William Clay Ford (born March 14, 1925) is the youngest of the four grandchildren of Henry Ford and child of Edsel Ford.

He initially pursued a career with the Ford Motor Company and for awhile was the head of the Continental Division. A reorganization eliminated the division, and for some time he was less active in company management, although he was at least in title responsible for oversight of company design activities.

He purchased the Detroit Lions in 1964 for $4.5 million, and for some years this was his primary professional interest, but as his older brother Henry Ford II aged he became increasingly important as a Ford Motor Company director, representing the long term interests of the family investment (and by proxy, that of all shareholders). He was Chairman of the Finance Committee (an important board position traditionally held by a trusted non-executive director) for several years, eventually ceding that seat to his son, William Clay Ford, Jr..

Ford served in the U.S. Navy Air Corps during World War II. He married Martha Parke Firestone, the granddaughter of Harvey Firestone on June 21, 1947. He received a BS in Economics from Yale University in 1949.

His Detroit field of dreams added new piece to city's rebirth

By Mike O'Hara / The Detroit News

Age: 78 Residence: Grosse Pointe Shores

Occupation: Owner of the Detroit Lions and Ford Motor Co. board member

Honored: For bringing the Detroit Lions back to the city of Detroit with the opening of Ford Field in 2002.

William Clay Ford never enjoyed taking a U-turn more than the one that brought the Lions back to Detroit.

The franchise, which Ford has owned since 1964, returned home after a 27-year hiatus at the Pontiac Silverdome when the Lions kicked off the 2002 season at Ford Field.

The $500 million state-of-the-art facility garnered praise from architects and sports industry leaders around the country, but for Ford it was much more -- a commitment to the city where the team entered the National Football League in 1934.

"It means an awful lot to me," Ford said. "This is where the Lions started, and this is where we ought to be. I've never been one of these owners that threatened to move to another city if we didn't get what we wanted.

"This is our home."

The NFL's 2003 season will mark Ford's 40th as sole owner of the Lions, but he has been a fan since that very first year in 1934. That's when his father, Edsel, took him to games at the old University of Detroit stadium.

In 1956, Ford became a director of the franchise and was on board when the team won its last NFL championship in 1957. He rose to president in 1961, made an offer to buy the franchise in 1963, and in 1964, became sole owner.

In the late 1960s and early '70s, Ford hoped to move the franchise from Tiger Stadium to a new facility at the State Fairgrounds.

"It never materialized," Ford said. "It would have kept it within the confines of the city of Detroit. I thought that was important, and I still do. But there were too many politics involved."

Frustrated, Ford moved the Lions to the Silverdome in 1975. The 80,000-seat indoor stadium was fine for spectators, but it became outmoded in an era that requires stadiums to generate income for their tenants.

In 1995, Ford's son -- Bill Jr. -- began exploring options with former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer to bring the team back to Detroit.

"I've got to give Mayor Archer full credit," Ford said. "He plugged away at this thing. He did a superb job of smoothing things over and making them work."

Archer remembers the groundbreaking ceremony almost four years ago.

"I can't ever forget the look on Mr. Ford's face when we were placing the bricks down at what is now the site of Ford Field," said Archer, now a partner in the Detroit law firm of Dickinson Wright. "The smile. You had a sense that he was back home. It wasn't something that was just for show. It was genuine.

"It (Ford Field) is a major statement of the family's continued support for the city of Detroit."

Ford Field already has been a central piece of the puzzle to spark business and development in the downtown area. In addition to concerts and other events, it has been selected to host Super Bowl XL in 2006.

Ford, the grandson of auto pioneer Henry Ford, is married to the former Martha Parke Firestone -- granddaughter of the tire magnate Harvey Firestone. They have three daughters, Martha, Sheila and Elizabeth, and one son, Bill Jr., chairman and CEO of Ford Motor Co.

Although he retired from his position as vice-chairman of Ford Motor Co. in 1989, Ford remains on the automaker's board of directors, along with son Bill Jr., and nephew Edsel Ford II. He has been a board member since 1948. He also serves on the board's influential finance and governance committees, giving him a direct role in setting corporate governance policy.

Ford was chairman of the design committee from its inception in 1957 until his retirement. His expertise is in design, and he was the executive in charge of the design and development of the Lincoln Continental Mark II.

The Ford family's charitable endeavors are widespread and well-known.

In the NFL, the Detroit Lions Charities program is a model for how a sports franchise reaches out and supports its local community. During the past 13 years, the program has distributed grants of more than $2.3 million to programs around the state, including more than $330,000 awarded this year.

Ford's generosity was recognized by the University of Michigan in 1997, when the outdoor courts and new tennis center were named in his honor for his contributions to the program. In 1996, an addition to Ford Hospital in Detroit was named the William Clay Ford Center for Athletic Medicine.

"We're all fully aware of the fact that Ford is almost synonymous with Detroit," Ford said. "I think we all feel an obligation to do whatever we can."

Of course, the one area Ford wants to improve is the football team, which has won only five games in the last two years.

"People have taken to (Ford Field) and are proud of it," he said. "All we've got to do now is the same old thing -- give them a winning team."