(1926-02-18)February 18, 1926 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Died:
March 14, 1972(1972-03-14) (aged 46) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Height:
6 ft 4[1] in (1.93 m)
Weight:
245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school:
Armstrong (Washington, D.C.)
College:
Morgan State Michigan
Undrafted:
1948
Career history
Los Angeles Dons (1948–1949)
Cleveland Browns (1950–1957)
Green Bay Packers (1958)
Career highlights and awards
3× NFL champion (1950, 1954, 1955)
4× First-team All-Pro (1951–1954)
4× Pro Bowl (1951–1954)
NFL 1950s All-Decade Team
Cleveland Browns Ring of Honor
National champion (1947)
Second-team All-American (1947)
Third-team All-American (1946)
Second-team All-Big Nine (1947)
Career NFL statistics
Games played:
125
Interceptions:
3
Fumbles recovered:
20
Player stats at PFR
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Leonard Guy Ford Jr. (February 18, 1926 – March 14, 1972) was an American professional football player who was an offensive and defensive end from 1948 to 1958. He played college football for the University of Michigan and professional football for the Los Angeles Dons, Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1976 and the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 1996.
Ford was an all-city athlete at his high school in Washington, D.C., and attended Morgan State University after graduating in 1944. After a brief stint in the U.S. Navy the following year, he transferred to Michigan, where he played on the Michigan Wolverines football team as an offensive and defensive end. He played for Michigan from 1945 to 1947 and was a member of the undefeated 1947 team that has been selected as the best team in the history of Michigan football.
Ford was passed over in all 32 rounds of the 1948 NFL draft, but was selected by the Los Angeles Dons of the rival All-America Football Conference (AAFC), where he played for two seasons as an offensive and defensive end. After the AAFC dissolved in 1949, Ford played eight seasons as a defensive end for the Cleveland Browns. During those eight seasons, the Browns advanced to the NFL championship game seven times, won three championships, and allowed the fewest points in the NFL six times. Ford was one of the dominant defensive players of his era, having a rare combination of size and speed that helped him disrupt opposing offenses and force fumbles. He was selected as a first-team All-NFL player five times and played in four Pro Bowls. He was also one of two defensive ends named to the National Football League 1950s All-Decade Team.
Ford was traded to the Packers in 1958, but played there just one season before retiring. He worked for the Detroit recreation department from 1963 to 1972. He suffered a heart attack and died in 1972 at age 46.
^"Len Ford Stats, News and Video - WR". NFL.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
(1984). "LenFord" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. 6 (7&8). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 18, 2010. Retrieved September 1, 2013. "LenFord, Wolves'...
scholarly essays in English on Ford operations in Europe; reviewed in Len Holden, Len. "Fording the Atlantic: Ford and Fordism in Europe" in Business History...
et al. Ford, 1902–2003: The European History 2 vol Paris 2003. ISBN 2914369069 scholarly essays in English; reviewed in Holden, Len. "Fording the Atlantic:...
Bernard (1988). From Taylorism to Fordism: A Rational Madness. Holden, Len. "Fording the Atlantic: Ford and Fordism in Europe" in Business History Volume...
The Ford P68, also commonly known as the Ford 3L GT or F3L, is a sports prototype racing car model introduced in March 1968. It was designed by Len Bailey...
www.ufc.com. September 14, 2018. "Sijara Eubanks". www.facebook.com. "LenFord". databaseFootball.com. DatabaseSports. Archived from the original on February...
April 18, 2021. Retrieved April 18, 2021. Len Cariou at the Internet Broadway Database Len Cariou at IMDb Len Cariou at the Internet Off-Broadway Database...
Layne (18 for 42, passing for 177 yards) was intercepted six times, with LenFord and Kenny Konz pulling in two each. The Browns also recovered three Detroit...
as the Big Ten MVP), defensive quarterback Pete Elliott, defensive end LenFord, and tackle Al Wistert. Offensive tackle Bruce Hilkene was the team captain...
from other teams, including offensive guard Abe Gibron and defensive end LenFord, but some observers saw Brown's team as the lone standout in an otherwise...
Football Hall of Fame (Willie Lanier, Roosevelt Brown, Leroy Kelly, and LenFord), Black Enterprise Magazine publisher Earl Graves, the Chief Judge of Maryland's...
Attendance 55,263 Hall of Famers Browns: Paul Brown (coach/gm), Jim Brown, LenFord, Lou Groza, Henry Jordan, Mike McCormack Lions: Jack Christiansen, Lou...
The Ford GT40 is a high-performance endurance racing car designed and built by the Ford Motor Company. It grew out of the "Ford GT" (for Grand Touring)...
Maryland. He was pronounced dead at the same hospital where his brother Len had died and was buried next to him at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery. Following...
February 22, 2024. "LenFord". ProFootballHoF.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2024. "LenFord Stats". Pro-Football-Reference...
the NFL every decade since 1950 from Morgan State. Former Morgan Bears LenFord, Leroy Kelly, Willie Lanier and Rosey Brown are members of the Pro Football...
York Giants. Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1967. LenFord, defensive end from Michigan, signed undrafted by the Cleveland Browns...
Canadian Football League. He was part of a defensive line that featured LenFord, Don Colo and Bob Gain, who helped the Browns win NFL championships in...
featured a mid-mounted engine with rear-wheel-drive. Len Bailey, who had been the chief engineer on the Ford GT40 project, was enlisted to help design the bodywork...
Carpenter LenFord Lou Groza Dub Jones Dante Levelli Bill Willis 1953 LenFord Abe Gibron Horace Gillom Bill Willis Otto Graham Lou Groza 1954 LenFord Abe...
Coach Oakland/ Los Angeles Raiders 1979–1987 Seattle Seahawks 1992–1994 LenFord 1976 Defensive end Los Angeles Dons (AAFC) 1948–1949 Cleveland Browns 1950–1957...
Harmon in 1940, Desmond Howard in 1991, and Charles Woodson in 1997. Gerald Ford, who later became the 38th president of the United States, started at center...
Global Information