Joseph Daniel Davis (born December 6, 1987) is an American television sportscaster who serves as the

play-by-play In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...

broadcast announcer for

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

telecasts on Spectrum SportsNet LA. He also calls national MLB, NFL, and

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

telecasts for

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...

, and has broadcast other pro and college sports for various teams and networks during his career.

Early years

Davis grew up in

Potterville, Michigan Potterville is a city in Eaton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,617 at the 2010 census. History Potterville is named after Linus Potter, who settled his family in the area in November, 1844. Linus was elected super ...

, and graduated from

Beloit College Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin. Founded in 1846, when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and ...

in 2010 with a degree in communications and

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (p ...

Broadcasting career

Davis started his professional career calling football, basketball, baseball and hockey for

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

and was formerly the voice of the

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

. From 2010 to 2012, Davis called college football, basketball, and baseball for

Comcast Sports Southeast Comcast Sports Southeast and Charter Sports Southeast (CSS) was an American regional sports network for the Southern United States that was operated as a joint venture between cable television providers Comcast and Charter Communications. In contr ...

and served as a studio host for the Baylor ISP Network for the

Baylor Bears The Baylor Bears are the athletic teams that represent Baylor University. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as one of only two private school members of the Big 12 Conference. Prior to jo ...

and called

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their ...

football and basketball for D3Sports.com. He is one of the very few broadcasters who has announced Division I sports along with Division III sports as well. 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. His past work includes

basketball (men's and women's) and baseball as well as fill-in work for the

Loyola Ramblers The Loyola Ramblers (also called the Loyola Chicago Ramblers) are the varsity sports teams of Loyola University Chicago. Most teams compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference, which the school joined in 2022 after leaving the Missouri Valley Confere ...

men's volleyball and women's basketball. He also called

Sun Belt The Sun Belt is a region of the United States generally considered to stretch across the Southeast and Southwest. Another rough definition of the region is the area south of the 36th parallel. Several climates can be found in the region — d ...

football and basketball for the Sun Belt Network. In 2012, he worked college football for ESPN, including the memorable

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

win over

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activi ...

with

Johnny Manziel Johnathan Paul Manziel ( ; born December 6, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the FCF Zappers of Fan Controlled Football (FCF). He played two seasons with the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) and was also a me ...

Fox Sports, NFL Network and FS1

In July 2014, Davis was hired by

, where he calls

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, plus

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

and select

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

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 The 2019 American League Championship Series was a best-of-seven series between the two winners of the 2019 American League Division Series, the Houston Astros and New York Yankees, for the American League (AL) pennant and the right to play in t ...

while

Joe Buck Joseph Francis Buck (born April 25, 1969) is an American sportscaster. The son of sportscaster Jack Buck, he worked for Fox Sports from its 1994 inception through 2022, including roles as lead play-by-play announcer for the network's Nation ...

called ''

Thursday Night Football ''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to 2 ...

'' the same evening. Davis also filled in on Game 7 of the

2020 National League Championship Series The 2020 National League Championship Series was the best-of-seven series between the two National League Division Series winners, the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers, for the National League (NL) pennant and the right to play in the 20 ...

while Buck called an ''NFL on Fox'' game between the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...

. Later that year, Davis replaced

Mike Tirico Mike Tirico (; born December 13, 1966) is an American sportscaster. He is currently the NFL play-by-play announcer on NBC's ''Sunday Night Football'', having replaced Al Michaels in 2022. From 2006 to 2015, Tirico served as a play-by-play anno ...

on the

NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NF ...

broadcast of a Saturday night game between the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

and the Green Bay Packers after Tirico was dispatched to fill-in for

Al Michaels Alan Richard Michaels (born November 12, 1944) is an American television sportscaster currently working as the play-by-play announcer for '' Thursday Night Football'' on Prime Video and in an emeritus role for NBC Sports. He has worked on n ...

on '' NBC Sunday Night Football'', and would fulfill the same role in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

. Also in 2021, Davis filled-in on a ''NFL on Fox'' game between the

and the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

while Buck called Game 5 of the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

between the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...

and the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

. In

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

, Davis was named to replace Buck as the lead play-by-play announcer full time for ''MLB on Fox''. Later that year, Davis was selected to be Fox’s new #2 play-by-play man for their NFL coverage, replacing Kevin Burkhardt, who became Buck’s replacement on their #1 NFL crew. He subsequently called

Bryce Harper Bryce Aron Max Harper (born October 16, 1992) is an American professional baseball right fielder and designated hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior to his arrival in Philadelphia, Harper played for the Wash ...

