I was torn. I was and perhaps as a Lions fan (a half step above a slappy) looking forward to the day I was writing the journalistic eulogy for William Clay Ford. I was among many that was going to bring up his futility in bringing a championship to the fans of Detroit. I was going to mock his loyalty, his willingness maybe even desire in holding on to futile GM’s like Russ Thomas and Matt Millen far longer than most every team would. That is low hanging fruit. Bill Ford DID have some success in the NFL and his name carried a clout that we fans never knew.
Without Mr. Ford it is conceivable that we would be hearing of Los Angeles Lions…perhaps the Jacksonville or Carolina Lions. In the late 70s and early 80s there was an outflux (my word) of people leaving not just Detroit, but Michigan. The cache of the Ford name and the respect he had in the NFL kept the Lions in Detroit…and folks, don’t think that ‘well if he left, there would be another team’ with the economic constraints on Detroit in the 70s the NFL would NOT have banked on Detroit and frankly that means our city would be begging for a team as “crappy” as the Lions. Our shining jewel, the Thanksgiving day game? Forget it, it would be a round robin soiree that would see every team but the Lions involved in it and they only took the game in 1934 to help the league!
Mr. Ford bought controlling interest in the Lions in 1963 for less than 5 million dollars…according to Forbes they are now worth 900 million…that’s not all revenue sharing and TV money. He, the Lions and John Fetzer and the Tigers wanted the Lions to leave Tiger Stadium. For purists it was awful but for the players and coaches it was a smart move for the Tigers to have their stadium and the Lions to have theirs. Hence the one time state of the art, Silverdome was built. Then with most of his own money, Mr. Ford realized they are called the Detroit Lions, not the Pontiac Pussycats, he oversaw the building of Ford Field. Again, a state of the art arena and built just across the street from the equally impressive Comerica Park.
William Clay Ford was also a philanthropist giving his time and money to causes he believed in like the Boys and Girls clubs of Michigan as well as the United Way Chair in Southeastern Michigan.
He was a Michigander through and through. His flaws were well documented, his loyalty, though baffling, was unquestionable. Rest in peace Bill Ford. You fought the good fight and as a displaced Michigan man I can appreciate an honest effort.