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34-640: The franchise has four AFL championships, all while it was based in Detroit. The first three occurred in back-to-back-to-back fashion from 1988 to 1990 , and the final one occurred in 1992 . In 1987, Mike Ilitch began negotiations with the Arena Football League (AFL), to join for the 1988 season. The Drive began play in 1988 as a member of the AFL. Under head coach Tim Marcum , the Drive finished

68-736: A $ 15 million gift. The excavations on the southern wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem have been named the Davidson excavations in tribute to his generous donations to the project. He also gave to the American Technion Society to establish the world's first educational institution entirely dedicated to the international management of technology-based companies at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology . Davidson

102-473: A football franchise. In 1974, Davidson and college classmate Oscar Feldman enlisted ex- Detroit Lions great Joe Schmidt to be part of a group bidding on the Tampa expansion franchise. The expansion fee soon grew too high for the group's liking, and it bowed out of the bidding. Two months later, Davidson learned that Pistons owner Fred Zollner was thinking of putting the team up for sale. Zollner had founded

136-505: A never-seen-before feature. His Pistons were at the league's forefront with respect to amenities. The franchise has a state-of-the-art practice facility, solely designed for the Pistons. During the offseason, team members are able to use the facilities while working on personal off-season conditioning goals. Against the advice of friends, Davidson was also the first owner to buy an airplane for his team, nicknamed Roundball One. Roundball Two,

170-510: A newer, larger, multimillion-dollar aircraft refurbished with 42 luxury seats and a state-of-the-art video system, was purchased in the summer of 1998. Davidson was also the first to encourage globalizing the marketing of the NBA. He has been chairman of the Board of Governors and was active on several committees, including the one that selected former NBA Commissioner Larry O'Brien in 1975. In 2009,

204-531: A prior marriage to John Reaser: Elizabeth Reaser , an actress with 30 movies and television shows to her credit (including the Twilight saga ); Emily Reaser; and Mary Aaron. The book The Wetsmans: Odyssey of an American Family was commissioned in 1988 by William M. Davidson, a grandson in the Wetsmans' family. For more information about the Wetsmans and their extended family, the book has been digitized and

238-602: A short season, but that forced the Drive to begin the 1989 season by replacing quarterback Rich Ingold , who didn't want to take the pay cut of the short season. The Drive won ArenaBowl III 39–26 over the Pittsburgh Gladiators. Head Coach Tim Marcum stepped away from the Drive in 1990 to join the University of Florida 's football staff, and was replaced by Perry Moss . The Drive bolstered their offense by signing quarterback Art Schlichter (Who would become

272-437: A wholesale drug company and a surgical supply company from bankruptcy. Davidson would also take over his family's Guardian Glass Co. in 1957, the same year the company declared bankruptcy. Guardian Glass would be the precursor to his company Guardian Industries, one of the largest glass suppliers in the world. Davidson encouraged risk-taking, discouraged second-guessing and was seen as aggressive. Not without controversy, Guardian

306-622: Is available online. Davidson died on March 13, 2009, in his home at the age of 86. His health had been deteriorating for the years before his death; he had been using a wheelchair and very infrequently attended Pistons home games. The funeral was held at Congregation Shaarey Zedek , in Southfield , and Davidson was buried in the Clover Hill Park Cemetery , in Birmingham . His widow Karen succeeded him as owner of

340-792: The Grand Rapids Rampage , who played until 2008. Detroit later received a second Arena Football team, the Detroit Fury . The Fury played from 2001 to 2004 in The Palace of Auburn Hills and were co-owned by William Davidson , owner of the Detroit Pistons and William Clay Ford, Jr. , son of the owner of the Detroit Lions . The Fury were never as successful as the Drive, compiling a 22–41 record and averaging 8,152 fans per game before they folded in 2004. While

374-515: The Tampa Bay Storm , ending their three-year reign as league champions. The Drive traded Schlichter to the expansion Cincinnati Rockers , partly because the league believed that since he'd grown up in the area and starred at Ohio State , he'd lend the new franchise needed credibility. However, another factor was the compulsive gambling that had derailed his NFL career almost a decade earlier. Despite Ilitch's efforts to keep Schlichter on

