It’s a sad day here in Kansas City. Kansas City’s favorite son and visionary, Lamar Hunt, died at the age of 74 after a long battle and complications with prostate cancer.
“He lived his whole life to make a difference, not just to make a living. We can learn something from that. He’s very humble, maybe the most humble I’ve ever been around. In today’s world, that’s something that you marvel at. You talk about a man who’s profession has been football and he has been a great sportsman. Bigger than that, he’s always made decisions for this football organization where the league came first. If it was good for the league Lamar Hunt was always first in line.”
- Herm Edwards, Head Coach, Kansas City Chiefs
Lamar Hunt’s legacy not only stays with Kansas City, but with sports and entertainment itself. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to purchase an NFL franchise, Hunt convinced a handful of other entreprenuers to form the American Football League. Hunt was the owner of the Dallas Texans. After low attendance in the AFL championship game (which Hunt’s Texans played), he soon realized that he would not succeed with his cross-town compatriots (Dallas Cowboys), and soon moved the Texans to Kansas City to become the Kansas City Chiefs.
“He was one of the most considerate, one of the most thoughtful and one of the most visionary people you could ever deal with.”
- Paul Tagliabue, NFL Commissioner, 1989-2006
The 8-team AFL lived for just 10 years before strong competition (and free market forces) forced the NFL to merge with the young league. Through the merger committee meetings it was Hunt who coined the term Super Bowl. With talks revolving around football, and football already used to the concept of bowl games, Hunt suggested that the championship game between the two powers in professional football would be called the Super Bowl. That and his kids’ “super ball” that, as he tells, was more of a subconcious outburst … and the “Super Bowl” has stuck ever since. His name also resides on the AFC Championship trophy – the Lamar Hunt Trophy.
“If Lamar had done for sports in Great Britain what he has done for them here he would have been knighted by the queen.”
- Kenny Cooper, former Dallas Tornados goalie, North American Soccer League
Lamar Hunt was not only instrumental in professional football, but he was also an original part-owner of the Chicago Bulls; he was also the driving visionary for the formation of Major League Soccer (a league whose championship trophy also holds his name), as well as an owner of 3 MLS teams (Kansas City, Dallas and Columbus); he was also the founder of World Championship Tennis, and what many (even in Kansas City) didn’t know is that he was the visionary and owner of Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun.
“I would like so much for the grandchildren to know what a truly kind and good man their grandfather was. He loved the Lord in his very quiet way and had such integrity and strength of character in all the things he has done. I hope that they will carry those memories of him with them because those qualities are what has made him such a beloved person.”
- Norma Hunt, Wife
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