Dan Davis obit

ESPN Radio Voice Dan "The Duke" Davis Dies at 84

His voice was heard on the airwaves for 5 decades. 

He was not on the list.

Founding member of ESPN Radio Dan Davis has sadly passed away at 84.

ESPN has sadly announced that longtime sports broadcaster Dan Davis died on October 21st. No cause of death was shared in the announcement. Davis was born on September 20th, 1942.

Dan “The Duke” Davis began his broadcasting career in 1962 at WEMJ in Laconia, New Hampshire, eventually building a five-decade career in sports broadcasting. He joined ESPN Radio at its launch in January 1992 and was selected to co-host Brent Musburger’s SportsBeat in 1993. Beginning in 1999, Davis became one of ESPN Radio’s most recognizable SportsCenter update reporters, earning the nickname “The Duke.” Throughout his career, Davis covered the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals, Olympics, Kentucky Derby, NCAA Final Four and more than 50 PGA Tour events.

Davis is highly recognized for his call of Doug Flutie’s 1984 “Hail Mary” touchdown pass during Boston College’s 47-45 victory over Miami. His call was featured in a 2004 Wheaties commercial.

After approximately 50 years in broadcasting, Davis retired from his regular ESPN Radio role in 2011, planning to spend more time golfing in Florida while occasionally continuing radio work.

Davis anchored the midday portion of ESPN Radio SportsCenter. His voice was often heard introducing various ESPN programs. He was also known as "The Duke", originated during his stint at the short-lived Enterprise Radio by Curt Chaplin, who is best known as the announcer for The People's Court.

Davis worked as a radio commentator for almost 30 years. He started his career in 1963 at WEMJ in Laconia, New Hampshire. In 1981 Davis worked at Enterprise Radio, the nation’s first all-sports satellite radio network. Davis did updates for Enterprise before it went off the air after only nine and a-half months. Apart from working for WEMJ, Davis also worked in Boston for ten seasons as the radio voice of Boston College football on a New England-wide network. Davis called the Boston College vs. Miami game in 1984, and his commentary of the famous Doug Flutie to Gerard Phelan touchdown pass remains among the favorites of Boston area sports fans.

Davis joined ESPN Radio in January 1992. Davis was on The Tony Kornheiser Show between January 5, 1998, and March 26, 2004. When Davis reported the sports updates, the host, Tony Kornheiser, often interrupted Davis' reports with his own comments. Initially, Davis was shocked and not amused. However, later on Davis developed a very good chemistry with Kornheiser, and he even started to add humorous comments within his report to amuse (or annoy) Kornheiser. Davis and Kornheiser talking back and forth in this way prompted Kornheiser to say that The Duke was the glue of the show.

Throughout his tenure, Davis provided Sportcenter updates on ESPN Radio. Davis has also appeared on other programs. Sometimes, he made comments on Extra Point. He supplied his voice during the Week 10 edition of Mike & Mike's "Stone Cold Lead Pipe Locks" on November 7, 2008. On December 21, 2011, on Mike and Mike, it was announced that Davis was retiring from ESPN Radio, effective December 23.