CFHOF Profile: Eddie Davis
Defensive back Eddie Davis comes from the same time period as his fellow hall of famer Bob Wetenhall but had a completely different view.
In the mid-1990s the CFL decided to expand to the USA to cover some of the spots in America where the NFL wasn’t.
The CFL found themselves some success in the states but it was not enough to keep the new teams alive for much longer than a few seasons.
The Baltimore Stallions, the team purchased by Wetenhall, were the team that showed success on and off of the field but with the addition of the Baltimore Ravens to the NFL that success came to an end.
Other than Baltimore teams struggled to stay alive and that included a team in one of the most underserved pro markets in Birmingham, Alabama.
Alabama is a football mad section of the USA and yet professional leagues have stayed away, largely due to the fact that Auburn University and the University of Alabama dominate the sports conversation there.
The CFL attempted to serve the area but they failed miserably as the Birmingham Barracudas only lasted a season before they were sold and the players were thrown into the pool of CFL players.
One of those players was Davis who signed with the Barracudas out of the NCAA and immediately had to go through the free agent process again.
It was a rough start for the defensive back as he had to find a place to play twice before he even put in two seasons in the league.
He did find a home quickly after the Barracudas folded though and went on to put up one of the best careers in the CFL.
After he endured the constant changes Davis signed with the Calgary Stampeders where he settled in to become one of the best defensive backs in the league.
After getting to know the new system, Davis began building the legend that has put him into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
For an American it can always be a tough road to go to a new league with brand new rules especially for defensive players.
A defensive back as to go from covering a much smaller field against teams that don’t throw nearly as much to all of a sudden covering a massive area.
As a DB the league is a massive adjustment as the space is a huge change from what they are used to.
Davis had to make this adjustment when he came to the CFL as an American player but he had the ability to make that change quickly.
His athleticism separated him from the rest as he had the ability to come from the defensive backfield and take out the play long before it got to the third level.
Davis continued to put up some great tackle numbers throughout his career including putting up 77 tackles during the 1998 season.
That year Davis’ great season helped the Stampeders to his first Grey Cup and helped to build on Davis’ legend as a CFL DB.
After the 2000 season Davis decided to leave Calgary and joining the Saskatchewan Roughriders where he once again served as a great hitting DB.
More than that though, Davis began serving as the veteran presence in the defensive backfield and led the Riders in interceptions in his first year with the team.
It was a new role for Davis but he handled it well as he was the man to lead the defensive backfield for the Riders.
It turned out to be a successful marriage too as Davis helped the Riders to a grey Cup in 2007 alongside fellow inductee Gene Makowsky.
After his retirement in 2010, Davis’ contributions were shown in a big way as he ranked #5 in career tackles, a position he still holds to this day.
Despite a rocky start to his career in the US expansion era, Davis ended up becoming one of the greatest backs in the league with an athletic ability and leadership quality that makes him a Class of 2015 hall of famer.
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