William Clay Ford (born March 14, 1925) is the youngest of the four children of
Edsel FordEdsel Bryant Ford , son of Henry Ford, was born in Detroit. He was a president of Ford Motor Company from 1919 until his death in 1943.-Life and career:...
and a grandchild of
Henry FordHenry Ford was the American founder of the Ford Motor Company and father of modern assembly lines used in mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry. He was a prolific inventor and was awarded 161 U.S. patents...
.
Ford served in the U.S. Navy Air Corps during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He married
Martha FirestoneMartha Parke Firestone is the daughter of Harvey S. Firestone, Jr. and Elizabeth Parke Firestone and the granddaughter of Harvey Firestone and Isabelle Firestone. She married William Clay Ford, Sr., grandson of Henry Ford, in 1947. Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone were friends and business partners...
, the granddaughter of
Harvey FirestoneHarvey Samuel Firestone was the founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, one of the first global makers of automobile tires and an important contributor to North American economic growth during the 20th century.-Biography:Firestone was born in his family's farm house on December 20 1868,...
on June 21, 1947. They have four children - Martha, Sheila, Elizabeth, and
William Clay Ford, Jr.William Clay "Bill" Ford Jr. , is the great-grandson of Henry Ford, and serves as the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ford Motor Company. Ford also served as the President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Operating Officer until turning over those roles to Boeing executive Alan...
Ford received a
BSA Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years ....
in Economics from
Yale UniversityYale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Yale has produced many notable alumni, including five...
in 1949 and was a member of the
Psi UpsilonPsi Upsilon is the fifth oldest college fraternity in the United States, founded at Union College in 1833. It has chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America. For most of its history, Psi Upsilon, like most social fraternities, limited its membership to only men...
fraternity.
He worked for the
Ford Motor CompanyThe Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury brands, Ford also owns Volvo Cars of Sweden, and a small stake...
and was briefly head of the Continental Division.
William Clay Ford (born March 14, 1925) is the youngest of the four children of
Edsel FordEdsel Bryant Ford , son of Henry Ford, was born in Detroit. He was a president of Ford Motor Company from 1919 until his death in 1943.-Life and career:...
and a grandchild of
Henry FordHenry Ford was the American founder of the Ford Motor Company and father of modern assembly lines used in mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry. He was a prolific inventor and was awarded 161 U.S. patents...
.
Biography
Ford served in the U.S. Navy Air Corps during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He married
Martha FirestoneMartha Parke Firestone is the daughter of Harvey S. Firestone, Jr. and Elizabeth Parke Firestone and the granddaughter of Harvey Firestone and Isabelle Firestone. She married William Clay Ford, Sr., grandson of Henry Ford, in 1947. Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone were friends and business partners...
, the granddaughter of
Harvey FirestoneHarvey Samuel Firestone was the founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, one of the first global makers of automobile tires and an important contributor to North American economic growth during the 20th century.-Biography:Firestone was born in his family's farm house on December 20 1868,...
on June 21, 1947. They have four children - Martha, Sheila, Elizabeth, and
William Clay Ford, Jr.William Clay "Bill" Ford Jr. , is the great-grandson of Henry Ford, and serves as the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ford Motor Company. Ford also served as the President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Operating Officer until turning over those roles to Boeing executive Alan...
Ford received a
BSA Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years ....
in Economics from
Yale UniversityYale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Yale has produced many notable alumni, including five...
in 1949 and was a member of the
Psi UpsilonPsi Upsilon is the fifth oldest college fraternity in the United States, founded at Union College in 1833. It has chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America. For most of its history, Psi Upsilon, like most social fraternities, limited its membership to only men...
fraternity.
He worked for the
Ford Motor CompanyThe Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury brands, Ford also owns Volvo Cars of Sweden, and a small stake...
and was briefly head of the Continental Division. This division was short lived, and was merged with Lincoln shortly before Ford's public stock offering. He updated the Continental that his father had created, and in 1955 the
Continental Mark IIThe Continental Mark II was a personal luxury car produced by the Continental Division of the Ford Motor Company in 1956 through 1957. Many aficionados of the automobile consider the Continental Mark II one of the classics of the postwar period...
was released. It is said there were only 2 pictures on the wall in his office at Ford HQ, his father's Continental, and his updated Mark II
He was chairman of the most important of the directors' committees, the Finance Committee. He sat on the Ford Board of Directors for 57 years, retiring on May 12, 2005.
His sonWilliam Clay "Bill" Ford Jr. , is the great-grandson of Henry Ford, and serves as the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ford Motor Company. Ford also served as the President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Operating Officer until turning over those roles to Boeing executive Alan...
was serving as Ford's CEO at the time.
Detroit Lions
Ford became the sole owner of the
Detroit LionsThe Detroit Lions are an American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in downtown Detroit....
in
1964The 1964 NFL season was the 45th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season started, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle reinstated Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras, who had been suspended for the 1963 season due to...
, purchasing the franchise for $4.5 million from Dick Richards. He is often blamed for the Lions' abysmal record during his ownership. The Lions were one of the most successful teams of the 1950s, winning championships in 1952, 1953 and 1957. However, the Lions have won only one playoff game since Ford became the sole owner of the team, and have never reached the Super Bowl. He is notorious for keeping executives and coaches even after performance standards remain stagnant or diminish and strong consensus has emerged for firing them. In 2008, under Ford's stewardship, the Lions became the only team in NFL history to go 0-16. The Detroit Lions began playing at
Ford FieldFord Field is an indoor football stadium located in Detroit, Michigan, USA that is the current home field of the NFL's Detroit Lions. It is across the street from Comerica Park. It regularly seats 65,000, though it is expandable up to 70,000 for football and 80,000 for basketball...
in downtown Detroit in August 2002.
See also
- Ford Family Tree
-Henry Ford's family tree:The following is the family tree of Henry Ford, Founder of Ford Motor Company.
Paternal Great-Grandfather: William Ford
Paternal Great-Grandmother: Rebecca Jennings Ford...
- SS William Clay Ford
The SS William Clay Ford was a bulk freighter built for hauling material on the Great Lakes. She was named for William Clay Ford, Sr., grandson of Henry Ford, Sr. Her keel was laid in 1952 at River Rouge, MI by the Great Lakes Engineering Works, and she was launched in 1953...
, a Merchant Marine vessel named in his honor
External links