The Syracuse Orange football team has unretired number 44, per an announcement on the program’s official Twitter page.
It's back pic.twitter.com/gZAXOztdwd
— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) May 19, 2015
For those unaware, that number was worn by legendary Syracuse running back Ernie Davis, who won the 1961 Heisman Trophy while playing for the school. Davis also helped Syracuse win a national championship in 1959 and ran for 2,386 yards and 20 touchdowns on just 360 carries.
Davis was then drafted by the Washington Redskins with the first pick in the 1962 NFL Draft and subsequently traded to the Cleveland Browns. Sadly, he never played a down on the professional level as he was diagnosed with leukemia that summer and passed away at age 23 on May 18, 1963. His number 44 was retired by Syracuse in 2005, as it was also worn by Hall of Famer and former Syracuse running back Jim Brown.
Now, that number appears to be back in play. In terms of reasoning, Syracuse has yet to give one.
Campus Sports will update this story as more details become available.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to Frank Ordonez | The Post-Standard
