Martha Firestone Ford is an American businesswoman best known as the former principal owner and chairperson of the NFL’s Detroit Lions.

Background

She was born Martha Parke Firestone on September 16, 1925, in Cleveland, Ohio, into the Firestone tire family, and later married William Clay Ford Sr., linking the Firestone and Ford industrial dynasties. She is the daughter of Harvey S. Firestone Jr., a former president of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, and the granddaughter of company founder Harvey Samuel Firestone.

Role with Detroit Lions

After her husband, longtime Lions owner William Clay Ford Sr., died in 2014, she became the team’s principal owner and chairwoman, one of the few women to hold such a role in the NFL. She led the franchise until June 2020, when she stepped down and transferred controlling ownership to her daughter, Sheila Ford Hamp.

Other activities and legacy

Martha Firestone Ford has served on the board of the Henry Ford Health System and is noted for significant philanthropic involvement in areas such as healthcare and community initiatives in Michigan. Her legacy is often described in terms of maintaining and linking two major American industrial family lines while also being a visible female leader in professional sports ownership.