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Joe Davis (sportscaster)

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Joe Davis
Born
Joseph Daniel Davis

(1987-12-06) December 6, 1987 (age 37)
Lansing, Michigan, U.S.
Alma materBeloit College
OccupationSports commentator
Years active2006–present
Sports commentary career
Team(s)Schaumburg Flyers (2009)
Montgomery Biscuits (2010–12)
Los Angeles Dodgers (2016–present)
GenrePlay-by-play
Sports
EmployerComcast Sports Southeast (2010–12)
ESPN (2012–14)
Fox Sports (2014–present)
Spectrum SportsNet LA/Los Angeles Dodgers (2015–present)
NFL Network (2020–21)

Joseph Daniel Davis (born December 6, 1987) is an American television sportscaster who serves as the lead play-by-play broadcast announcer for Los Angeles Dodgers telecasts on Spectrum SportsNet LA. He also calls national MLB, NFL and college basketball telecasts for Fox Sports and has broadcast other pro and college sports for various teams and networks during his career. Since 2022, he has been the main play-by-play broadcaster for the annual World Series and MLB All-Star Game on Fox.

Early years

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Davis grew up in Potterville, Michigan, and graduated from Beloit College in 2010 with a degree in communications and journalism.

Broadcasting career

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Davis started his professional career calling football, basketball, baseball and hockey for ESPN and was formerly the voice of the Montgomery Biscuits. From 2010 to 2012, Davis called college football, basketball, and baseball for Comcast Sports Southeast and served as a studio host for the Baylor ISP Network for the Baylor Bears and called NCAA Division III football and basketball for D3Sports.com. For one season, Joe was the lead voice of the 2009 Illinois High School Volleyball State Championships and was the manager of broadcasting and media as well as calling games for the Schaumburg Flyers.[1] His past work includes Beloit College basketball (men's and women's) and baseball as well as fill-in work for the Loyola Ramblers men's volleyball and women's basketball. He also called Sun Belt football and basketball for the Sun Belt Network. In 2012, he worked college football for ESPN, including the memorable Texas A&M win over Louisiana Tech with Johnny Manziel.

Fox Sports, NFL Network, and FS1

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In July 2014, Davis was hired by Fox Sports, where he called college football and basketball, plus Major League Baseball and select National Football League games for the network and FS1. Davis has handled Division Series broadcasts on Fox/FS1 and filled in on Game 4 of the 2019 American League Championship Series while Joe Buck called Thursday Night Football the same evening.[2] Davis also filled in on Game 7 of the 2020 National League Championship Series while Buck called an NFL on Fox game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Green Bay Packers. Later that year, Davis replaced Mike Tirico on the NFL Network broadcast of a Saturday night game between the Carolina Panthers and the Green Bay Packers after Tirico was dispatched to fill-in for Al Michaels on NBC Sunday Night Football, and would fulfill the same role in 2021.[3] Also in 2021, Davis filled-in on an NFL on Fox game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints while Buck called Game 5 of the World Series between the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros. In 2022, Davis was named to replace Buck as the lead play-by-play announcer full time for MLB on Fox.[4] Later that year, Davis was selected to be Fox’s new #2 play-by-play man for their NFL coverage,[5] replacing Kevin Burkhardt, who became Buck’s replacement on their #1 NFL crew, with Greg Olsen as his color commentator as of the 2024 season. Thus far, his most memorable calls were Bryce Harper’s home run in game 5 of the NLCS in 2022 and Freddie Freeman's walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the World Series in 2024.[6][7]

Los Angeles Dodgers

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In November 2015, Davis was hired by SportsNet LA to serve as an alternate play-by-play commentator for the Los Angeles Dodgers during the 2016 season. He split the play-by-play role with Charley Steiner for games that were not called by Vin Scully, who would be retiring as the team's television broadcaster at the end of the season.[8][9] Davis subsequently became Scully's successor for the 2017 season, alongside Orel Hershiser on color. In interviews, Davis stated that he did not plan to entirely emulate Vin Scully's style, use his catchphrases, or be viewed as a "replacement" of him, arguing that one cannot "replace the greatest anyone of all time in anything". He did, however, state that he wanted to maintain Scully's focus upon storytelling as a reminder of the traits of Scully. In regard to his transition to the role, Davis explained that "hopefully, some have listened and at least learned to tolerate me. But for my comfort level, last year was very important, and having Orel in the booth has been the best part, and biggest reason, for this being an enjoyable experience so far, personally and professionally. I'm eternally grateful to him for how he has gone out of his way."[10][8][11][12] Since then, he has only called a maximum of 90 games per season for the club, limited by his other work calling national games.[13][14]

