A minority owner and team president of the Detroit Lions since 1961, Ford took advantage of a power struggle between Edwin Anderson and D. Lyle Fife to acquire total control of the franchise by buying out the other 144 shareholders for $4.5 million. The Lions' board of directors approved the transaction on November 22, 1963. During Ford's ownership, the Lions won 41 percent of their regular-season matches, made the playoffs ten times and never appeared in the Super Bowl. He was also chairman of the short-lived Detroit Cougars, a professional soccer team, which played in the USA and NASL leagues.