Gerald R. Ford '41LLB, '77LLDHon (1913-2006). In 1935, when Ford was a football star at the University of Michigan, he turned down offers to play professional football and instead came to Yale College as assistant football coach and coach of the boxing and junior varsity football teams. Later he entered the Law School.

Ford served as a U.S. representative from Michigan from 1948 until 1973. After the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew, he became President Richard Nixon’s second vice president. Following Nixon’s resignation in 1974, Ford was sworn in as the 38th U.S. president. His inaugural address included the words he is best known for: “Our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works.” His second most well-known quote came when he granted the former president “a full, free, and absolute pardon.” After his death, the Senate issued a resolution stating in part: “Gerald Ford helped the nation heal from one of the most difficult and contentious periods in United States history, and restored public confidence in the country’s leaders.” Ford was honored in August 2007 with a 41-cent stamp.