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T 20 APRIL/MAY.2012 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM A Passion For Pond Hockey Keeps Automobile Mogul Bill Ford's Motor Running Strong And yet, Bill Ford is equally com- fortable in both settings. Like ground floor of the tournament that started with 42 teams in 2006. Over the years their squad, which includes mainstays Bill McCall, Ralph Booth, Jim Kwilos, Mark Graham and Gordie MacDougall, have taken home four division crowns, and finished as the runners-up on two other occasions, including this year. Along the way they have a com- bined record of 30-4 and outscored opponents by a better than 2 to 1 mar- gin. But who's keeping score? It's all about having fun, getting away from the daily pressures of the corporate Ford and his teammates have been on the is a fixture at the annual Labatt Blue USA Hockey Pond Hockey Championships. And he wouldn't have it any other way. warming tents staked into the Eagle River (Wis.) ice, the 54-year-old executive chair- man of Ford Motor Company the blue and white he makeshift ice rinks carved into the snowy expanses of Dollar Lake are as far away in distance as they are in decorum from a Motor City boardroom. grind, hanging with old friends and making new ones. "To me it's about as much fun as you can have," Ford said as the sun set on Friday's opening round of games. "We've been doing this for a number of years, and we've gotten to know a number of teams and we really look forward to seeing these guys year after year. We're all trying as hard as we possibly can, and then 15 minutes later we're in the beer tent swapping stories." Still, the more things change the more they stay the same. The town of Eagle River continues to roll out the red carpet for all the teams, and the organization of the tourna- ment continues to improve as the numbers swell toward 300 teams. "Fortunately, things haven't changed a lot because that same spirit that was here at the very beginning is still here today," said Ford, who is no stranger to other pond hockey events. "I was worried that when the tournament started to get as big as it has gotten, that it would become too corporate and not as personal, but that hasn't happened. I'm really happy about that." As word continues to spread among the hockey world, including the group that Ford plays with on Sunday mornings and Monday nights, so too does the interest level of joining in on the fun. Former NHL great Igor Larionov even asked to join the Ford team, a request that PHOTOS BY Kitty Sookochoff All revved BY HARRY THOMPSON Up