Sheila Ford Hamp owner of detroit lions just announced that she will shortly be retiring due to…
Over the years, ownership of the Detroit Lions has generated a lot of discussion, and for good reason.
subsequently 1963, the renowned Ford family has owned the franchise, albeit three new controlling owners have subsequently taken over.
Before the Ford family bought the team, the team had four NFL championships, but since then, it has been among the poorest in all of professional sports in the United States.
They have only won three playoff games since 1957 and are one of just four NFL teams to have never made it to the Super Bowl. They are also the only team that has played continuously.
But things are improving these days. The Lions have advanced to their second-ever NFC championship game and have recently ended an NFL-high 32-year playoff winless streak.
[Lions supporters: Grab a new book from the Free Press to commemorate the incredible 2023 season!]
Further information on the Ford family’s sixty-year ownership of the Lions is provided below:
The Detroit Lions belong to who?
William Clay Ford was an executive at Ford Motor Company. He was born to Eleanor Clay and Edsel Ford and was the grandson of car pioneer Henry Ford. Bill Ford partied with the squad following the 1957 NFL title and invested in the 144-person syndicate that controlled the team in 1956. However, he didn’t start working with the Lions in a formal capacity until 1961, when he was appointed team president.
On November 22, 1963, one of the most notorious days in American history—the day President John F. Kennedy was slain in Dallas, Texas—he paid $6 million for the club, according to the Free Press.
The 38-year-old Ford received over 94% of the more than 23,000 shares that were cast in his favor; at the time, his offer was the highest made by a sports team. The Free Press reported this the next day.
A fifteen-year period of collective ownership was terminated by the deal.
Two days later, the Lions let a 28-17 third-quarter lead slip away as they fell to the Minnesota Vikings 34-31.
Ford took over the company on January 10, 1964. Only 19 winning seasons have been enjoyed by the team since then—five since Ford’s death in March 2014 at the age of 88—as well as three playoff victories, two of which will occur in 2023. Ford was thought to be kind and dependable, but all too frequently he put his trust in the wrong people to create a long-term winner. Despite making just three postseason appearances, he gave general manager Russ Thomas the freedom to control the team from 1967 until 1989.
“He allowed you to do your job, too, even though he was involved,” Bobby Ross, the head coach of the Lions from 1997 to 2000, said of Ford.
And in 2001, following a brief period of success in the 1990s with Barry Sanders at running back, Ford appointed TV commentator and former NFL player Matt Millen as club manager. Under Millen’s leadership, the Lions finished an NFL-worst 31-84 until his dismissal three games into a 0-16 campaign in 2008.
