OT - William Clay Ford Sr has died

Submitted by Paly33 on
@HammerFox2: #Lions team owner William Clay Ford Sr. has died.

Still awaiting official confirmation but sad day for Lions organization.

MGoDub

March 9th, 2014 at 12:22 PM ^

With all of the crap people, and myself included have given the Lions ownership/management, this is a sad day for the organization and Detroit.

chomz14

March 9th, 2014 at 12:25 PM ^

Sad...
Sad....

No matter what's said about him being the owner of the lions. It's been always said that he's been nothing short of a great man to his employees.

RIP SR

CRISPed in the DIAG

March 9th, 2014 at 12:28 PM ^

RIP indeed. He brought the Lions back downtown where the belong and loved that franchise as much as any one of us. Coaches and front office pros across the League knew him as a fair and loyal owner - maybe to a fault. He was part of Detroit.



Please keep this thread classy.

Wolverine Devotee

March 9th, 2014 at 12:30 PM ^

Ilitch is the only longtime Detroit pro sports owner left.

RIP Bill Davidson & W.C. Ford

814 East U

March 9th, 2014 at 12:32 PM ^

I'm sorry. He was a terrible owner. His other accomplishments especially to the city of Detroit cannot be overlooked. He was a terrible owner of a pro football team though. I wish no man ill will but facts are facts. Never went to a Super Bowl in 50+ years.

814 East U

March 9th, 2014 at 1:03 PM ^

I send my thoughts and prayers to his family. I just wanted to point to the fact that being a great man doesn't mean he was a great owner. When I die my buddies will not call me a great athlete just because I am dead. They will joke about how bad I was. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I will go back to ripping on Tom Crean, Al Borges, and Tom Izzo now like the rest of the board. Should I also start ripping on 17 year old recruits because that is more acceptable? 

814 East U

March 9th, 2014 at 1:10 PM ^

I said he was a great man especially to the entire city of Detroit. Being called a great man by people who never met you probably means he did a lot of good in his life.

He loved the city, his employees, and his organization. However, he still was a bad owner by the numbers and moves.The city will still miss him. I am sorry if my factual statement was seen as disrespectful.

MGoBrewMom

March 9th, 2014 at 2:09 PM ^

I've made plenty of comments that weren't always well thought out ahead of time.

I just try to remember the old trite phrase "opinions are like assholes... Everyone has one." and also to think a little before posting. That said, I still screw up.

RIP Mr. Ford. You were seemingly a good person. In life, nothing else matters more.

Bski1453

March 9th, 2014 at 3:06 PM ^

Everything this man touched was a failure. The only division of Ford motor company he had control of failed (continental division) and his father gave him money to buy the Lion's so he wouldn't ruin what his grandfather built. Being rich doesn't make you a great man. It just makes you rich. It's sad for his family but a great day for Lions fans

Michigania

March 9th, 2014 at 3:16 PM ^

How about you try to run a team while the auto industry is slipping away from you.... and then have Nixon take us off the gold standard and really crush the auto industry........    I'd like to see how you'd have done....

FACT is that the Fords are GREAT people, and Detroit folk including Lions fans, are very unappreciative of them...   the fans deserve a losing team, in that light.  

RIP Ford Sr.

Zoltanrules

March 9th, 2014 at 12:54 PM ^

Ford Sr was a bridge to a time when his family helped Detroit become the 4th largest city in the US and a cultural center as well. It is a very sad day for Detroiters.

david from wy

March 9th, 2014 at 1:32 PM ^

(eye roll)

The only thing 'bad' that he did was not hiring people that would make a sports team win more. I use the word 'bad' lightly since it's sports. It really doesn't matter. His multitude of other positive impacts for Detroit and Michigan clearly overshadow any imaginary slight negative impact from owning the Lions.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

March 9th, 2014 at 1:31 PM ^

It's not as if WCF lived a bad life.  The Lions sucked while he was owner.  That's really about all there is.  Can you tell me what evil things he did that merit a badmouthing?

And people saying he was a "terrible owner" are using W/L record as their only criterion - time and time again the people who actually worked for him have said how terrific it was to do so.  Some owners are reviled by their players and employees as nasty old skinflints.  WCF was exactly the opposite.

lilpenny1316

March 9th, 2014 at 7:14 PM ^

Just like the Brown family in Cincy.  His employees may like him, but that doesn't mean he made the right hires.  That means he's a nice person who made bad personnel decisions.  That's how I will have to remember him from a football standpoint.

Under his watch, possibly the greatest running back ever walked away from the sport because he was tired of the losing atmosphere.  

He allowed Matt Millen to happen...for seven season.

True Blue Grit

March 9th, 2014 at 1:28 PM ^

As the last living grandchild of Henry Ford, WCF was a big part of the Ford family legacy in Detroit for many years.  I really hope the Ford family continues to own the Lions.  I think Bill Jr. would do a very good job running the team if he were interested.  Time will tell.