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408-762: The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. This was then the largest private donation ever given to the institute, a leading international science research center and graduate school. Davidson later added another gift of $ 15 million to the same institute. In addition, he endowed the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York with

442-722: The William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan was created at Davidson's alma mater, the Ross School of Business . A gift of $ 30 million was given to provide assistance in a special program to help develop market economies throughout the world. In total, Davidson's gifts to the school exceed $ 55 million. In 1997, the Council of Michigan Foundations honored Davidson for his lifelong philanthropic efforts locally, nationally and internationally. He

476-473: The AFL's MVP in 1990). Moss lead the Drive to a 6–2 regular season record and they remained a dominant force, leading the going to ArenaBowl IV , where they defeated the Dallas Texans 51–27. Marcum returned to coach the Drive in 1991. The Drive didn't miss a beat, finishing with the best record in the league for the fourth season in a row. However, despite hosting ArenaBowl '91 , they were defeated by

510-597: The Drive's history was relatively brief, they had an inarguable importance in the history of Arena Football, with ArenaBowl trips every year of their existence, and creating the first dynasty in the Arena Football League. The following Drive/Marauders players were named to All-Arena Teams: The Drive and Marauders both appeared on the game EA Sports Arena Football as hidden bonus teams. 1988 Detroit Drive season Too Many Requests If you report this error to

544-679: The Karmanos Cancer Institute and Children's Research Center of Michigan. After the Yom Kippur War , he and fellow Detroit-area philanthropist Lloyd J. Paul were flown to Israel by Prime Minister Golda Meir and given the Prime Minister's Club Award for outstanding philanthropic deeds towards Israel. In 1999, Davidson gave $ 20 million to establish the Davidson Institute of Science Education at

578-590: The Pistons in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1941 and moved them to Detroit in 1957. However, the Pistons had never turned a profit since the move to Detroit. Davidson and Zollner had known each other for some time, since they both had vacation homes in Golden Beach, Florida . Zollner quickly reached a deal to sell the Pistons to Davidson for $ 6 million, which closed in late 1974. At the time, the Pistons played at 10,000-seat Cobo Arena in downtown Detroit. Davidson

612-526: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 217864702 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:05:17 GMT Bill Davidson (businessman) William Morse Davidson (December 5, 1922 – March 13, 2009) was an American businessman. He was president, chairman and CEO of Guardian Industries , one of

646-788: The co-owner of the Detroit Fury of the Arena Football League . Davidson also owned the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League and Detroit Vipers of the International Hockey League . His Pistons won the NBA Finals in 1989 , 1990 and 2004 ; his Shock won the WNBA Finals in 2003, 2006 and 2008; his Vipers won the 1997 Turner Cup ; and his Tampa Bay Lightning won the 2004 Stanley Cup . A Detroit native, Davidson

680-539: The regular season 9–3 after starting the season 2–3. Two of the Drive's losses came at the hands of the Chicago Bruisers , who finished the season with one loss. The Drive would get a chance at revenge when they advanced to ArenaBowl II against the Bruisers, and they were able to defeat the Bruisers 24–13. With the AFL suspending operations prior to the 1989 season, the league was revived and decided to play

714-605: The straight and narrow, by the end of 1991 it was no longer safe for Schlichter to stay in Detroit. In 1992, the Drive played in the Northern Division . The Drive won ArenaBowl VI , claiming their fourth title in five seasons. Following the 1992 season, Ilitch purchased the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball and Vitto was transferred to the Tigers front office. Marcum assumed GM duties for 1993 and led

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748-665: The team to Worcester, Massachusetts as the Massachusetts Marauders, playing their home games at the Worcester Centrum , but folded after going 8–4 and making the semifinals in their first and only season. Whereas the Drive averaged over 14,000 fans a game during their six seasons in Detroit, the Marauders averaged less than 7,400 a game. Nearly three years after the Marauders folded, Dan DeVos won their assets in bankruptcy court and used them to launch

782-573: The team to Davidson and Palace Sports at a huge loss. When Davidson acquired the Lightning franchise in 1999, the price was $ 100 million; its value has recently been estimated at $ 136 million. Tampa Bay won the Stanley Cup under Davidson's ownership in 2004. On August 7, 2007, Davidson sold the Lightning franchise. Davidson was honored by the Pistons in 2006 when he was given a banner next to the team's retired numbers. His name (as "Bill Davidson")