’s home run in game 5 of the NLCS in 2022.

Los Angeles Dodgers

In November 2015, Davis was hired by

SportsNet LA Spectrum SportsNet LA and Spectrum Deportes LA (otherwise known as simply SportsNet LA and Deportes LA and originally known as Time Warner Cable SportsNet LA) is an American regional sports network jointly owned by the Los Angeles Dodgers Major ...

to serve as an alternate play-by-play commentator for the

during the 2016 season. He split the play-by-play role with

Charley Steiner Charley Steiner (born ) is an American sportscaster and broadcast journalist. He is currently the radio play-by-play announcer for the Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers, paired with Rick Monday. Early career Steiner grew up a Bro ...

for games that were not called by

Vin Scully Vincent Edward Scully (November 29, 1927 – August 2, 2022) was an American sportscaster. He was best known for his 67 seasons calling games for Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers, beginning in 1950 (when the franchise was located ...

, who would be retiring as the team's television broadcaster at the end of the season. Davis subsequently became Scully's successor for the 2017 season, alongside

Orel Hershiser Orel Leonard Hershiser IV (born September 16, 1958) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1983 to 2000. He later became a pitching coach for the Texas Rangers from 2002 to 2005 and a bro ...

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."

Personal life

Davis resides in

South Pasadena, California South Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 25,619, up from 24,292 at the 2000 census. It is located in the West San Gabriel Valley. It is 3.42 square miles in area an ...

, with his wife Libby and three children. One son is named in honor of Davis's colleague and friend,

. His brother, Sam A. Davis, is the

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

and co-producer of the film '' Period. End of Sentence.'', the winner of the

Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) This is a list of films by year that have received an Academy Award together with the other nominations for best documentary short film. Following the Academy's practice, the year listed for each film is the year of release: the awards are annou ...

at the

91st Academy Awards The 91st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2018 and took place on February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the ceremony, AM ...

.Potterville grad's film 'Period. End of Sentence.' nominated for an Academy Award
/ref>

Career timeline

*2022-present:

and

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

play-by-play on

*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:

on Spectrum SportsNet LA play-by-play *2015–present: ''

NFL on Fox The ''NFL on Fox'' (also known as ''Fox NFL'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games produced by Fox Sports and televised on the Fox broadcast network. Game coverage is usually preceded by '' Fox NFL Kick ...

'' play-by-play (#2 play-by-play since 2022) *2014–present: ''

MLB on Fox ''MLB on Fox'' (also known as ''Fox MLB'') is an American presentation of Major League Baseball (MLB) games produced by Fox Sports, the sports division of the Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox), since June 1, 1996. The broadcaster has aired the W ...

'' play-by-play (#1 play-by-play since 2022) *2014–present: College football and basketball on Fox and FS1 play-by-play *2012–2014: College football, basketball, baseball, and hockey on

play-by-play *2011–2012: College football, basketball, and baseball on

play-by-play *2010–2012:

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:

men's volleyball and women's volleyball fill-in play-by-play *2006–2009

baseball and basketball (men's and women's) play-by-play

References

External links

Fox Sports Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Joe 1987 births Living people American radio sports announcers American television sports anchors American television sports announcers Beloit Buccaneers football players College baseball announcers in the United States College basketball announcers in the United States College football announcers College hockey announcers in the United States High school basketball announcers in the United States High school football announcers in the United States Los Angeles Dodgers announcers Major League Baseball broadcasters Minor League Baseball broadcasters National Football League announcers People from Lansing, Michigan Softball announcers Volleyball commentators Women's college basketball announcers in the United States