Grady Sizemore and 4 other Cleveland stars who deserve second chances

Ernie Davis, RB, Browns

Ernie Davis was going to be the next Jim Brown.

The Syracuse product was coming off a Heisman Trophy victory in 1961 and he seemingly had his entire life in front of him until receiving a leukemia diagnosis in 1962.

Davis had worn No. 44 while at Syracuse, just like his predecessor, Brown, did before him.

Now they were going to be a part of the same backfield for a franchise that rose to NFL prominence during the 1950s.

Davis never appeared in a regular-season game for the Browns, succumbing to his leukemia diagnosis on May 13, 1963. He appeared at an exhibition game in August of 1962 where he walked across the field under a spotlight, according to the Toledo Blade.

His acquisition put the relationship of owner Art Modell and then coach Paul Brown in an awkward light, to say the least.

Brown was accustomed to doing as he pleased with the roster. But Modell, the brash new owner, later told author Terry Pluto how he shared with Brown his desire to be consulted on matters of such magnitude.

Modell got on board with the trade because the public seemed to like it, according to Pluto, but the owner, and not Paul Brown, handled the contract negotiations–a first for Brown.

In 2007, a film titled, The Express, introduced Davis to a new generation of football fans who might’ve been unfamiliar with his story.

Davis was posthumously elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1979. He rushed for 2,386 yards in three years at Syracuse.

Davis never appeared in a regular-season game for the Browns, succumbing to his leukemia diagnosis on May 13, 1963. He appeared at an exhibition game in August of 1962 where he walked across the field under a spotlight, according to the Toledo Blade.