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Thursday, May. 08, 2008
NFL's original 'Big Ben' enjoys quiet life
By Jack Millikin, Herald staff writer
Ben Davidson, a 6-foot-8 giant known as "Big Ben," gained much of his notoriety with the Oakland Raiders between 1964 and 1971, about the same time that the so-called "Raider Nation" was building.
Davidson's career as a defensive end spanned 11 years in the National Football League, the American Football League and the World Football League, but his curiosity regarding the Raider mystique continues.
"People's impression of (Raiders players) has been amusing," said Davidson, who played with the Green Bay Packers (1961) and the Washington Redskins (1962-63) before joining the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League in 1964. He played eight years with the Raiders, who along with the other AFL teams merged with the NFL in 1970.
"We had a reputation for being thugs, one step from being in jail, but very few of us ever got arrested. We've had a whole bunch of nice success stories," he continued.
Davidson, who was a guest Wednesday on ETC: Entertainment Tri-Cities (the program airs at 5 p.m. today on KUJJ 101.9 FM), is one of them.
A geography major at the University of Washington, there aren't many places Davidson hasn't seen in his lifetime.
After his playing career ended with the WFL's Portland Storm in 1974, Davidson began a movie career that included roles in the films M*A*S*H and Conan the Barbarian. He also appeared in the popular Miller Lite commercials in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Now he lives in San Diego with his wife Kathy and still attends "one or two games a year."
After so many years in the spotlight, the jocular Davidson still gets recognized from time to time, but he mostly enjoys letting others grab their share of fame.
"As far as being recognized, it's happening less and less, which is nice sometimes," he said. "There was always someone grabbing your hand when you've got a spoonful of soup, saying 'Hey, can I get an autograph?' "
His first contract was for $9,000 with the Packers in 1961 -- $2,000 less than his father made as a contractor with Boeing, Inc. But when the Packers beat the New York Giants that year for the NFL championship, Davidson got a championship share of $5,194.78.
Obviously, times have changed.
"Players now are bigger, stronger, faster, better trained and better cared for," Davidson said. "In 1961 we were just overgrown guys who didn't want to get a real job."
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