On January 15, 1948, the NFL owners unanimously approved the sale of the Lions from Fred L. Mandel Jr. to a seven-person syndicate.
The original members were Attorney Philip Hart helped negotiate the sale and was given the title of assistant secretary-treasurer, but held no stock.
He also stated that the group planned to add more members and hoped to operate like Green Bay Packers, Inc.[2] C. Ray Davisson, George Cavanaugh, William Clay Ford Sr., and Ralph Wilson were among the stockholders who later joined the company.
[5] In 1961, a group of stockholders led by Fife attempted to remove Anderson as team president.
Anderson resigned and one of his supporters, William Clay Ford Sr., was chosen to succeed him.