Willie Davis

Willie Delford Davis

Professional career Davis was selected the 181st overall pick in the 15th round of the 1956 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns, but he did not start his career until the 1958 NFL season due to military service in the United States Army. Davis wore number 77 and played at various positions on both offense and defense for the Browns, before being traded to the Green Bay Packers in 1960. Davis himself is quoted as saying, "I would think I would have to be the team's all-time leader in sacks. I played 10 years and I averaged in the 'teens' in sacks for those 10 years. I had 25 one season. [Paul] Hornung just reminded me of that the other day."

Davis was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. He received his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 1968. He was a member of the boards of Marquette University, Alliance Bank, Dow Chemical (1988–2006), Johnson Controls (1991–2006), K-Mart, LA Gear, Manpower (2001–2020), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1999–2020), MGM Mirage, Rally's Inc., Sara Lee (1983–2020), Schlitz Brewing, and WICOR Inc. He was president of All-Pro Broadcasting, operators of radio stations KHTI, KATY-FM, WLDB-FM, WLUM-FM, and WZTI since 1976. In 1989 he was a finalist for the position of National Football League Commissioner.

Davis's son is actor Duane Davis, known for his role as "Featherstone" in Necessary Roughness. He has a daughter, Lori Davis, a lawyer known for her work in marijuana legislation within the Los Angeles children's court system. Davis's grandson, Wyatt Davis, was an All-American guard at the Ohio State University, and currently plays for the New York Giants. His granddaughter, Harley Ann Zepeda, is a beauty pageant queen who held the titles of Miss Los Angeles County United States 2024 and Miss Wisconsin United States 2024.

After being hospitalized for a month due to kidney failure, Davis died on April 15, 2020, at the age of 85.

During the 2020 season, the Green Bay Packers wore a helmet decal to honor Davis, featuring his name and number.