John Davis (offensive lineman)

Not to be confused with J. R. Davis.

John Henry Davis (born August 22, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Buffalo Bills. He played college football for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, twice earning first-team All-American honors. Davis 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.

John Davis

Davis in 2014
No. 73, 79, 65
Position:	Guard Tackle
Personal information
Born:	(1965-08-22) August 22, 1965 (age 59) Ellijay, Georgia, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:	310 lb (141 kg)
Career information
High school:	Gilmer (Ellijay)
College:	Georgia Tech
NFL draft:	1987 / round: 11 / pick: 287
Career history
Houston Oilers (1987–1988) Buffalo Bills (1989–1994)
Career highlights and awards
2× First-team All-American (1985, 1986) First-team All-ACC (1986)
Career NFL statistics
Games played: 104 Games started: 59 Stats at Pro Football Reference

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.^[1]

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 Week^[2] for his play in a victory over Clemson and earned a tag as "The Refrigerator Mover"^[3] for his outstanding performance against All-American William "The Refrigerator" Perry.

In 1985, he was selected as a first-team All-American at lineman by The Sporting News and was awarded the Atlanta Athletic Club Southeastern Lineman of the Year.^[2] In his senior season in 1986, Davis was an All-ACC selection and Scripps-Howard first-team All-American.^[2] Following his final season at Georgia Tech, he was selected to play in the Blue–Gray Football Classic and Japan Bowl All-Star Games.^[2] Davis was inducted into the Georgia Tech Athletics Hall of Fame in 1991.^[2]

Professional career

His professional football career began when he was selected by the Houston Oilers in the 11th round of the 1987 NFL draft.^[4] 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".^[5]

"I was on a team that did something that will never be done again, and that's playing in four-straight Super Bowls."

John Davis^[6]

Outside Football

Davis founded the John Davis Georgia Mountains Hospice Golf Classic which benefits North Georgia patients with hospice care.

References

1. "Eight inducted into Gilmer High School Hall of Fame". Times-Courier. September 21, 2006. Retrieved August 7, 2007. ^{[dead link‍]}
2. "All-America" (PDF). Georgia Tech Alumni Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
3. "Professional Stars Head Tech Hall of Fame Inductees". Tech Topics. Georgia Tech Alumni Association. Fall 1991. Archived from the original on October 29, 2007. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
4. "1987 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
5. "Ed Block Courage Award Recipients By Team". Ed Block Courage Award Foundation. Archived from the original on July 13, 2007. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
6. "Where Are They Now: John Davis". Buffalo Bills. Archived from the original on August 8, 2007. Retrieved August 9, 2007.