Lions Will Wear Patch Honoring William Clay Ford During Upcoming Season
DETROIT (97.1 The Ticket) -- The Detroit Lions have announced that the team will be putting a patch on team jerseys this season to commemorate the legacy of the franchise's long-time owner, the late William Clay Ford.
Ford passed away on March 9 at the age of 88.
During World War II he joined the U.S. Navy. Later, Ford attended Yale University and was elected to Ford Motor Company's board of directors in 1948, a year before he graduated. He married Martha Parke Firestone, the granddaughter of Harvey Firestone and together they had four children.
Among his achievements as a longtime executive with the Ford Motor company, Ford Sr. updated the Continental that his father had created, introducing the Continental Mark II in 1955. It is said there were only two pictures on his office wall … his father's Continental, and his updated Mark II.
During Ford Motor's centennial celebrations in 2003, Ford Sr. spoke of learning to drive in a Model A with his grandfather and taking his first airplane ride with Charles Lindbergh. He sat on the Ford Motor Company board of directors for 57 years but cars were not his only passion. On November 22, 1963, Ford purchased a controlling interest in the Detroit Lions. He owned the team until his death.
