Gerald R. Ford was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. on July 19, 1914, in Omaha, Nebraska. His parents divorced and his mother moved them back to Grand Rapids to be near her parents. Two years later, Ford's mother remarried Gerald R. Ford and the couple renamed the baby after Ford's new stepfather. His name was officially changed on December 3, 1935. Ford attended South High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan where he was named to the honor society, as well as to the "All City" and "All State" football teams. He achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in 1927 and earned money by working for the family paint store and at a local restaurant. Ford attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor from 1931 till 1935. he majored in economics and political science and played on the school football team, being voted MVP in 1934. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1935.
Ford received two offers from professional football teams when he graduated college. Both the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers offered him a position on their respective teams, but he turned both offers down. Instead, Ford chose to go to Yale and take the position of boxing coach and assistant varsity football coach, hoping to get into the law school there. He was admitted into Yale in 1938 and managed to graduate in 1941 in the top 25 percent of the class despite his full time coaching positions. He also worked for Wendell Wilkins presidential campaign in 1940, giving him his first taste of politics.
Ford returned to Michigan, passed his bar exam and opened up a law firm with Philip A Buchen in Grand Rapids. He also taught a course in business law at the University of Grand Rapids, served as line coach for the University's football team and became active in a republican group called the Home Front. In 1942, as World War II began, Ford entered the U.S. Naval reserves as an ensign. He rose to fitness instructor at a pre-flight school in Chapel Hill before beginning service on the