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Davidson Left Positive Mark In Tampa Bay

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By JOE HENDERSON

jhenderson@tampatrib.com

Published: March 14, 2009

Bill Davidson had just arrived at the airport in Tampa, headed downtown for a meeting about the future of the National Hockey League team he owned - the Lightning. Davidson usually allowed his lieutenants to run things, but the subject that early December day in 2001 was serious enough to get him on a plane.

Talks were well under way to trade Vinny Lecavalier, but Davidson first had to be convinced. Ron Campbell, team president at the time, picked his boss up and recalls him saying, "We're not trading Vinny."

Davidson listened as then-General Manager Rick Dudley made the argument to trade the team's young superstar. Davidson finally laid out criteria under which he would agree to the move.

Dudley had to spend the next 30 days shopping around the league for the best deal. He had to get name players in return. And he had to assure the owner and fans that the trade would put the Bolts in the playoffs right away.

Campbell drove him back to the airport and Davidson was confident things had slowed down. Before his plane touched back down, though, a conference call had been scheduled with the league to finalize Lecavalier's trade to Toronto.

This was too fast. What happened to caution? What happened to 30 days? Davidson killed the deal. He killed one the next day, too, that would have sent Vinny to Philadelphia.

"He was one of the best owners in the history of pro sports," Campbell said. "He might have been the best sports owner Tampa Bay has ever seen."

A Winning Legacy

Davidson, 86, died Friday at his home in suburban Detroit. He sold the Lightning last year, but his impact on the franchise and Tampa will forever be seen in the Stanley Cup banner that hangs from the Forum rafters.

He stayed largely in the background after buying the Lightning in 1999, but the organization he put in place turned a joke of a franchise into a champion.

"He was very bright and intuitive," Campbell said. "He was a risk-taker and he was innovative."

The meeting where he nixed the Lecavalier trade was an unusual bit of hands-on for Davidson. He more preferred to hire strong managers and then let them run things, reserving his veto power for special situations or to resolve disputes.

He kept a tight lid on the budget and payroll, but was willing to spend when it was time to strike. He liked to make a buck, but he also liked to win and he had a good idea how to do that. He won three NBA championships as owner of the Detroit Pistons.

And once he put someone in charge, he had their back. When Lecavalier initially chafed under the tough love of former coach John Tortorella, Davidson sent word that young Vinny needed to learn who the boss was.

They didn't have to like each other, but they had to work together. Vinny and Torts co-existed well enough to win a Cup.

A Life Well-Lived

What would you want people to say about the life you lived?

Of Davidson, they will say that he was extraordinarily charitable. That he cared for the people he worked for, and left positive footprints on his communities.

He wasn't flamboyant and most Tampa Bay hockey fans couldn't have picked his face out of a crowd, but they surely reaped the benefit of his work.

His impact will echo long after his passing. He gave $30 million to the University of Michigan. He donated more than $100 million to Israeli causes. And on one December day, the hands-off man killed a deal that might have one day traded any chance for a Stanley Cup.

"He was," Campbell said, "a special man."

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