Ford was born in Greensboro, North Carolina March 4, 1943. His father was also from North Carolina and his mother was from Washington DC. Ford was the oldest of five children and when I asked Ford what his fondest childhood memory was, he didn’t have just one. He remarked on how wonderful a childhood he had, many good times, lots of memories with family and friends. When I asked him to pick one he recalled getting his drivers license when he was 16. His dad wouldn't let him drive the car at first, but when all of the teachers from Ford’s high school would let him drive theirs, his dad finally gave in. Ford remembers his dad saying things like "Don't be having boys in my car" and "Don't spin them tires" looking back on that time.
After graduating from high school, Ford found himself joining the Navy. He says he was tricked by a couple of buddies, who he had given a ride to the testing facility, into taking the test as well. They both failed and much to his chagrin, Ford passed. Much later (around 2000) he learned that they had both gotten scared and failed on purpose. Ford served 7 years for our country, including two tours to Vietnam, and honestly if it weren't for that service he would not be the man that he is today. He served on the USS Coral Sea and the USS Constellation; they were always at sea bombing the enemy. Ford lost a couple friends who were pilots and during his time overseas he learned how serious war really is and how short life can be. I would like to take a moment to thank Ford so much for his service; it truly is one of the most generous of things a person can give...
Fortunately for us, there were more lessons for Ford to learn. While stationed on Midway Island in the South Pacific, a white kid from Chicago gave Ford a real hard time for not knowing his way around a pool table, so much so that when Ford was transferred to Whidbey Island he started practicing 8 hours a day, every day. He really didn't know where he wanted to go with it, but knew that he was definitely interested in becoming the best that he could. He was always competitive and played sports growing up (basketball, football, and baseball.)
Ford loves the game of 8 Ball, it is definitely his favorite, and then straight pool. As a player Ford won so many trophies that one day he decided to put them all on his pool table, take a picture, and then donated them to Goodwill. It was the game that mattered the most and they really just took up space. Another fond memory for Ford was the first time he played Dan Louie. They were at an 8-ball tournament in Everett and Ford beat Dan. After the match Dan said to Ford "I had no idea you could play this game." Ford laughed. Dan eventually came through the B side and ended up beating Ford the second time around, and then going on to win the event, but Ford recalls his win with candor.
When I asked Ford which pool players he looked up to, he told me he looked up to a lot of different players, but most of all was Jean Balukas. She was a fierce competitor and played with such an amazing confidence, "If I can see it, I can make it." A couple other players he admired were Lemke and Mosconi; however, Ford did tell me that Efren Reyes is the best player that he has ever seen play.
Most anyone who was heavy in the pool scene starting in the 80s and 90s knew Ford as the Head Official and CoDirector for The Pro Tournament at The Sands in Reno, which 12 years later became a Pro/Am event. But even further back, Ford got his start in "the other side of the sport" as an MC for tournaments in 1979. Harry Platis would fly the pros in and players would shoot in Ocean Shores and Port Angeles. He then got involved with Pat Fleming and AccuStats when Gene Starry was the head of the USPPA. He helped out with tracking results, scorekeeping, and statistics and that is what took him to Reno. As the Head Official, he refereed all of the Finals and most semiFinal matches; you might recognize his voice as the ref on all of those early AccuStat tapes.
Ford never aspired to "go pro", he had a job and knew what it took to take to compete at that level. He wanted to be able to compete with the pros and know their games so well that he could identify the key elements that made them so good. He spent most of his time developing a rapport and earning the reputation of being fair and honest in a sport where those qualities aren't necessarily the first traits that you would think of. His respect for the players and trustworthiness have distinguished him from other pool players. One of his fondest memories of the sport was during a money game between Parica and Hopkins, he was asked to hold $10,000 while they played. Ford has earned the respect that he gets from players and is honored that players trust him both as an official and as a person.
These days, Ford has stayed busy as the CoFounder of the Players Club Limited (BCA League), a CoTournament Director for the Northwest Women's Pool Association (NWPA), and the house pro at Shotze’s in Everett, WA. You need someone to watch a shot or hold a couple grand for ya, Ford is your man. Thanks Ford for all that you do, we love and respect you so very much.
