Breaking News: The owner of the Detriot Lions, Sheila Ford Hamp, died in a car crash at…
With good cause, the ownership of the Detroit Lions has been the subject of much dispute throughout the years.
The franchise was controlled by the well-known Ford family until 1963, when three new controlling owners assumed control.
The team enjoyed four NFL titles prior to the Ford family purchasing it, but ever since, it has been among the worst in all of professional sports in the US.
They are one of just four NFL teams who have never advanced to the Super Bowl, and they have only won three playoff games since 1957. They are also the only group that has participated in games nonstop.
But these days, things are getting better. The Lions, who had been without a playoff victory for an NFL-high 32 years, have moved to their second-ever NFC title game.
[Lions fans: Pick up a fresh book from the Free Press to reminisce about the amazing 2023 campaign!]
Below is further information about the sixty-year Ford family ownership of the Lions:
Who owns the Detroit Lions?
At Ford Motor Company, William Clay Ford held executive positions. He was the grandson of auto pioneer Henry Ford and was born to Eleanor Clay and Edsel Ford. Bill Ford invested in the 144-person syndicate that owned the team in 1956 and partied with the players after they won the 1957 NFL championship. He wasn’t officially employed by the Lions, though, until 1961, when he was named team president.
He paid $6 million for the club on November 22, 1963—one of the most infamous days in American history—the day President John F. Kennedy was killed in Dallas, Texas, according to the Free Press.
