After her dad, John Ford, passed away in May of 2024, Kathy Ford made it her mission to keep his memory alive.
When the chill of fall arrived later that year, Kathy entered the “I Beat Burt” Contest — a tradition her dad, John, loved.
“I didn’t play, but I always helped him with the online entry blank,” Kathy remembered. “He’d have all his information—stats, schedules, results, and all that stuff—and he’d make his picks. He played the contest for years and won at least one shirt almost every year. That was his goal.”
Kathy won a T-shirt last year on the final week of the 2024 season.
Just as her dad had done so many times before, Kathy began her Saturday mornings with breakfast before sitting down at her kitchen table to go through each game.
For the first time in 2025, in Week 9, the Seabrook, N.H. resident saw her name among the winners. In fact, in the entry form after her name she wrote “In John Ford’s memory.”
“This was important for me because it connected me with John,” she said. “I just went through all the games, remembering teams he liked to pick. I made a few guesses, too—and I got lucky.”
Kathy smiled as she recalled that Sunday night, quietly talking to him, “John, I think we’re going to win a T-shirt.”
Even as John faced health struggles in his final years, the contest and watching games together each weekend was a highlight.
“He won one T-shirt while he was in a nursing home, recovering from a broken hip,” Kathy said. “His grandson, Kevin Kattar, brought the newspaper to the nursing home announcing that he had won and said, ‘Papa, you’re famous. You beat Burt!’ He was on Cloud Nine. The entire nursing home congratulated him.”
Although John has been gone 18 months, Kathy thinks of him and his infectious energy every day.
“I miss the hell out of him,” she said softly. “I’ve been thinking about him all morning today, Veterans Day. He served in the Army at Fort Hood (in Killeen, Texas). He was very proud of his service. And so was his family.”