816-463: The team to its final Arena Bowl. Ilitch sold the Drive so that they would not compete with the Tigers for attendance. Ilitch still claims that he only kept the Drive because they were constant contenders. The Drive had, arguably, the best management team in the league. Owner Mike Ilitch , General Manager Gary Vitto, and Head Coach Tim Marcum are all in the AFL Hall of Fame. The new owners moved

850-571: The time of his death, Davidson lived in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan with his wife, Karen. He had two children, Ethan and Marla, and three stepdaughters, including actress Elizabeth Reaser . His combined business ventures led him to an estimated net worth of $ 3.5 billion, which led to Forbes ranking him as the 68th-richest man in the United States. A noted philanthropist, Davidson gave extensively to various organizations. He

884-603: The value of the Pistons franchise was estimated to be over $ 430 million. Regularly seen at the team's home games, Davidson had said repeatedly that he would never sell the Pistons and the franchise would remain in his family after he died. In 1999, Davidson put in an unsuccessful bid to purchase the Tampa Bay Lightning and gain a controlling interest in their home arena, the Ice Palace . He lost to insurance tycoon Art Williams , but only months later Williams sold

918-719: The world's largest manufacturers of architectural and automotive glass . He was also owner of several North American professional sports teams and a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame . The chairman of Palace Sports and Entertainment , Davidson was principal owner of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association , the Detroit Shock of the Women's National Basketball Association , and

952-923: Was also a contributor to the Wexner Foundation which gives grants to graduate students of Jewish studies. In March 2007, Davidson donated $ 75 million to the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem . Davidson was decorated as Commander of the Order of the Oak Crown and as Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg . Davidson was married four times. He had two children: In 1995, he married his fourth wife, Karen Weidman, who would convert to Judaism upon their marriage. She has three daughters from

986-614: Was also placed on the Palace floor along with Pistons legends Dave Bing , Bill Laimbeer , Vinnie Johnson , Chuck Daly , Joe Dumars , Isiah Thomas and Bob Lanier . In 2008, Davidson was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor for his successes as an owner of the Pistons and Shock. He was also an inaugural inductee into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. At

1020-526: Was born to a Jewish family on December 5, 1922; he was a 1940 graduate of Central High School . Davidson entered the University of Michigan in 1940, where he was a member of the track and field team; he majored in business at what is now the Ross School of Business . Davidson later joined the U.S. Navy and played Armed Forces Football during World War II. Following the war, Davidson garnered his Juris Doctor degree from Wayne State University Law School in 1949. After three years of law practice, he rescued

1054-620: Was displeased with this location, but opted not to join the Detroit Red Wings at the under-construction Joe Louis Arena . Instead, he relocated the team to the Pontiac Silverdome in 1978 and then to The Palace of Auburn Hills , the first NBA arena financed entirely with private funds, in 1988. To help pay the $ 90 million construction cost, the Bob Sosnick-designed arena featured lower-level suites, then

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1088-495: Was listed as one of America's most generous donors in a New York Times article that same year. Davidson enabled the Detroit Symphony Orchestra to make long-term touring plans both in the U.S. and internationally with a renewable $ 2 million donation. He pledged to fight cancer with a gift of $ 1 million to support collaborative research, prevention and early detection programs in breast and pediatric cancers at

1122-643: Was one of the founders of the Pistons/Palace Foundation, a charity that has donated more than $ 20 million in cash and merchandise since 1989. In 1995, the foundation partnered with the City of Detroit's Parks and Recreation Department to establish the Partnership to Adopt and Renovate Parks for Kids (PARK) Program, which provided restoration of Detroit parks, basketball courts, baseball diamonds, running tracks and playground equipment. In 1992,

1156-471: Was sued at least six times between 1965 and 1988. In 1989, Guardian was ordered to pay its competitor Johns Manville $ 38 million for stealing fibreglass-making technology. Guardian now stands as one of the world's giants of glass manufacturing with facilities in Asia, Europe, Africa and South America in addition to its sprawling North American interests. Being acquainted with football, Davidson wanted to acquire

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