  Urbanoutdoors Member Username: Urbanoutdoors Post Number: 1118 Registered: 11-2005 |
Just In Bill Davidson has passed. RIP | ||
Buckster1986 Member Username: Buckster1986 Post Number: 25 Registered: 08-2007 |
Great Guy! Will be sorely missed. | ||
Bigcab Member Username: Bigcab Post Number: 52 Registered: 08-2006 |
No disrepect..but who is Bill Davidson ? | ||
Urbanoutdoors Member Username: Urbanoutdoors Post Number: 1119 Registered: 11-2005 |
owner of the Pistons and Shock | ||
Zulu_warrior Member Username: Zulu_warrior Post Number: 1270 Registered: 10-2003 |
Wow... | ||
Novine Member Username: Novine Post Number: 1233 Registered: 07-2007 |
Davidson was best known for this sports teams but his fortune was made building Guardian Industries. He also was a significant donor to Jewish causes and the University of Michigan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W illiam_Davidson | ||
Urbanoutdoors Member Username: Urbanoutdoors Post Number: 1120 Registered: 11-2005 |
http://www.freep.com/article/2 0090313/SPORTS03/90313096/Bill +Davidson+dies+at+85 | ||
Detroit_stylin Member Username: Detroit_stylin Post Number: 3609 Registered: 10-2003 |
Whoa...... | ||
Gdub Member Username: Gdub Post Number: 278 Registered: 10-2003 |
Very sad. I went to school with his kids, very down-to-earth people. With all of his success, Bill was still very active, humble and a model for team owners and businesspeople everywhere. | ||
Atwater Member Username: Atwater Post Number: 406 Registered: 09-2007 |
Bill was a MAJOR supporter of the State of Israel, and his name is in very prominent places in key areas in Jerusalem as a major financial backer. Despite the obvious Arab opposition, he funded excavations around the Temple Mount, to remind about and to strengthen the Jewish ties to the area. Israelis know of Detroit as a major supporter of the Zionist cause, in no small part because of Bill Davidson, as well as Max Fisher, David Hermelin and many others. May they all rest in peace. | ||
Andylinn Member Username: Andylinn Post Number: 1110 Registered: 04-2006 |
RIP. I mean no disrespect in saying this, but might this mean a distant future move to Detroit? As I recall, it was Bill who was so keen on Auburn Hills as the location of the Pistonians. | ||
Sharmaal Member Username: Sharmaal Post Number: 868 Registered: 09-2004 |
No. The organization owns their own facility. Why Move? | ||
Novine Member Username: Novine Post Number: 1235 Registered: 07-2007 |
"might this mean a distant future move to Detroit?" No. The Palace was privately funded. Why would they give that up and the success that they've had to move to Detroit? | ||
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 6803 Registered: 11-2004 |
I'm still trying to remember that short little speech Bill Davidson gave after the Pistons won the championship. I don't remember the exact words but it wasn't exactly family fare and it was laced with some obscenity. But it also showed to me how much that championship meant to him, his team and how this guy was his own man. He was a smart savvy businessman- not just with Guardian, but with his entertainment empire. He will be missed by a lot of people. | ||
1kielsondrive Member Username: 1kielsondrive Post Number: 1038 Registered: 08-2008 |
I have much different and contrary memories of Bill Davidson. I'll let them slide out of respect for his passing at this time. | ||
Detmi7mile Member Username: Detmi7mile Post Number: 160 Registered: 12-2007 |
Smogboy, He said something to the effect of "A lot of people haven't given the Pistons credit all season...I say BullS***." I'm paraphrasing the first part, but I def remember the last words. RIP. | ||
Firstandten Member Username: Firstandten Post Number: 780 Registered: 05-2006 |
This was a side of Mr. Davidson that few people talked about "Patient he may be, but Davidson is also a tough operator who's not afraid to be aggressive. In 1958, shortly after taking over Guardian, he snatched business from PPG Industries Inc. (PPG ) when workers at the Pittsburgh company were on strike. Over the years, rivals have sued Guardian for infringing on patents and stealing trade secrets. Davidson argued that some of the technologies were in the public domain but wound up paying millions in settlements. "As you move up the ladder," he says, "you're bound to have friction " quote from business week magazine Part of his business model to get Guardian to the top was stealing trade secrets,stealing key employees from other companies for what they knew, then letting them go after he got what he needed. He would go to court and often lose but he didn't mind because he now added to the knowledge of his company and he considered the millions in fines a cost of doing business. | ||
