A piece of hockey history made a special stop in Waterloo, Ont. on Tuesday in a full circle moment for the Kitchener Rangers’ oldest living past president. Jack Davidson, 95, received a personal visit from the team’s chief operating officer, who brought the Memorial Cup directly to Davidson at his long-term care home. Decked out in his Rangers gear and sporting his past president’s ring, Davidson was joined by generations of family members to celebrate the franchise’s third Memorial Cup championship. “The other two times, he was actually there when they did win it,” said his daughter, Cheryl Frey. She said her father watched this year’s victory from his bed. “He sat up in bed and looked right at the TV and said, ‘Is this the final game?!’ And my brother said, ‘Yes, this is the Memorial Cup game.’” His family said he always roots for the Rangers to take it all. “It was always too long getting here,” joked Davidson. Davidson’s history with the Blueshirts dates back to the franchise’s inception in 1963, when he served as a director before taking on the role of team president in 1978. “It’s pretty much all Rangers all his life,” said his grandson, Trevor Frey, who credits Davidson with introducing him to the team. “He took me to my first game. Every time you talked about this big moment happening to him, he would just get pretty much jacked—goes with the name.” Davidson said this year’s team is stacked. “They’re all good [guys] they have to be good if they won against all the other teams. It’s not just one team. You’re playing the whole country actually,” Davidson said. For the Rangers organization, bringing the trophy to Davidson was an essential stop on their community victory tour. “Rangers’ history and tradition is super important to our franchise,” said Joe Birch, chief operating officer for the Kitchener Rangers. “Our fan base gave us that extra energy that we needed to win games, and to share it with people is something that we have a responsibility [to do].” Davidson’s family said the visit is a moment that will stick with him. “His memory is not great,” Frey said. “I’m thinking he might remember this.”
