Condolences to the Davis family.
He was one of my long time favorite Husker players.
R.I.P.
He was one of my long time favorite Husker players.
R.I.P.
Tough Tony Davis has passed
- Thread starter Redscarlet
- Start date
I don't know if many people know that tough Tony started as a Soph at I-back but moved to fullback as a JR and Sr.
Yes I’m old enough to remember and in the 1974 Sugar bowl he was MVP with 126 yards and blocking for Monte Anthony for the only TD, winning 13-10 scoring all 13 points in the 4th Q.
I think he was moved to make room for John O'Leary who was a High School All American ... from my New York state.
In 1974, John broke his jaw in our loss at Wisconsin. I was in a friend's dorm room the next week and he said it in New York style ... "I broke my f ..ing jaw".
Monte Anthony served time as a freshman and broke the single game record for Freshman at the beginning of the of the year in 74.
Tough Tony was almost as tough as Chuck Norris! All kidding aside, he was fun to watch and gave it everything he had for his team. RIP TT.
This is sad news. Tough Tony was an icon for Nebraska football in the 70's. Did Bremser bequeath Davis the Tough Tony title, or did it come from someone else?
Is a little bit before my time. I just started watching Husker football late '74 maybe early '75. My parents went to the games, but I was unfamiliar with the roster as many of are. Sad news for Husker Nation.
Very good question, but I believe it was Lyle Bremser that started it because of his physical tough running and being moved from I-Back to Fullback.
It surely wasn’t TO, and you never heard much from Mike Corgan the running back coach.
He used to frequent various Husker 'boards' years ago. I believe he had his own board. I recall having some pleasant conversations with him... so long amigo.
It was Lyle, in a interview with Tony several years ago he said the nickname didn’t help him the other teams just hit him all the more
What a cool name. 70's all the way. I missed on him too by a year or two. Ferragamo in '76 was my first taste of NU football. My parents had season tickets '72-76 and my big brother loved Tough Tony - I was a bit too young for his time.
RIP
RIP
One afternoon my freshmen year I happening to be walking by the lounge on the way to the elevator on my floor in Harper when Tough Tony walked out of the elevator. I stopped and watched what he was up to. He walked down the hall, pounded on a dorm room door, waited for a moment and then walked back into the lounge. There were a few guys in there, so he asked to no one in particular if anyone had seen Randy Lessman, who was later the punter on the team. Every one of us seemed to be a little intimidated by Tony's presence, but finally someone mumbled, "No". Tony then said "Well, when you see him, tell him I am looking for him.". Someone sheepishly asked, "Who are you?". With an exasperated look on his face Tony replied, "I am Tony, Tony Davis!!!".
I knew Vince a bit in the spring of '75. He was the nicest person I met in Nebraska. He was helping my roommate learn guitar. Here is a funny story from Vince starting at about 26:30.
Episode 35: A Conversation with Vince Ferragamo
The smart one in my circle of friends took a lot of classes with Vince. In some of their shared classes the professors would hand out test papers with the highest grades directly to the students during class. My friend reported Vince was often one of the students who was singled out for this achievement. (I also remember when I would see him at the Water Hole (closed many years ago) he always had some offensive linemen there with him.)
I have too many Nebraska stories. My same friend used to mow Lyle Bremer's yard. I never met Lyle, but I have been in his yards a bunch of times. Lyle was always asking my friend to do little extra stuff around his yard. So, it was not unusual for us when I was visiting my friend during the summers in Omaha to stop by Lyle's to add a few plants and flowers to his yard or to pick-up some windblown tree limbs. Lyle always paid my friend very well for his services.
So sad. I remember “tough” Tony like it was yesterday. He really was a bulldog. RIP Tony. One of the most iconic Huskers ever.