Dan Davis, a longtime ESPN Radio broadcaster and one of many community’s founding voices, has handed away at 84, the ESPN community introduced Wednesday. Widely known for his distinctive presence in sports activities radio, Davis was fondly referred to as “The Duke” by his associates and coworkers.
The community confirmed his loss of life in a publish on X, tweeting, “ESPN remembers Dan Davis, an ESPN Radio founding member, who handed away Wednesday.”
Davis turned a part of ESPN Radio at its inception in 1992 and continued working for the community till retiring in 2011. Over practically 20 years, he frequently offered updates for SportsCenter.
Dan Davis constructed a distinguished broadcasting profession
Davis began out in broadcasting by overlaying highschool soccer earlier than occurring to turn out to be a recognizable voice at among the greatest sporting occasions. He referred to as faculty soccer and basketball video games and labored on protection of marquee competitions, together with The Masters, the U.S. Open, the Tremendous Bowl and the Remaining 4.
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Even earlier than becoming a member of ESPN, Davis had earned recognition in sports activities radio for his name of Doug Flutie’s iconic Hail Mary go for Boston School in opposition to Miami in 1984, which he coated for WRKO/ABC Radio.
Boston School remembers Dan Davis’ Hail Mary name
Boston School Soccer additionally paid tribute to Davis following his loss of life, posting, “Boston School Soccer mourns the passing of Dan Davis, whose voice turned a part of this system’s historical past. From calling Doug Flutie’s iconic Hail Mary in 1984 to dozens of BC Soccer broadcasts, his legacy will perpetually be a part of The Heights.”
The faculty additionally shared an audio clip of Dan Davis’ iconic name of Doug Flutie’s well-known Hail Mary go in 1984, initially broadcast on WRKO/ABC Radio.
Former colleagues pay tribute
ESPN anchorScott Van Pelt additionally remembered Davis, highlighting a preferred recurring section from his ESPN Radio present alongside Ryen Russillo. Within the bit, Davis would ship hip-hop lyrics in a critical, spoken-word model, producing entertaining moments that turned a fan favourite.
“Of all of the issues we did on SVP & Russillo, The Duke raps was an all time favourite. Dan “The Duke” Davis was one of the best. Undecided he obtained it initially, however @ryenarussillo obtained him to purchase in and The Duke made it memorable. RIP to a legend. Like to his household and associates,” he tweeted.
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Different former colleagues additionally shared tributes celebrating Davis’ profession and the affect he had on sports activities broadcasting.
ESPN SportsCenter’s Stanford Steve posted, “The Duke was a legend.”
NBC Sports activities’ Mike Tirico additionally mirrored on his time working with Davis, writing, “Working with The Duke was one of many nice honors and pleasures of my radio days. As nice an replace man as there ever was .. and one heck of a radio name on the Flutie Hail Mary go for BC. Prayers to all those that had been fortunate sufficient to have Dan of their lives. The perfect!!”
