Ford Motor Credit Company

The Ford Motor Credit Company, the lending arm of automaker Ford, briefly became the owner of the Houston Astros from 1975 to 1979, following a loan default by previous owner Roy Hofheinz. Senior loan officer Bill Odom, who would go on to become chairman of the company, served as the ownership group's principal during that period.

In 1972, in collaboration with GE Capital, the company, seeking to diversify its activities, jointly refinanced the debt of the Houston Sports Association, Hofheinz's company that owned the Astros as well as their ballpark, the Astrodome. A downturn in the economy coupled with a bust cycle in the notoriously fickle oil industry, which was the source of Hofheinz's fortune, led him to default on the loan in 1975 - he was reported to be $38 million in debt -, and as part of foreclosure procedures, the lenders ended up owning the two prize assets, as well as various other pieces of property, including an amusement park. Ford used profits from the sale of the amusement park in 1978 to buy out its partner, GE, who was not interested in actually running these assets.

Odom remained a hands-off owner for the time he was in charge, leaving all baseball decisions to GM Talbot Smith, while looking for a permanent owner for the team and ballpark. This task was completed on May 16, 1979, when John McMullen, a shipbuilder based in New Jersey, received approval from other National League owners to buy the Astros for a reported $19 million. The formal handover took place in September of that year.

Further Reading

• David Barron: "McLane era represents Astros' most stable ownership", Houston Chronicle, January 18, 2010. [1]
• Mary Connelly: "Ford 100: Houston Astros become diamond in the rough for Ford", Automotive News, June 19, 2003. [2]