Ernie Davis was an All-American on the gridiron and a man of integrity off the field. A multi-sport high school star in Elmira, New York, Davis went on to Syracuse University, where as a sophomore he led his team to an undefeated season and a national championship in 1959, and earned his nickname: the Elmira Express. Two seasons later, Davis broke the legendary Jim Brown's rushing records and became the first black athlete to be awarded the Heisman Trophy. The number-one pick in the 1962 NFL draft, Davis signed a contract with the Cleveland Browns and appeared to be headed for professional stardom. But Davis never ended up playing in the NFL; he was diagnosed with leukemia during the summer before his rookie season and succumbed to the disease less than a year later. In battling his illness, Davis showed great dignity and courage, inspired the nation, and moved President John F. Kennedy to eulogize him as "an outstanding man of great character who consistently served as an inspiration."©1999 Robert C. Gallagher (P)2008 Tantor

Why did it take so long?

Why did it take so long for the Ernie Davis story to be told?He was a great player and a greater person. The book tells you the real story of Ernie Davis the movie is a distortion.Awful narration.

inspiational

I watched the movie which made me want to read the book. The book is much more accurate and gives a lot of inspirational information you don't get from the movie.

Poor choice for a Narrator

The book is "fair" if you are a football fan, but the narrator made the listening excruciating. He is obviously not a sports fan. Most annoying is that is would read a team record like Syracuse's record of 7-2 in a year as "7 to 2" instead of the usual "7 and 2." In addition he mispronounced several names, most notably "ka-zonka" for Czonka. Finally, he read that Ron Luciano was a "basketball umpire." I doubt it the book actually said that.