William Clay Ford, Sr - Detroit Lions' Owner

AKA William Clay Ford

Born: 14-Mar-1925
Birthplace: Detroit, MI
Died: 9-Mar-2014
Location of death: Grosse Pointe Shores, MI
Cause of death: Pneumonia

Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Business

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Ford exec and owner of the Detroit Lions

Military service: US Navy Air Corps (1945-48)

William Clay Ford, Sr. (March 14, 1925 – March 9, 2014) was the youngest child of Edsel Ford and was the last surviving grandchild of Henry Ford. Ford served on the boards of Ford Motor Company and the Edison Institute. Ford owned and served as chairman of the Detroit Lions football team.

Biography

Born on March 14, 1925, in Detroit, Michigan to Edsel Ford and Eleanor Lowthian Clay, Ford served in the U.S. Navy Air Corps during World War II. Following the war, Ford married Martha Parke Firestone, the granddaughter of Harvey Firestone and Idabelle Smith Firestone, on June 21, 1947. They had four children together: Martha Parke Morse (b. 1948); Sheila Firestone Hamp (b. 1951); William Clay Ford, Jr. (b. 1957); and Elizabeth Hudson Ford (b. 1961).

In 1948, a year after Henry Ford's death, William Clay Ford was appointed to the board of directors of the Ford Motor Company.Ford received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Yale University in 1949,and was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity.

After graduating, Ford worked for the Ford Motor Company and was briefly head of the Continental Division.Continental was short-lived and merged with the Lincoln Motor Company shortly before Ford's public stock offering. Ford updated the Lincoln Continental that his father created and in 1955, the Continental Mark II was released. It is said there were only two pictures on his office wall, his father's Continental and his updated Mark II.

Ford was chairman of the board of trustees of the Henry Ford Museum from 1951 to 1983 and its largest donor.He was also involved in other historic properties, serving on the boards of the Wayside Inn and Seaboard Properties which managed the Dearborn Inn and Botsford Inn.

On April 10, 1952, an iron ore-hauling ship, the SS William Clay Ford, was named in honor of him.

On November 22, 1963, Ford purchased a controlling interest in the Detroit Lions of the National Football League from the previous owners, Edwin Anderson and Lyle Fife for $4.5 million. He was also chairman of the short-lived Detroit Cougars professional soccer team that played in the USA and NASL leagues.

Ford served as chairman of Ford Motor Company's design committee for 32 years, from 1957 to 1989.He was a member of the board of directors for 57 years, retiring on May 12, 2005, including being chairman of the important Finance Committee for a time.His son, William Clay Ford, Jr., was Ford Motor Company's CEO at the time.

According to the Forbes Magazine, Ford was the 371st richest person in the United States in 2013, with an approximate net worth of $1.4 billion.Ford reportedly owned 6.7 million shares of Class B stock and 26.3 million common shares; in other words, Ford was the largest single shareholder in the Ford Motor Company.

Ford died in his sleep from pneumonia at his home in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan, on March 9, 2014at the age of 88, less than a week before his 89th birthday.

Funeral services will be held privately, Ford Motor said in a statement. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent in the name of William Clay Ford to the Henry Ford Museum at 20900 Oakwood Blvd., Dearborn, Mich. 48124 or to Dr. Scott Dulchavsky’s Innovation Institute at Henry Ford Health System at 2799 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit, Mich. 48045.

Last surviving grandchild of company founder Henry Ford, he was appointed to the company's Board of Directors while still attending Yale. Purchased the Detroit Lions in 1964. Worth an estimated $1B at the time of his 2005 retirement, according to Forbes magazine.