Athletes - Gerald Ford

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	Athletes - Gerald Ford

Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. (born July 14, 1913) was the 40th (1973–1974) Vice President and the 38th (1974–1977) President of the United States. Born Leslie Lynch King, Jr. in Omaha, Nebraska, his parents divorced when he was two years old. Ford was renamed when his mother moved to Michigan and remarried; in addition, his step-father, Gerald R. Ford, Sr., informally adopted him. Ford obtained his bachelors degree from the University of Michigan, where he was a star football player. He then went on to obtain a law degree from Yale University before serving in the United States Navy during World War II.

Returning from the war a confirmed "internationalist," Republican Ford defeated the incumbent in the party primary and was elected to the United States House of Representatives representing the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. He was elected House Minority Leader in 1963 and served in the House until 1973. When Spiro Agnew resigned, Ford was appointed Vice President of the United States during the height of the Watergate scandal. Following the resignation of Richard Nixon, Ford ascended to the presidency on August 9, 1974.

The Ford administration saw the withdrawal of American forces from Vietnam, the execution of the Helsinki Accords and the continuing specter of inflation and recession. Faced with an overwhelmingly Democratic majority in Congress, the administration was hampered in its ability to pass major legislation and Ford's vetoes were frequently overridden. After Ford was excoriated by many for granting a pardon to Nixon, Democrat Jimmy Carter narrowly defeated Ford in the 1976 presidential race. Ford is the nation's only President who was elected to neither the Presidency nor Vice Presidency. Along with his own Vice President, Nelson Rockefeller, he is one of two appointed Vice President rather than elected.

Early life

Ford was born to Leslie Lynch King and Dorothy Ayer Gardner in Omaha, Nebraska and was originally named Leslie Lynch King, Jr. His parents divorced two months after he was born, and two years later his mother remarried Gerald Ford, Sr., after whom he was named despite never being formally adopted. Raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Ford was not aware of his adoption until shortly before turning fifteen. "My stepfather was a magnificent person," Ford stated, "and my mother equally wonderful. So I couldn't have written a better prescription for a superb family upbringing."

Ford joined the Boy Scouts and attained that program's highest rank: Eagle Scout. He always regarded this as one of his proudest accomplishments even after attaining the White House. In subsequent years, Ford received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America. He attended school locally and was a star athlete, rising to the become captain of his high school football team and attracting the attention of college recruiters.

Attending the University of Michigan as an undergraduate, Ford became the center for the school's football team and helped the Wolverines to undefeated seasons in 1932 and 1933. His number 48 jersey has since been retired by the school. A member of the Michigamua secret society, Ford turned down contract offers from the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers of the National Football League following his graduation in 1935 in order to attend law school. As part of the 1935 Collegiate All-Star football team, Ford played against the Chicago Bears in an exhibition game at Soldier Field.

While attending Yale Law School he joined a group of students led by R. Douglas Stuart, Jr. and signed a petition to enforce the 1939 Neutrality Act. The petition was circulated nationally and was the inspiration for America First, a group determined to keep America out of World War II. Ford's position on American involvement in the war would soon change.

Ford graduated from law school in 1941 and was admitted to the Michigan bar shortly thereafter. Before he could commence a law practice, though, overseas developments caused a change in plans. Like others, Ford responded to the attack on Pearl Harbor and joined the military.

World War II

In April 1942 Ford joined the U.S. Naval Reserve, receiving a commission as an ensign. After an orientation program at Annapolis, he became a physical fitness instructor at a pre-flight school in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In the spring of 1943 he began service in the light aircraft carrier USS Monterey as athletic director and gunnery division officer. Eventually promoted to assistant navigator on the Monterey, he and the ship took part in most of the major operations in the South Pacific, including Truk, Saipan, and in the Philippines. Ford's closest call with death came not as a result of enemy fire, however, but during a vicious typhoon in the Philippine Sea in December 1944. Ford spent the remainder of the war ashore and was discharged as a lieutenant commander in February 1946. As President, he would go on to pardon Iva Toguri D'Aquino, known as "Tokyo Rose," from her treason conviction for broadcasting propaganda to Allied forces during the war.

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Athletes - Gerald Ford

Early life

World War II

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