Martha Firestone Ford

Martha Firestone Ford (born Martha Parke Firestone; September 16, 1925) is an American businesswoman and former principal owner and chairperson of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). Ford is also on the board of the Henry Ford Health System.

Early life and education Born September 16, 1925 in Cleveland, Ohio, Firestone is the daughter of Harvey S. Firestone Jr. and Elizabeth Parke Firestone. Her paternal grandparents are Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. founder Harvey Samuel Firestone and his wife, Idabelle Smith Firestone.

She graduated from Our Lady of the Elms High School in Akron in 1943. She graduated from Vassar College in 1946.

Detroit Lions On March 9, 2014, Martha's husband William Clay Ford Sr. died at age 88. He had been the sole owner of the Lions since he bought out all other owners in 1963 for US$4.5 million. On March 10, 2014, it was announced that controlling interest in the Lions would pass to her. She was the majority owner of the team, with each of her four children holding small shares in the team.

Ford was one of ten women who owned NFL teams at the end of her tenure. The others are Virginia Halas McCaskey (Chicago Bears), Kim Pegula (Buffalo Bills), Carol Davis (Las Vegas Raiders), Dee Haslam (Cleveland Browns), Amy Adams Strunk (Tennessee Titans), Gayle Benson (New Orleans Saints), Janice McNair (Houston Texans), Denise DeBartolo York (San Francisco 49ers) and Jody Allen (Seattle Seahawks).

Personal life

Ford first met her husband, William Clay Ford, a grandson of Henry Ford, at a lunch in New York City arranged and attended by both of their mothers, according to the biography The Fords. She was a Vassar student at the time, and he was a student at St. Mary's U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School. They married on June 21, 1947 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Akron, Ohio. They originally lived in Grosse Pointe Woods after relocating to the Detroit area following their marriage. She has lived in Grosse Pointe Shores since 1960, when she and William had a house built on Lake St. Clair.

She turned 100 years old on September 16th, 2025.