Business & brands / Sports
Bill Davidson
1922–2009 · glass industrialist, owner of the Detroit Pistons
Detroit-born glass magnate who owned the Pistons for 35 years, built the Palace of Auburn Hills with private money and won three NBA titles.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
aged 86- Birth name
- William Morse Davidson
- Also known as
- William Morse Davidson
- Detroit years
- 1922–2009
- Field
- Business & brands, Sports
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Davidson was born in Detroit, served in the Navy in World War II and earned a law degree at Wayne State University in 1949. He took over his family's struggling Guardian Glass Company and built it into Guardian Industries, one of the world's largest makers of architectural and automotive glass, based in suburban Detroit. In 1974 he led a group that bought the Pistons from Fred Zollner. Frustrated with the Pontiac Silverdome, he and two developers privately financed the $90 million Palace of Auburn Hills, which opened in 1988. His 'Bad Boys' Pistons won NBA titles in 1989 and 1990, and a new generation won again in 2004. He also owned the WNBA's Detroit Shock, three-time champions, and the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning, 2004 Stanley Cup winners. A major donor to Jewish causes and education, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008 and died in 2009.
Highlights
- Built Guardian Industries into a global glass maker
- Owner of the Detroit Pistons, 1974–2009: NBA titles 1989, 1990, 2004
- Privately financed the Palace of Auburn Hills (1988)
- Detroit Shock won WNBA titles in 2003, 2006 and 2008
- Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, 2008
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 3
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Founded · 1988–2009
The Palace of Auburn Hills
Demolished · 1988–2017
The arena he privately financed, home of the Pistons' three championship teams; closed as an NBA venue in 2017 and demolished in 2020.
Related place · 1978–1988
Pontiac Silverdome
Demolished · 1975–2013
The Pistons' home before the Palace; demolished in 2017–2018.
Studied here · 1940s
Wayne State University Law School
He earned his law degree here in 1949.