My Sportsman Choice: Bill Davidson

By David Sabino

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An 81-year old head of a windshield manufacturing firm isn't the typical candidate for Sportsman of the Year. But what William Davidson experienced this summer at the Stanley Cup and NBA Finals was not only unprecedented, it was remarkable. As the billionaire owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Pistons, he's the first man to win both the Stanley Cup and NBA champions in the same season (not to mention the Detroit Shock, the 2003 WNBA Champion).

While most sports owners gravitate to the spotlight, the fiercely private Davidson remains in the shadows. Although in business he's developed a reputation as a problem solver, he leaves the sports decisions to the people he hired. Good men like Pistons GM Joe Dumars, who hired Larry Brown and traded for Rasheed Wallace. Those pieces proved to be the final pieces to Detroit's championship puzzle. He also hired Jay Feaster, who became general manager of an NHL's laughingstock and turned the Lightning into a champion in just three years.

Everyone who knows Davidson is fiercely loyal to him and for good reason: Davidson gives back. He's reportedly donated $100 million to philanthropic interests including scholarships for the children of his 19,000 employees at Guardian Industries, Detroit's Symphony Orchestra, and a fund to improve Detroit's city parks.

In 1986 when he wanted a new arena for the Pistons, Davidson built one without public funding, an almost unheard of proposition. In an era in which sports owners are perceived as egomaniacal and greedy, Davidson has the respect of his peers, employees and customers. He's described universally as a true gentleman and in this writer's opinion, he's a true Sportsman.