Gerald Ford was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. in Omaha, Nebraska and moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan at age 2. He was a five-sport athlete in high school and played football at the University of Michigan, where he was the 1933 national champion. Ford received a law degree from Yale University and served in WWII before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1949, serving until he became Vice President under Nixon in 1973. As president, Ford pardoned Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal in an attempt to help the nation heal. However, his approval ratings dropped as a result. In foreign policy, Ford sought to reassert U.S. strength globally after the Vietnam War and