Scott Davidson, 33, firefighter, was fierce sports competitor
Former CSI basketball captain was Jaques Classic MVP
Date of Death 9/11/2001
By Mike Azzara
Advance staff writer
Wednesday, 10/10/2001
On
the basketball court or the baseball diamond, Scott Davidson played
to win. He was known as a fierce competitor who, without seeking
personal glory, drew awards and accolades like a magnet in a box
of thumbtacks.
Mr.
Davidson, 33, of Tottenville, one of the firefighters among the
thousands missing in the World Trade Center attack, capped a four-year
career at the College of Staten Island as captain of the basketball
team.
He
also played four years at St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School, where
he was named most valuable player in the Jaques Classic All-Star
High School game in 1986.
Although
he attended PS 32, Great Kills, he played for St. Clare's School's
CYO teams and won the Great Kills school's Eddie Hemsworth Memorial
Award.
In
baseball, he was an all-star in the Great Kills Little League's
Major League. "Scott was a true team player," said his
father, Stephen. "He was fearless and known for his defensive
play. He always went the extra mile."
In
February 1990, Advance sports columnist Jay Price devoted an entire
column to Mr. Davidson. The headline, "Still Crazy After
All These Years," was a tribute to the competitive spirit
Mr. Davidson seemed to have been born with.
Price
wrote that Tony Petosa, coach of the CSI Dolphins, didn't recognize
him right away "because Davidson was standing up." He
quotes Petosa: "I coached him in the Big Apple games when
he was still in high school. He and Tim Reardon, all they'd do
is dive for loose balls . . . they'd bang heads going for it."
"Some
things, anyway, don't change," Price wrote. "Davidson
still leads the country in floor burns."
Mr.
Davidson was born in Brooklyn and moved to Staten Island with
his family in 1970. After earning a bachelor's degree in history
from CSI, he obtained a teacher's license, but his goal was to
be a firefighter.
He
attended graduate school while working at various jobs, including
tending bar at the Armory Inn, West Brighton, until he achieved
his goal in March 1994, when he joined the Fire Department.
Mr.
Davidson was assigned to Ladder Co. 118 in Brooklyn Heights, which
responded to the Trade Center site after the second hijacked airliner
struck.
"When
they arrived on the scene, they parked their rig at West and Vesey
streets, then vanished into the thick, cloudy smoke and soot,"
said his father, who spoke to police and fire officials. "It
is believed they were on the 15th floor in the north tower, on
the way up, when the building collapsed. Only their truck was
recovered and has been restored and put back in service."
"Scott
was the kind of person with a warm and charming personality who
had touched many lives," said his mother, Carla DiMaggio.
In
recent years, Mr. Davidson did some substitute teaching and tended
bar in W's, Tottenville. He also spent time with his son, Peter,
who will be 8 next month, and his daughter, Casey, who will be
4 next month.
"He
has passed on his inherent love of all sports to them," his
father said. "Peter has been active in football, baseball
and basketball and Casey already shows athletic promise."
Mr.
Davidson -- CSI's Male Athlete of the Year in 1990 when he also
won the Melvin Barmel Memorial Award -- never lost his love for
playing. He played basketball in several leagues, including for
the Fire Department and the Jewish Community Center League. He
coached basketball in intramural and CYO programs at St. Clare's
School, and served as referee. He also coached the freshman team
at Moore Catholic High School, and played in the North Shore Softball
League.
In
addition to his father, Stephen; his mother, Carla, and his children,
Peter and Casey, surviving are his brother, Michael; his stepmother,
Linda Davidson, and his grandmother, Celia Lategano.
There
will be a memorial mass Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. Clare's R.C.
Church, Great Kills. The arrangements are being handled by the
John Vincent Scalia Home for Funerals, Eltingville.
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