Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History 

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

70 | DECEMBER 29 • 2022 

The Amazing Mr. D.
I 

never met the man, and I dearly wish 
I would have had the honor to do so. 
Nearly every day, however, I think 
of Bill Davidson. This is because I so 
often enter the online archive named 
for him, the William Davidson Digital 
Archive of Jewish Detroit History, 
which the Davidson Foundation 
generously funded. To say the least, at 
the Detroit Jewish News, 
we are extremally grateful 
for his legacy of giving. We 
also know we do not stand 
alone in our sentiments.
On Dec. 5, William “Bill” 
Davidson would have been 
100 years old. Davidson 
was one of the all-time 
great leaders and philanthropists from 
Detroit’s Jewish community. He was not 
only an extremely gifted businessman, 
who developed one of the top global 
suppliers to the automotive industry, but 
Davidson also used much of his wealth 
to do good in Metro Detroit, America 
and Israel.
In the Davidson Archive, I found 
1,317 pages that cite William Davidson, 
including 15 cover pages; 297 of 
those pages cite “Bill” Davidson. A 
few references are for other William 
Davidsons, but when searching for 
“Bill” Davidson, he is the one and only. 
The title of a documentary film made by 
his son, Ethan, says it all: “Call Me Bill” 
(April 4, 2019, JN). I’ll honor his wishes 
going forward in this column.
Bill has a large presence in the 
historical pages of the JN. The number 
of mentions of him are only surpassed 
by another legendary Jewish Detroit 
leader, Max Fisher. 
While Bill was a really great 
businessman, he never forgot his 
heritage, his community or Israel. 
Indeed, I can only refer to a meager few 
of his good works because to cite them 
all would take pages and pages … and 

more pages. 
Just pick a subject and you’ll likely 
find Bill’s name attached to it. For 
example, take sports. Bill owned 
several professional sports teams, 
including Detroit’s National Basketball 
Association team, the Detroit Pistons. 
He was the chief developer of the Palace 
of Auburn Hills, the longtime home 
for the Pistons, which was also one of 
Detroit’s premier concert arenas for 
many years. Bill was inducted into the 
Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2004 
and was one of the first inductees into 
the Michigan Jewish Sport Hall of Fame 
in 1985.
Now try education. Bill sought to 
strengthen Judaism through education. 
See “Champion of Learning,” the cover 
story for the May 12, 2005, JN. 
Support for Israel? See the story about 
Technion University naming an MBA 
program after Bill (July 15, 2021) or the 
substantial report “Bill’s Dreams Live 
On” in the Oct. 11, 2012, issue of the 
JN. 
For a comprehensive report on Bill’s 
massive philanthropic efforts, read 
“Down-to-Earth Philanthropist” in 
the March 19, 2009, JN. The article is 
accompanied by JN editor Robert Sklar’s 
tribute to Bill, “The Amazing Mr. D.”
Bill’s legacy does live on. The proof 
of this for us at the Jewish News 
Foundation is the generous funding 
provided by the Davidson Foundation 
for the creation of the online archive 
named in his honor.
Bill’s legacy is tremendous. He was 
a mensch of the highest order. I hope 
I honor his memory every week when 
I use the William Davidson Digital 
Archive of Jewish Detroit History for 
my Looking Back columns. 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation 
archives, available for free at www.djnfoundation.
org.

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

