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- Mar 18, 2019
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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Longtime Broncos scout Hugh Davidson passed away on Dec. 29, 2020, his family announced.
He was 92.
Davidson began a more than 30-year career with the Broncos in 1972 when late front office executive Carroll Hardy offered him a position with the team.
During his tenure with the Broncos, Davidson scouted the northwest region of the country for the team before becoming Denver's head scout. Among his responsibilities was evaluating the team's top 100 draft prospects, and he helped the Broncos build a roster that appeared in six Super Bowls during his time with the team. According to his family, the most memorable player he evaluated was Stanford quarterback John Elway.
A Navy veteran who served for two years just after World War II, Davidson enrolled at the University of Colorado in the late 1940s and played fullback for the Buffaloes. After two seasons as a high-school football coach in Nebraska, he returned to Boulder to serve as the head coach of the freshman football team.
Davidson enjoyed coaching stops at Montana State University and Idaho State University before joining the Broncos in 1972.
Davidson's family remembers him as a man who was hard-working, honest, loyal, humble and generous. Those sentiments were seconded by Hall of Famer Mike Ditka.
"You kids have no idea how respected your dad is in the NFL," Ditka told Davidson's family.
Davidson is preceded in death by his wife, Jane, his parents, his brother Verner and his sister Althea.
He is survived by three daughters, Niki and husband Chuck Shonkwiler; Toni and husband Tony Rome; and Jill and husband Blake Robbins; eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren; and in-laws, nieces and nephews across the country.
A celebration of life for Davidson will be held in the summer of 2021.
Davidson was born on Jan. 19, 1928 in Grant, Nebraska.