Willliam L. HughesWilliam L. Hughes
Owner and President of the Crawford Door Company

Bill Hughes has been a leader all of his life. Originally from Lewiston, Pennsylvania, the “door” man came to Michigan in 1948 after serving his country in World War II and attended Michigan State University through the GI Bill. After barely making the roster on the MSU football team in 1950, he defied expectations by becoming an All-American candidate at linebacker and Defensive Captain of his club. Some of his other college football accolades included: being named to the AP All-Midwest Eleven and INS All-Midwest teams, as well as co-captain of the East team for the 1952 East/West Shriners Hospital game. In 2007 Bill Hughes was awarded the Jack Breslin Life Achievement Award from the Varsity 'S' Alumni Club, given to MSU graduates whose post-college career has brought great honor to himself, and by reflection to Michigan State University and its intercollegiate athletic programs.

Though he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the second round, Bill instead turned down a lifetime of professional football immortality and used his BA in Business to form the Allen-Hughes Door Company, under the Crawford Door Company, and sought to once again defy expectations by proving that wood residential doors could be sold in the Detroit market, a task previously spurned by Crawford distributors at the time. It was the beginning of a steady rise for Bill which culminated in 1974, when he took over as Owner and President of the Crawford Door Company in Detroit. In 1982, he invested in and took over management of Detroit Crawford Door Sales distributorship, and has more than tripled sales since taking over.

In addition to his business interests, Bill has been constantly and passionately involved in countless community, alumni, church and industry activities. He is a long time member of the St. Clair Shores Kiwanis Club, served as chairman of the fundraising committee for the Lakeshore YMCA and has been involved with the Shriner’s Hospital in San Francisco for 60 years, ever since he visited during the All-Star football game in 1951. He has served as an Elder and a Deacon at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church. He sits on the Board of Directors for The University Development Fund at MSU and is a former member of the Broad Alumni Association Board of Directors. In 1999 he received the Dinstinguished Alumni Award from the Eli Broad Graduate School of Business.

Bill lives with his wife Shirley in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. He has three children and nine grandchildren.