John Davis (American football)

Infobox NFLretired
name= John Davis

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width= 200 px
caption=
position= Offensive guard
number= 72
birthdate= birth date and age|1965|8|22
deathdate=
debutyear= 1987
finalyear= 1994
draftyear= 1987
draftround= 11
draftpick= 287
undraftedyear=
college= Georgia Tech
teams=
*Houston Oilers (1987-1988)
*Buffalo Bills (1989-1994)
stat1label= Games Played
stat1value= 104
stat2label= Kickoff Returns
stat2value= 1
stat3label= Fumbles
stat3value= 1
nfl=
pfr=
dbf= DAVISJOH03
highlights=
*Retired #'s: Gilmer High School #72
HOF=
CollegeHOF=
CFHOF=

John Henry Davis (born August 22, 1965 in Ellijay, Georgia) is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League, mainly for the Buffalo Bills. He played in Super Bowl XXV, Super Bowl XXVII, and Super Bowl XXVIII. He was also with the Bills for Super Bowl XXVI, but did not play in the game due to a knee injury.

High school

Davis graduated from Gilmer High School in Gilmer County, Georgia in 1983. Davis was a four-year letterman in football and awarded Gilmer High School's best defensive player in 1981 and served as the team captain in 1982. In basketball, he received best defensive player his sophomore year, was the leading scorer, leading rebounder, and most valuable player his junior year. In 1982, he was selected as the Georgia High School Association AA Lineman of the Year, and First Team All-State selection in football and basketball.cite news|url=http://www.timescourier.com/092106/hof.html|title=Eight inducted into Gilmer High School Hall of Fame|work=Times-Courier|date=2006-09-21|accessdate=2007-08-07]

College

Davis attended the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he was a four-year starter on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team. In 1983, he was selected to the Freshman All-American Football Team. He was awarded the "Sports Illustrated" National Offensive Player of the Weekcite web|url=http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/geot/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/02mg-honors.pdf|title=All-America|publisher=Georgia Tech Alumni Association|format=PDF] for his play in a victory over Clemson and earned a tag as "The Refrigerator Mover"cite news|url=http://gtalumni.org/StayInformed/techtopics/fall91/professional.html|title=Professional Stars Head Tech Hall of Fame Inductees|work=Tech Topics|publisher=Georgia Tech Alumni Association|date=Fall 1991|accessdate=2007-08-07] for his outstanding performance against All-American William "The Refrigerator" Perry.

In 1985, he was selected as an All-American at lineman by "The Sporting News" and was awarded the Atlanta Athletic Club Southeastern Lineman of the Year. In his senior season in 1986, Davis was an All-ACC selection and Scripps-Howard All-American. Following his final season at Georgia Tech, he was selected to play in the Blue-Gray Football Classic and Japan Bowl All-Star Games. Davis was inducted into the [http://ramblinwreck.cstv.com/ot/fame/halloffame.html Georgia Tech Athletics Hall of Fame] in 1991.

Pro career

His pro football career began when he was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the 1987 NFL Draft. He played for the Oilers from 1987 to 1989, and then went on to play for the Buffalo Bills from 1989 to 1994. Davis was a member of four Super Bowl teams with Buffalo before retiring in 1994. He started at right guard in Super Bowl XXV, missed Super Bowl XXVI due to a knee injury, played in Super Bowl XXVII, and started at left guard in Super Bowl XXVIII. He was awarded the NFL’s Ed Block Courage Award in 1993 - this award is given "to honor one player from each NFL team who, in the eyes of his teammates, exemplified a commitment to sportsmanship and courage".cite web|url=http://www.edblock.org/courage_award_alumni.htm|title=Ed Block Courage Award Recipients By Team|publisher=Ed Block Courage Award Foundation|accessdate=2007-08-07]

Quote box
quote="I was on a team that did something that will never be done again, and that’s playing in four-straight Super Bowls."|source=John Daviscite web|url=http://www.buffalobills.com/news/AlumniSpotlightJohnDavis.jsp|title=Where Are They Now: John Davis|publisher=Buffalo Bills|accessdate=2007-08-09] |align=right|width=30%

Outside Football

Davis founded the John Davis [http://www.gmhospice.org/ Georgia Mountains Hospice] Golf Classic which benefits Gilmer County, Georgia hospice care.

References