DETROIT -- William Clay Ford, the last surviving grandchild of automotive pioneer Henry Ford and owner of the Detroit Lions, has died. [url=https://www.shoesaustraliaonline.com/]Shoes Australia Outlet[/url] . He was 88. Ford Motor Co. said in a statement Sunday that Ford died of pneumonia at his home

DETROIT -- William Clay Ford, the last surviving grandchild of automotive pioneer Henry Ford and owner of the Detroit Lions, has died. Shoes Australia Outlet . He was 88. Ford Motor Co. said in a statement Sunday that Ford died of pneumonia at his home in Grosse Pointe, Mich. Ford helped steer the family business for more than five decades. He bought one of his own, the NFL franchise in the Motor City, a half-century ago. He served as an employee and board member of the automaker for more than half of its 100-year history. "My father was a great business leader and humanitarian who dedicated his life to the company and the community," William Clay Ford Jr., executive chairman of Ford Motor Co. and Lions vice chairman, said in a statement. "He also was a wonderful family man, a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him, yet he will continue to inspire us all." Ford was regarded as a dignified man by the select few who seemed to know him well. To the masses in Detroit, he was simply the owner of the Lions who struggled to achieve success on the field despite showing his passion for winning by spending money on free agents, coaches, executives and facilities. Fords first full season leading the Lions was in 1964, seven years after the franchise won the NFL title. The lone playoff victory he enjoyed was in 1992. The Lions are the only team to go 0-16 in a season, hitting rock bottom in 2008. After an 11-year drought, the Lions improved enough to make the playoffs in 2011 only to lose a combined 21 games over the next two seasons. "No owner loved his team more than Mr. Ford loved the Lions," Lions President Tom Lewand said in a statement released by the team. "Those of us who had the opportunity to work for Mr. Ford knew of his unyielding passion for his family, the Lions and the city of Detroit. His leadership, integrity, kindness, humility and good humour were matched only by his desire to bring a Super Bowl championship to the Lions and to our community. "Each of us in the organization will continue to relentlessly pursue that goal in his honour." Born into an automotive fortune in 1925 bearing what was already a household name, Ford was 23 when he joined the Ford Motor Co. board of directors in 1948, one year after the death of his grandfather, Henry Ford. He maintained as low a profile as his name would allow, serving on various executive committees and spearheading the design, development and introduction of the Continental Mark II in 1956. He was elected a Ford vice chairman in 1980 and retired with that title in 1989. Ford remained a company director until 2005, later taking the title of director emeritus. "Mr. Ford had a profound impact on Ford Motor Company," Ford CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement. "The company extends its deepest sympathies to the many members of the extended Ford family at this difficult time. While we mourn Mr. Fords death, we also are grateful for his many contributions to the company and the auto industry." He helped institutionalize the practice of professional management atop the company that began with the naming of Philip Caldwell as Ford CEO in 1979 and as Ford chairman in March 1980, without relinquishing the Ford familys control. As a board member, Ford helped bring the company back under his familys control in 2001, when the directors ousted former CEO Jacques Nasser in favour of William Clay Ford Jr. The youngest of Edsel B. Fords four children, Ford Sr. was first elected to the Ford Motor Co. board in June 1948. He rarely spoke publicly but was reflective during the companys centennial year in 2003. At the annual meeting, he told stories about his grandfather teaching him to drive at age 10, and of being taken for his first airplane ride in a Ford Tri-Motor by Charles Lindbergh. "I just want you to know that we have tremendous pride in the Ford name," he told the shareholders more than a decade ago. "We have a spirit of working together, and we have a passion for cars. And we also have a great desire to see the Ford name in the forefront of world transportation." Ford always kept the Lions close to his heart. He knew how much the team meant to people who lived in or grew up in Michigan. "I think sports are a wonderful diversion," Ford told The Detroit News in 1980. "People can relate to sports very easily. Its a quick study." But while each of the Motor Citys other three professional franchises -- the Red Wings, Pistons and Tigers -- won at least one championship, the Lions were synonymous with losing under Ford. He seemed to lead the Lions with a light touch, leaving most decisions up to administrators such as Russ Thomas, Chuck Schmidt, Matt Millen and current general manager Martin Mayhew. Even though the franchise rarely produced a successful product, the stands are usually filled with fans desperate to witness a winner. "Detroit, and Im not blowing smoke at anybody, is probably the greatest fan sports town in the country," Ford told The News in 1980, the year after a 2-14 team set a franchise attendance record. "Theyll support anything." Ford moved the club from Tiger Stadium in Detroit to the Pontiac Silverdome in 1975 before bringing his team back downtown. Ford Field -- a spectacular 65,000-seat, $315 million indoor stadium -- opened in 2002 that, coupled with a state-of-the-art team headquarters in nearby Allen Park, gave the Lions the best facilities money could buy. But a blueprint for consistently winning was elusive. From Fords first season as team owner to his last, the Lions won 310 games, lost 441 and tied 13. Ford was married to the former Martha Parke Firestone, an heiress to the Akron, Ohio, rubber fortune. Her grandfather, Harvey Firestone, was a close friend of Henry Ford. They