A defector from the Democratic Party, a defector to where, is another story.
Sad News: Bill Davidson Owner of the Detroit Pistons has died
Truly some sad news from the local area here:
Bill Davidson, Managing Partner of the Detroit Pistons and 2008 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, has passed away at the age 86.
Memorial services are planned for noon on Tuesday at the Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield.
Davidson became the second owner in Pistons history in 1974, when he purchased the franchise from the late Fred Zollner.
Bill Davidson = 1922 - 2009
Davidson also had ownership stake in Palace Sports and Entertainment, the Detroit Shock, DTE Energy Music Center, Meadow Brook Music Festival and Guardian Industries, Incorporated, one of the world’s primary manufacturers of architectural and automotive glass.
During his tenure as owner, Davidson’s professional teams won seven world championships, three in the NBA, three in the WNBA and one in the National Hockey League. Palace Sports and Entertainment owned the Tampa Bay Lightning when that franchise won the Stanley Cup in 2004.
In addition to accomplishments as a professional sports owner, Davidson was one of metro Detroit’s most notable philanthropists, responsible for more than $200 million in donations to local and international charities and universities.
Organizations and municipalities that have benefited from his generosity include the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, the University of Michigan, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovet, Israel, the Karmanos Cancer Institute and Children’s Research Center of Michigan, the city of Detroit’s Parks and Recreation Department, Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem and countless others.
In 1997, Davidson was honored for his philanthropy by the Council of Michigan Foundations and also named one of America’s most generous donors by the New York Times.