Personal life

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Davis resides in South Pasadena, California with his wife Libby (m. 2013) and three children: Charlotte, Blake and Theo. Theo's full given name is Theodore Orel, named in honor of Davis's colleague and friend, Orel Hershiser.[15] The family is Catholic.[16]

His brother, Sam A. Davis, is the cinematographer and co-producer of the film Period. End of Sentence., the winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) at the 91st Academy Awards.[17][18]

Career timeline

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  • 2022–present: NFL Divisional playoff game, NFL Wild Card playoff game, World Series and All-Star Game play-by-play on Fox Sports
  • 2020–2021: NFL Network Saturday Special play-by-play
  • 2017–present: MLB Postseason for FS1 play-by-play (Division Series and Championship Series)
  • 2016–present: Los Angeles Dodgers on Spectrum SportsNet LA play-by-play
  • 2015–present: NFL on Fox play-by-play (#2 play-by-play since 2022)
  • 2014–present: MLB on Fox play-by-play (#1 play-by-play since 2022)
  • 2014–present: College basketball on Fox and FS1 play-by-play
  • 2014-2021: College Football on Fox and FS1 play-by-play
  • 2012–2014: College football, basketball, baseball, and hockey on ESPN play-by-play
  • 2011–2012: College football, basketball, and baseball on Comcast Sports Southeast play-by-play
  • 2010–2012: Montgomery Biscuits play-by-play
  • 2010–2011: Baylor ISP Network Studio Host
  • 2007–2010: D3Sports.com football and basketball play-by-play
  • 2009: Illinois State High School Volleyball State Championships play-by-play on IHSA TV
  • 2009: Schaumburg Flyers manager of broadcasting & media and play-by-play
  • 2009: Loyola Ramblers men's volleyball and women's volleyball fill-in play-by-play
  • 2006–2009 Beloit College baseball and basketball (men's and women's) play-by-play

References

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  1. ^ "Joe Davis Play-by-Play Announcer Bio". Fox Sports PressPass. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  2. ^ "Joe Buck pulls double duty on ALCS, NFL". Houston Chronicle. October 12, 2019. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  3. ^ "Mike Tirico replacing Al Michaels on Browns-Giants due to COVID-19 protocol issues". USA Today. December 18, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  4. ^ Reineking, Jim (April 4, 2022). "LA Dodgers announcer Joe Davis to replace Joe Buck on Fox's World Series broadcasts". USA TODAY. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  5. ^ "FOX Sports Charges Into 2022 NFL Season Bolstered by a Fresh, Dynamic Broadcaster Lineup and Its 10th Super Bowl Presentation on FOX". Fox Sports Press Pass. August 8, 2022. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  6. ^ Moreno, Matthew (October 25, 2022). "Dodgers Broadcaster Joe Davis Earns Praise For Call Of Bryce Harper's NLCS Home Run". Dodger Blue. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  7. ^ Turner, Austin (October 27, 2024). "Freeman's World Series walk-off has wild similarities to another iconic Dodgers moment". KTLA. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Joe Davis to call Dodgers games through at least 2017". True Blue LA (SBNation). August 18, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  9. ^ Stephen, Eric (November 11, 2015). "Dodgers hire Joe Davis to call 50 road games on TV in 2016". SB Nation. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  10. ^ "How Joe Davis deals with the idea of 'replacing' Vin Scully for Dodgers". Los Angeles Daily News. April 3, 2017. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  11. ^ Stephen, Eric (November 11, 2015). "Dodgers hire Joe Davis to call 50 road games on TV in 2016". SB Nation. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  12. ^ "Dodgers Announcer Joe Davis on Replacing Legend Vin Scully and L.A.'s World Series Prospects". The Hollywood Reporter. April 3, 2017. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  13. ^ Lucia, Joe (May 8, 2023). "Joe Davis limited to a maximum of 90 Dodgers games per year due to national TV work". Awful Announcing. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  14. ^ "Looking back at Dodgers TV broadcasts on SportsNet LA in 2024". October 4, 2024.
  15. ^ "Dodgers Broadcaster Joe Davis Picks the Perfect Name for His New Baby". Dodgers Nation. July 2, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  16. ^ Davis, Joe. "Tweet". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  17. ^ "The list of nominees for the 91st Academy Awards". Alltechnotricks.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  18. ^ Potterville grad's film 'Period. End of Sentence.' nominated for an Academy Award
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Sporting positions
Preceded by World Series network television play-by-play announcer
2022-present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by Lead play-by-play announcer,
Major League Baseball Game of the Week
2022–present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by Lead play-by-play announcer,
Major League Baseball on Fox
2022–present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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