MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Ernie Davis was one of the greatest college football players of all time, and his life is now a major motion picture, but a local man remembers him as a teammate and a close friend.

Today, Dave Sarette runs the ski shop at McIntyre Ski Area, but in 1957, he was a standout quarterback for Central High School. He was so good that he was recruited by then-powerhouse Syracuse University, where he teamed in the backfield with Davis -- the Elmira Express.

"He was the best player on the field, and he took what was a good team and made it a great team," Sarette said. "It was the spark that made the difference."

Davis' life is now the subject of the movie "The Express." It chronicles Davis becoming the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy, but Sarette said his teammates were colorblind.

"It never crossed our minds that he will be the first black athlete to win the Heisman," Sarette said. "That wasn't there. It was just that Ernie deserved it."

The two were teammates from 1959 to 1961, a period that included an undefeated season and the school's only national championship.

But Davis' triumphs were coupled with devastating loss. Davis never played an NFL down after developing leukemia. He died in 1963.

"I think it was a film that had to be made about a great person, a great back and a tragedy," Sarette said. "A tragedy in life."

Sarette and Davis were close, so close that Davis baby-sat Sarette's children. Sarette said he'll remember that person more than the extraordinary athlete.

"He was a gentleman," Sarette said. "He was not boisterous, but laid back, quiet. He just did everything he had to do. He was a great teammate and a great friend."

Read a review of "The Express" here.