Over and over again we’ve heard Walter Reyes say the same thing. He said it when he was first named a Heisman Trophy candidate in the spring. He has repeated it ever since.

He’s not thinking about the Heisman, he said.

‘So Walter, have you taken a look at Ernie Davis’ Heisman Trophy?’ a reporter asked.

‘Yeah, I’ve seen the one in the football wing,’ Reyes said. ‘I have a picture phone, and when you open it the Heisman Trophy is my screen…’

Reyes paused, realizing what he just said.

‘I thought you’re not thinking about it,’ the reporter said.

‘OK, so maybe I lied,’ Reyes laughed.

In reality, how can Reyes not be thinking about college football’s most coveted award? He’s the latest in Syracuse’s line of great running backs. Plenty of greats have donned orange and No. 44 since Davis won the Heisman in 1961. But none have won the ultimate prize for individual accomplishment.

This season Reyes will try to become the first Syracuse player to win the award since Davis. The odds are stacked against him already. He plays on an SU team that’s not expected to win many games, and in Sunday’s nationally televised 51-0 loss to Purdue, he gained just 31 yards. And Reyes, who said he ‘knows everything about Davis,’ surely had the first black Heisman winner on his mind during the game.

‘You can’t help but to know about one of the most notable backs in Syracuse history,’ Reyes said. ‘Especially if you’re a running back. You hear about all the great running backs to play here. There are so many. But one of the most notable ones is Ernie Davis.’

But as Reyes tries to bridge the gap between 1961 and 2004, between perhaps SU’s greatest running back and himself, he’ll have a lot more than on-field play to worry about.

At 12 years old, Davis, his mother and stepfather moved to the small city of Elmira. Even today, 41 years after Davis’ untimely death from leukemia, the city, which sits about two hours southwest of Syracuse, still rings with his influence.

Ask anyone about the ‘Elmira Express’ and it’s not Davis’ football accomplishments of which they speak. SU head coach Paul Pasqualoni will tell you about Davis’ infectious personality and how he was a role-model student.

‘Syracuse has had a lot of great running backs, but Ernie was a little different,’ said Pasqualoni, who won the 1997 Ernie Davis Humanitarian Award. ‘Other young running backs know exactly who the guy was, and it has a huge impact on them.’

Roland Coleman, an Elmira native who mentored Davis as he grew up, describes how Davis always looked out for the underdog and how he loved spending time with children.

And the man only lived to be 23 years old. At that age, most people have barely graduated college, let alone affected whole communities. But that’s what Davis did.

‘He was a gentleman,’ Coleman said. ‘He never lost the common touch. No matter how many accolades he won, he still always came home.’

Now, the Ernie Davis Family and Community Centers serve to honor and remember Davis. The two buildings, along with Ernie Davis Middle School, sit in the east side of Elmira. It’s on that property where Davis harnessed his athletic skills. The Neighborhood House, or as Davis and other neighborhood kids used to call it, ‘The Nabe,’ sat on that property.

After school, kids would gather at The Nabe to do schoolwork, stay out of trouble and, most of all, to play sports. Davis excelled at nearly everything, all while focusing on school. It didn’t matter if you gave him a football, basketball, baseball or even a bowling ball, Coleman said.

As Davis became better known in high school, neighborhood kids began to look up to him. He and Coleman would hold ‘rap sessions’ on Saturday afternoons when kids could ask questions and the pair would give them advice on how to stay out of trouble.

Coleman believes Davis developed a love for children because he had no siblings. Even as an All-American, Davis would come over to Coleman’s house for dinner and talk for hours with children.

Today, Elmira high school students can apply for an Ernie Davis scholarship. They must write an essay about how Davis’ legacy affects them.

‘He tried to impress on young people the importance of an education,’ Coleman said.

When Davis became ill in 1962, he let no one know. He desperately wanted to play in the same backfield as former Orange star Jim Brown, who played for the Cleveland Browns. Coleman said Davis would tell his roommate, John Brown (no relation to Jim), that he was going to do his laundry. In actuality, he would go to the doctor for his leukemia.

His death stunned everyone that knew Davis.

Coleman said Davis’ 1963 funeral was the most widely attended event he’s witnessed in Elmira. And it wasn’t just because Davis died at such a young age. It was the effect he had on everyone he met in those 23 years.

One of Elmira’s other celebrities, designer Tommy Hilfiger, who graduated high school a few years after Davis, incorporated his respect for Davis into some of his designs. No. 44 graced many of Hilfiger’s shirts during the 1990s.

According to Anita Lewis, the Deputy of Resource Development at the Economic Opportunity Program based out of the Ernie Davis Family Center, Hilfiger gave $1 million to the Ernie Davis Center.

Thanks to Hilfiger’s donation, the Ernie Davis Family Center provided a new home for the Economic Opportunity Program starting in 2001. Among the program’s offerings are GED tutoring, head-start programs and teen pregnancy help.

‘It’s what Ernie Davis was about,’ Lewis said.

Next door is the Ernie Davis Community Center, which houses programs for young children, much like The Nabe where Davis grew up. The gym is adorned in orange and blue, and photos of Davis line the walls. Lewis hopes the two buildings will eventually be connected.

Across the street is the Ernie Davis Middle School. In front of the school stands a statue of Davis, built in 1988. Not surprisingly, Davis dressed in a sweater and jeans, holds a football in one hand and a school book in the other. He appears more student than football player – probably the way he would’ve wanted to be remembered.

The plaque at the bottom of the statue reads, ‘a football player … a student … a friend … a hero. He lived with integrity and died with courage.’

Forget the Heisman. Reyes sure has a lot else to live up to.

Published on September 7, 2004 at 12:00 pm