Davidson, a defensive end for the rough and tumble Oakland Raiders in the 1960s, passed away Monday at the age of 72.
So what does the hulking football player have to do with baseball you ask? Well, after he left the game, he turned to acting (not unlike Merlin Olsen and Alex Karas). He appeared on the short-lived TV version of Jim Bouton’s Ball Four.
The 1976 show, which lasted only five episodes on CBS, starred Bouton as basically himself, a ballplayer named Jim Barton, (very imaginative, writers), who penned a tell-all book, much to the chagrin of his teammates and management. Davidson played the role of “Rhino” Rhinelander.
Bouton co-wrote the show with Marvin Kitman and New York sportswriter Vic Ziegel. Despite this star power, the series was not well received by critics and was soon cancelled. According to a review in Sports Illustrated, Davidson’s “debut in a TV series is one of the show’s bright spots. Fellow ex-jock Bouton delivers his lines blandly, but his presence does give Ball Four a touch of authenticity.”
More on the program from
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