sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

John Arthur Davidson (born February 27, 1953) is a Canadian-American professional ice hockey executive and former player, who serves as President of Hockey Operations and alternate governor for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). As a goaltender, he played in the NHL for the St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers. He is also well known as a long-time hockey broadcaster, and was honored by the Hockey Hall of Fame with the 2009 Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for his contributions to broadcasting.[1]

John Davidson
Born	(1953-02-27) February 27, 1953 (age 69) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Caught	Left
Played for	St. Louis Blues New York Rangers
NHL Draft	5th overall, 1973 St. Louis Blues
Playing career	1973–1983

Playing career

Growing up in western Canada, he played his junior hockey in Calgary, Alberta. He was drafted fifth overall in the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft, and became the first goalie in NHL history to jump directly from major junior to the NHL.

St. Louis Blues

Davidson stepped right into the NHL and split duties with veteran Wayne Stephenson during his rookie year and posted slightly better numbers. Just before the start of Davidson's second season in the league, the Blues dealt Stephenson to the Philadelphia Flyers, making Davidson the Blues' starting goaltender. Davidson played 40 games for the Blues but his goals against average rose from an impressive 3.08 as a rookie to 3.66 in his second year. That summer, the Blues packaged Davidson with Bill Collins and shipped him to the New York Rangers for Jerry Butler, Ted Irvine and Bert Wilson.

New York Rangers

In New York, Davidson was to share the crease with Hall of Famer Ed Giacomin, who had tended goal for the Rangers for the ten previous seasons. However, early in the year, the Rangers shocked their fans by placing Giacomin on waivers where he was claimed by the Detroit Red Wings, making Davidson the undisputed starting goaltender for the team. Davidson played a career-high 56 games for New York that year, a total he was unable to ever match due to a string of injury issues in the years to come. He helped lead the Rangers to the 1979 Stanley Cup Finals on an injured left knee. His jersey numbers were 35, 00 and 30.[2] Davidson was the first, and one of only two, NHL players to wear the number 00; after Martin Biron briefly wore the number in 1995, the league banned the use of the number.[3]

Davidson was the inspiration for the song "Double Vision" from 1978's album Double Vision by Foreigner. Members of the band who were Rangers fans were watching a Stanley Cup playoff game between the Rangers and the Buffalo Sabres. Davidson was shaken up when a shot hit his goalie mask. As he was recovering, announcers Jim Gordon and Bill Chadwick said Davidson was suffering from "double vision."[4][5]

Broadcasting career

After retiring due to injury, he joined MSG Network's hockey coverage staff in 1983, and was the color commentator for Rangers games from 1986–87 to 2005–06. Davidson, often known by the nickname "J.D.", became one of the most prominent color commentators in the sport, and his hockey insight is so well respected that he currently sits on the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee. Long-time network TV partner Mike Emrick also sits on that committee, and the two shared the 2004 Lester Patrick Trophy for service to hockey in the U.S.[6]

Davidson has also contributed to NHL coverage on various national television networks (including CBC, Fox, ESPN/ABC, NBC/OLN, SportsChannel America, and Global). He served as the lead color commentator, partnering with lead play-by-play announcer Mike Emrick, for the NHL on Fox from 1994–1999 and again for the NHL on NBC and NHL on OLN from 2005–2006. Eddie Olczyk, a studio analyst, took over the color commentator position in the 2006–2007 season after he left broadcasting to become president of the St. Louis Blues.^{[citation needed]}

Davidson became known as a broadcaster for his signature phrase of "Oh, baby!" He was also featured in full motion videos shot for the EA Sports video game NHL 97.

Davidson co-authored the book Hockey for Dummies with sportswriter John Steinbreder.

