Mitch Calvert
There aren’t many things that catch savvy salesman Ed Davis off guard these days, but his recent induction into Brock University’s Athletic Hall of Fame in the builder category certainly qualifies as such.
The Fort Frances-born Davis, now 69 years old, played Juvenile (16-18 years old) hockey with the Fort Frances Jaycees before leaving the town where he grew up in 1958 to play junior ‘A’ hockey in Windsor.
Davis later played senior ‘A’ hockey in Stratford, On. while also completing a degree in business from the University of Waterloo.
Davis’ studies eventually led to him carving a career path in eastern Ontario as a pharmaceutical representative, where he still resides today in Cobourg, Ontario.
“I actually tried out for the Detroit Red Wings and didn’t make it, so that’s why I went to university, and looking back I’m sure happy I did,” Davis laughed.
“When I was in university, I helped with the hockey program there, and after I finished [my schooling], I was hired by the Parke-Davis pharmaceutical company [now known as Pfizer], and they sent me to St. Catharines,” Davis explained.
“I was working with Parke-Davis as a medical representative there, and the president of Brock University called me up one day in May of ’66 and said he heard I had helped with the hockey program in Waterloo and wondered if I’d be interested in starting a hockey program at Brock because they were just brand new, so that’s basically how it started and how this award came about.”
Davis got the program off the ground and coached the varsity hockey team there for four years in the Ontario Inter-Collegiate Athletic Association (OIAA) before a promotion with Parke-Davis moved him to the company’s head office in Toronto.
The club’s MVP award has been named after him since the team’s inaugural season, as well.
“Now Brock is one of the best hockey programs in Canada, so they’ve gone from early beginnings at a small university to a tremendous program and it’s nice to be a part of that,” Davis enthused.
The Robert Moore and Fort Frances High School grad, who became the national sales rep for Parke-Davis, said the long hiatus from hockey made this honour that much more surprising and humbling at the same time.
“I just did a bit of scouting for Brock over the years, but not on a coaching basis or anything like that, so this [hall of fame induction] sort of came out of the blue when I got the letter,” Davis explained.
Davis retired four years ago from his day job and lives with his wife Marjorie. He keeps busy as commodore of the yacht club in Cobourg on Lake Ontario, but still has plenty of connections to the small town where he first plied his hockey trade.
“I have a lot of friends in Fort Frances still, and usually go back every second year for a few days anyway,” Davis enthused. “[Mayor] Roy Avis was just down here and was at my place in Cobourg, as he’s my cousin.
“I’ve always had a special spot for Fort Frances. My mom and dad [Andy and Mabel Davis] are buried there, and I grew up there,” Davis explained. “I’m a Fort Frances boy and always will be,” he stressed. “I check the Times online all the time to see what’s happening up there and who’s doing what.”
Davis also has a brother, Ken, who lives in Kitchener, and a sister, Phyllis Van Drunen, who married Bob Van Drunen of Devlin and now resides in Winnipeg.
Davis also has two daughters, Wendy and Kathy Davis, who both live in Toronto.
