Sheila Ford Hamp, Detroit Lions (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
Detroit Lions principal owner Sheila Ford Hamp is committed and involved with her team. But it’s a different kind of commitment than her parents before her.
In 1961 William Clay Ford Sr became a minority owner of the Detroit Lions. On November 22, 1963, Ford took total control of the franchise after having been opportunistic and buying out the other 144 shareholders during a power struggle between partial owners Edwin Anderson and D. Lyle Fife.
In the 51 years that William Clay Ford owned the Lions before his death in 2014, he gained a reputation for being very loyal to his employees.