Hockeycox1966 Member Username: Hockeycox1966 Post Number: 6 Registered: 03-2009 |
Thank you firstandten! You beat me to the punch. Bill Davidson was no saint by any means no matter what charity work he did. Stealing, cheating, and lying are the characteristics I simulate with Mr. Davidson. On a lighter note though. Bigcab, Really? How are you on this message board and not know who Bill Davidson is? I just don't know how that is even possible. | ||
Bigb23 Member Username: Bigb23 Post Number: 4184 Registered: 11-2007 |
It's nice to know what our business leaders are doing. The fact that Microsoft stole from open source programmers is interesting. quote:(This is provided by Microsoft.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C riticism_of_Microsoft | ||
Bigb23 Member Username: Bigb23 Post Number: 4185 Registered: 11-2007 |
Oh - geez I crash-ed, Thanks Micro-so....... | ||
Bigcab Member Username: Bigcab Post Number: 53 Registered: 08-2006 |
Reply to Hockeycox : To answer your question about not knowing who Bill Davidson is, I'm not a sports fan, so why would I know His name ? Interesting to note that a few people here seem to have some recollection of the man that probably wont be mentioned in the eulogy. | ||
Gene Member Username: Gene Post Number: 217 Registered: 10-2006 |
He was no fan of labor unions. | ||
Gnome Member Username: Gnome Post Number: 2493 Registered: 08-2007 |
I agree with 1kielsonDrive. | ||
Oldredfordette Member Username: Oldredfordette Post Number: 5966 Registered: 02-2004 |
Respect for the dead is over-rated. | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 3854 Registered: 04-2006 |
I'd love for someone to recap his explanation for moving the Pistons to Auburn Hills. | ||
Rjk Member Username: Rjk Post Number: 1237 Registered: 11-2003 |
They first went to the Silverdome in 1978. They weren't drawing flies at Cobo. Their first year at the dome they almost doubled their previous years attendance when they played in downtown Detroit. They moved to the Palace in 1988. During that era many NBA teams made the move to the suburbs. Many teams have since moved back downtown, but the Palace is a gold mine and there's very little chance of them moving. Just compare the Palace to the JLA. They were only built a few years apart, but when you experience both venues you'd swear they were built decades apart. The Palace was a groundbreaking arena when it was built in the late 80's. No arena had anywhere near as many luxury suites (180) with the first row of suites being that close to the floor. (Message edited by rjk on March 14, 2009) | ||
Benfield Member Username: Benfield Post Number: 138 Registered: 06-2008 |
quote: Ignoring that Bill Davidson's corpse isn't yet cold, that's just dumb. The Palace remains one of the premier venues in the country and one of the most profitable. By any objective financial assessment, the Pistons would be foolish to abandon it. There's also this little issue known as the global economic collapse. Who is going to lend money to build a sports arena in city hardest hit by the recession? Maybe Bank of America will finance the project once they finish with their downtown Detroit office tower. | ||
Noodles Member Username: Noodles Post Number: 20 Registered: 02-2009 |
quote: You mean selective (based on your agenda). | ||
Fnemecek Member Username: Fnemecek Post Number: 1970 Registered: 12-2004 |
Bill Davidson and his family will be in my thoughts and prayers today. Any speculation about what this may or may not mean for the Pistons and/or the Palace is something that, in my opinion, should wait until after Mr. Davidson's funeral. | ||
Drm Member Username: Drm Post Number: 363 Registered: 10-2003 |
quote:JLA was built on the cheap with no paying tenant by a broke city desperate to keep the Red Wings from fleeing to the suburbs after the Lions and Pistons left. JLA and The Palace were built a decade apart, not a "few years". And I'm pretty sure Davidson didn't write a check for the massive infrastructure improvements to accommodate the Palace. |
