Willie Davis as an offensive tackle?

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By STEVE KING

Willie Davis, the Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end who died recently at 85 years old, is, of course, known mostly for his time with the Green Bay Packers.

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He spent 10 (1960-69) of his 12-year NFL career with them, being part of five NFL championship teams, including the one captured in 1965 when the Packers defeated the defending champion Browns 23-12 at cold, muddy Lambeau Field. It was Jim Brown’s last game as a member of the Browns, as he retired just before the start of the 1966 training camp.

It is also no secret that Davis played his first two years (1958-59) with the Browns. They selected him halfway through the 1956 NFL Draft, in the 15th round, at No. 181 overall. There were 30 rounds – yes, 30, count ’em, 30 – back then.

The Grambling product missed the 1956 and ’57 seasons while in the service before joining the Browns.

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Everybody knows all that. But here are some things of which you may not be aware:

*Willie Davis shared the left defensive end job with Paul Wiggin in his rookie season with the Browns. Wiggin, who played 11 seasons (1957-67) in Cleveland and is a Cleveland Browns Legend, was taken in the same draft as Davis, being the latter of the team’s two sixth-round picks.

*In 1959, Davis moved to offense and alternated at left tackle with Hall of Famer Lou Groza, who was hampered with back problems that forced him to retire after the season, only to return healthier in 1961. Wiggin started at right defensive end, with tackle Bob Gain, another Browns Legend, moving in as the starter at left end.

*That Willie Davis was traded to the Packers in 1960 is not really a surprise in that the Browns had so many talented players during the 1950s and early ’60s that head coach/General Manager Paul Brown had to weed through some of them. There simply wasn’t room for everybody. And Brown made some mistakes, as he did with Davis.

One such example, also at left defensive end and including a future Hall of Famer, was Doug Atkins. He was drafted by the Browns in the first round, at No. 11 overall, in 1953 and started that season. The Browns had another eventual Hall of Famer, Len Ford, starting at right end. Atkins played two seasons overall with the Browns before being traded in 1955 to the Chicago Bears, with whom he blossomed for the next 12 seasons.

Two more Hall of Famers – and Ohio natives — who got away from the Browns were quarterback Len Dawson (Alliance) and cornerback Dick LeBeau (London).

Brown wanted to take Dawson at the top of the 1957 draft before the Pittsburgh Steelers grabbed him one pick ahead of Cleveland, forcing him to settle for some running back by the name of Jim Brown. Dawson was acquired by the Browns in a trade with the Steelers just after the 1959 season and spent two disappointing years in Cleveland before being released. The Kansas City Chiefs in 1962 signed Dawson, reuniting him with his offensive coordinator at Purdue, Chiefs HOF head coach Len Dawson, and his career took off.

LeBeau, who grew up a big Browns fan before going on to star at Ohio State, was drafted by Cleveland in 1959 with the latter of its two sixth-round picks (the first was guard John Wooten, a Browns Legend). But he was cut in training camp that year and ended up signing with the Detroit Lions, with whom he starred for all 14 of NFL seasons.

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