William Clay Ford, Jr.

William Clay "Bill" Ford Jr. (born May 3, 1957) is an American businessman. The great-grandson of Henry Ford, he serves as the executive chairman of Ford Motor Company. Ford also served as the President, CEO, and COO until turning over those roles to former Boeing executive Alan Mulally in September 2006. Ford is also the Vice Chairman of the Detroit Lions NFL franchise.

Early life and education

Ford was born in Detroit, Michigan, the great-grandson of Henry Ford and great-grandson of Harvey Firestone. His father is William Clay Ford, Sr., and his mother is Martha Firestone. On his mother's side his grandparents are Harvey S. Firestone, Jr. and Elizabeth Parke Firestone. On his father's side his grandparents are Edsel Bryant Ford and Eleanor Lowthian Clay. Edsel Ford II, son of Henry Ford II and also a board member, is Ford's cousin. Ford has three sisters: Martha Morse (who has 3 children), Sheila Hamp (who has 3 children), and Elizabeth Kontulis.

Ford graduated from the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut in 1975 and went on to graduate from Princeton University in 1979, having majored in history and served as president of The Ivy Club. He played on the Princeton rugby team as well. In 1984 he received an M.S. in Management as a Sloan Fellow from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Bill Ford (footballer)

Bill Ford (18 July 1906 – 10 May 1984) was a former Australian rules footballer who played with Richmond and Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

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Bill Ford (baseball)

William Brown Ford (October 14, 1915 – April 6, 1994) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who appeared in one game with the Boston Bees in 1936. His major league career, however, was not listed in the official baseball records until 2003, due to a record keeping error that credited his lone appearance to Boston Bees teammate Gene Ford.

Life and career

Bill Ford was born October 14, 1915 in Buena Vista, Pennsylvania. He attended Penn State University, and played on their baseball team. He threw and batted right-handed, was 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) in height and 200 pounds in weight.

On September 27, 1936, the last day of the season, he made his Major League debut, appearing as the starting pitcher against the Philadelphia Phillies at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Still only 20 years old, he was the 5th youngest player in Major League Baseball that season.

After the Braves had taken a 1–0 lead after batting in the first, Ford failed to retire a single batter, walking all three batters he faced. He was relieved by Guy Bush, who allowed two of the runners he inherited to score – these runs were charged to Brown. Bush wound up pitching nine innings of relief, and won the game for the Braves 7–3. Brown, meanwhile, never again played in a Major League game. For his Major League career, he is considered to have an earned run average (ERA) of infinity.