had three daughters, a son, 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be private. Cheap Shoes Australia Free Shipping . The Redblacks are taking on the Edmonton Eskimos in their second regular season game Friday night. Catch the game live on TSN as the back end of a doubleheader starting at 10pm et/7pm pt. Wholesale Shoes Australia .com) - A pair of programs shooting for their 10th win of the season get together at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, as the NC State Wolfpack tangle with 22nd-ranked West Virginia during the challenge round of the Gotham Classic. https://www.shoesaustraliaonline.com/ .Y. -- First, Patrick Kane gave his family and friends something to cheer about by scoring a highlight-reel goal in a rare trip home to Buffalo on Sunday night.UEFAs proposed changes to the make-up of the Champions League could irreversibly damage Scottish football and other leagues across the continent, according to Scottish Professional Football League chief executive Neil Doncaster. The Champions League is set for an overhaul from 2018, with the top four divisions given four automatic qualifying berths to the group stages, with the move coming about to placate any talk of Europes biggest clubs forming a breakaway competition.The decision, which is yet to be fully ratified, could see the Scottish champions miss out on qualification to what Doncaster claimed would become a closed shop Champions League competition. The threat is very real, very significant, he said at the Leaders 2016 conference held at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.We are only talking about the cycle of 2018-21 but the direction of travel that UEFA have embarked upon is a very dangerous route. UEFAs proposed Champions League changes are set to favour the big leagues It threatens the very future of very top-level football and it is vital that a line is drawn in the sand now and the EPFL (European Professional Football Leagues) take the firm stand that is required and start the pulling back of the very damning proposals.It is important to be a domestic champion club, that is the same across Europe, it is about access to the top-tier of European competitive football with the other champions of European football. Remove that and you fundamentally remove what is important about being a champion in a domestic contest. You would damage irreversibly the mid-level domestic leagues.You would see interest in all the leagues that are excluded inevitably declining and that would damage the game.Asked about the proposed changes, Doncaster added: I have been in the game 20 years, I have never seen the game in Europe as united against a set of proposals. It is unique that you have representatives of the small, large and medium-sized leagues against damaging proposals from UEFA. Toni Kroos in action for Real Madrid during a Champions League game with Borussia Dortmund The closed-shop is the direction of travel a number in Europe would like to see and it is outrageous that UEFA can preside over a situation where that is the direction of travel.The fear is that we end up with a closed-league situation. I was at the Celtic v Manchester City game last week, probably one of the best group games and a fantastic spectacle enjoyed by many across the world.You remove that romance and it is all about money and that is to the detriment of the game, not just in Scottish football but across the world.While the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A are all set to benefit from the new proposals, Lars-Christer Olsson - the chairman of EPFL - has claimed UEFA have broken their memorandumm of understanding with the EPFL by not consulting them over the planned changes. Fake Shoes Australia. SPFL chief Neil Doncaster (left) fears a negative impact for the Scottish game That has led to a threat from the EPFL to renege on the memorandum and allow their member associations to schedule domestic fixtures that clash with Champions League and Europa League matches. The EPFL will reconvene on 21 October to decide on their next move. The current agreement means, for example, the Premier League could not go head-to-head with the Champions League by arranging a league game for the same kick-off time as a round of European fixtures.Last year, Arsenals FA Cup fifth-round replay at Hull kicked off at 19.00 only after a compromise with UEFA was found as the tie was played in a week in the European calendar. The EPFL are keen to see the Champions League continue to be inclusive for smaller nations But member associations of the EPFL would be free to organise matches at any time if Olsson sees through his threat to alter the current agreement, something he has said could happen if UEFA do not return to the table to discuss the Champions League changes.This is why we are reacting as we are now, they (UEFA) are setting all the conditions for a private, closed league in the future, he said.Theoretically it is a free market, so if a number of clubs would like to set up their own competition they can do that. I dont think they will because domestic competitions are much more important.In my opinion UEFA has forced EPFL to act because UEFA has broken the agreement, we were not at all consulted. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. The process has not only been wrong, it has been slow. We have to come to a conclusion fairly soon for the best solution for European football and that can only be made by talking to each other.Olsson did say there would be no instances of a team in the Champions League being made to choose between playing in the continental competition or fulfilling a domestic fixture.You have to remember that we are a union of clubs representing the clubs in Europes competitions, he added.We would not create problems for our own clubs because that would not be sensible. We are reasonably well-educated.You can watch Englands tour of Bangladesh, plus Premier League football and the Japan Grand Prix on Sky Sports. 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