1. Benjamin Earl Davidson was an American professional football player who was a defensive end, primarily with the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League.
20 Facts About Ben Davidson
1. 2.
Ben Davidson was a three-time AFL All-Star with the Raiders.
3.
Ben Davidson attended Woodrow Wilson High School in the El Sereno neighborhood of Los Angeles, but did not play football in high school; because of his height, basketball and track were more to his liking.
4.
Ben Davidson was recruited to play at the University of Washington in Seattle in 1959, where he flourished as a member of consecutive Rose Bowl-winning teams under head coach Jim Owens and gained entry into professional football.
5.
Ben Davidson was selected in the fourth round of the 1961 NFL draft by the New York Giants, but was traded in training camp to the Green Bay Packers.
6.
Ben Davidson played there in 1962 and 1963, until he was waived in September 1964 final cuts after not meeting the team's strict weight guidelines.
7.
Ben Davidson is best remembered for his play with the American Football League Oakland Raiders.
8.
Ben Davidson played in Oakland from 1964 through 1972, and was part of the league merger in 1970.
9.
Ben Davidson was an AFL All-Star in 1966,1967, and 1968.
10.
Ben Davidson's hit on Dawson was not an isolated occurrence; Winston Hill, a Jets player of the era, called Ben Davidson "the No 1 cheap-shot artist" in the league.
11.
Ben Davidson cultivated a persona as a "villain" and embraced this reputation, even wearing a handlebar mustache.
12.
Three years out of football, Ben Davidson signed with the Portland Storm in early September 1974, already midway through the World Football League's inaugural 1974 season.
13.
Ben Davidson portrayed Porter the Bouncer in Behind the Green Door in 1972 and a convict football player in Necessary Roughness in 1991.
14.
Ben Davidson played himself in Miller Lite ads featuring John Madden and Rodney Dangerfield.
15.
Ben Davidson appeared in the short lived 1976 show Ball Four as a minor-league baseball player named Rhino Rhinelander, the 1977 pilot for Lucan and the 1984 TV movie Goldie and the Bears.
16.
Ben Davidson appeared in the Happy Days episode "Rules to Date By" as a lumberjack.
17.
Ben Davidson appeared in the series premiere of Banacek in 1972.
18.
Getraer, Ben Davidson sheepishly asks if he could move them back to the street to avoid getting a ticket.
19.
Ben Davidson began 1961 with a Rose Bowl win on January 2 and ended it with an NFL championship on December 31.
20.
Ben Davidson was retired and living in San Diego and was survived by his wife Kathy, and daughters Janella, Dana, and Vicky.