Executive career

Davidson was named president of the St. Louis Blues on June 30, 2006. He left the Blues after agreeing to a buyout of his contract on October 9, 2012.[7]

He was then named president of the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 24, 2012,[8] and held this position until his resignation on May 17, 2019.[9]

On May 17, 2019, Davidson was named as president of the New York Rangers.[10] On May 5, 2021, Davidson was fired as president and alternate governor (along with general manager Jeff Gorton) of the Rangers after failing to make the playoffs.[11]

On May 20, 2021, the Blue Jackets announced that Davidson would return to Columbus as President of Hockey Operations and alternate governor. Davidson agreed to a five-year contract with the Blue Jackets.[12]

Achievements

Playing

• Alberta Junior Hockey League – MVP (1970–71)
• Alberta Junior Hockey League – Best goalie (1970–71)
• Alberta Junior Hockey League – Second team All-Star (1970–71)
• Western Canada Hockey League – MVP (1971–72)
• Western Canada Hockey League – Top Goaltender Award (1971–72)
• Western Canada Hockey League – First All-Star Team (1971–72)
• Western Canada Hockey League – All-Star Team (1972–73)
• In the 2009 book 100 Ranger Greats, was ranked No. 56 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons[13]

Broadcasting

• CableACE – "Outstanding Live Event Coverage" (1994)
• New York Emmy – "Outstanding On-Camera Achievement" (1995, 2001)
• Lester Patrick Trophy – "Contribution to American hockey" (2004)
• Foster Hewitt Memorial Award; Hockey Hall Of Fame (2009)

Career statistics

Source:[14]

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season										Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
1969–70	Lethbridge Sugar Kings	AJHL		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1969–70	Calgary Centennials	WCHL		1	0	0	0	3	0	0	0.00	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1970–71	Lethbridge Sugar Kings	AJHL		46	—	—	—	2,760	142	3	3.09	—		9	—	—	—	540	23	1	2.56	—
1970–71	Calgary Centennials	WCHL		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		1	0	0	0	19	1	0	3.16	—
1971–72	Calgary Centennials	WCHL		66	—	—	—	3,970	157	8	2.37	—		13	6	6	1	780	39	0	3.00	—
1971–72	Calgary Centennials	MC		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		2	0	2	—	118	9	0	4.58	—
1972–73	Calgary Centennials	WCHL		63	—	—	—	3,735	201	2	3.30	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1973–74	St. Louis Blues	NHL		39	13	19	7	2,300	118	0	3.08	.902		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1974–75	St. Louis Blues	NHL		40	17	15	7	2,360	144	0	3.66	.887		1	0	1	—	60	4	0	4.00	.846
1974–75	Denver Spurs	CHL		7	4	2	1	420	27	0	3.86	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1975–76	New York Rangers	NHL		56	22	28	5	3,207	212	3	3.97	.880		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1976–77	New York Rangers	NHL		39	14	14	6	2,116	125	1	3.54	.896		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1976–77	New Haven Nighthawks	AHL		2	—	—	—	119	5	0	2.52	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1977–78	New York Rangers	NHL		34	14	13	4	1,848	98	1	3.18	.899		2	1	1	—	122	7	0	3.44	.901
1978–79	New York Rangers	NHL		39	20	12	5	2,232	131	0	3.52	.873		18	11	7	—	1,106	42	1	2.28	.922
1979–80	New York Rangers	NHL		41	20	15	4	2,306	122	2	3.17	.885		9	4	5	—	541	21	0	2.33	.927
1979–80	New Haven Nighthawks	AHL		4	1	3	0	238	16	0	4.02	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1980–81	New York Rangers	NHL		10	1	7	1	560	48	0	5.14	.832		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1981–82	New York Rangers	NHL		1	1	0	0	60	1	0	1.00	.966		1	0	0	—	33	3	0	5.45	.769
1981–82	Springfield Indians	AHL		8	3	4	0	437	24	0	3.30	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1982–83	New York Rangers	NHL		2	1	1	0	120	5	0	2.50	.909		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				301	123	124	39	17,109	1004	7	3.52	.887		31	16	14	—	1,862	77	1	2.48	.918

References

External links

• JD's official bio
• John Davidson has become his sport's top broadcaster, in part by outworking everybody else
• Biographical information and career statistics from The Internet Hockey Database

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