Adam Schefter:Lamar Hunt was ahead of his time

[dirk digler]

Lamar Hunt was ahead of his time

Adam Schefter

(Dec. 14, 2004) -- Lamar Hunt, the great Lamar Hunt -- a man as successful as he was unpretentious -- was so accomplished, it almost was as if his résumé had to be made up. Only it wasn't.

It was as genuine as the man.

As much as anyone, Hunt made Kansas City a major-league city. After flirting with New Orleans and trying to take his team there, Hunt moved the Texans from Dallas to Kansas City, making him the true Commander of the Chiefs.

Hunt founded the eight-team American Football League to rival the National Football League, then was instrumental in the merging of the two leagues that was completed in 1970.

He was such a forward and creative-thinking man that after watching his children play with a Super Ball, Hunt came up with the name "Super Bowl" that went on to become a staple of our language and an unofficial American holiday.

His contributions were so significant, the Pro Football Hall of Fame found a spot for him in 1972 and the league named the AFC Championship Trophy after him.

No matter what he did, no matter what he touched, his successes kept coming like all the sellouts at Arrowhead Stadium. Hunt actually was one of the founding owners of the Chicago Bulls and owned 12 percent of the team. He was a key figure in the creation of Major League Soccer, owning teams in Kansas City and Columbus, Ohio.

Throughout, his approach never changed. Hunt adopted the ways of his father, the famous Texas oilman H.L. Hunt, who was the Warren Buffett of his time. Hunt credited his successes to nothing more than rolling up his sleeves, digging in, and working as if he hadn't had any of the incomparable successes that he did.

But it was just the opposite. The man who looked like a bookworm wound up in history books. Any one of his accomplishments would have been the capstone of most people's careers. With Hunt, they all blended together to form an unmatched and unbelievable tapestry.

Without Hunt, soccer in this country would not have come as far as it has. Without Hunt, Kansas City is not all that different from Omaha. Without Hunt, the Super Bowl might be called something as simple as The Big Game.

Without Hunt, the eight AFL cities that spanned from San Diego to Buffalo would not have been NFL teams for so long, if at all. Without Hunt, football would not be the same.

Without Hunt, his family, his friends, football -- all of us -- mourn.

[KC-TBB]

Nice article...proud to use my #500 post on saying it is an HONOR to be a Chiefs fan because of Lamar...Thanks Lamar, and God Bless!

[dirk digler]

By Vic Carucci
National Editor, NFL.com

(Dec. 14, 2006) -- It wasn't just the money. Even in 1959, a $25,000 investment didn't qualify as staggering, certainly not for a wealthy businessman.

It was the entire premise that made it seem so risky: Buy a franchise in a fledgling professional football league? Take on the well-established National Football League? Get involved in a sport that, at the time, had nowhere near the popularity of Major League Baseball?

Lamar Hunt founded the AFL and helped shape the modern NFL.

"It was like starting a new automobile company from scratch and bucking Ford and GM," Ralph Wilson recalled.

Only a fool would jump at such an opportunity.

And Wilson did, along with six other men who put up their money and their reputations when a young oil man from Dallas came up with the bright idea of forming the American Football League.

That young oil man was Lamar Hunt.

In August of 1959, while at Saratoga for the racing season, Wilson picked up a copy of the New York Times and read about Hunt's venture, prompted by his desire to have his own pro football team in Dallas and the NFL's refusal at the time to expand. Wilson, an insurance and trucking magnate from Detroit, was interested in owning his own pro football team as well. He had had a small stake in the Lions, but didn't have an active role in the operation of the team. He read that Hunt wanted to place an AFL team in Miami, where Wilson owned a winter home. Wilson telephoned Hunt, who advised him to get to Miami and meet with the city's political leaders to try and negotiate a lease agreement for the Orange Bowl. However, the politicians weren't interested in having a team in a fledgling league after a bad experience with one in the old All-America Football Conference in 1946. The University of Miami also voiced opposition because of the threat it felt a pro football team might pose to attendance of Hurricane games at the Orange Bowl.

Wilson returned to Detroit discouraged. A few days later, he received a call from Hunt, who told Wilson the AFL had seven teams in place and needed an eighth so there would be two divisions of four teams. Hunt also informed Wilson there were five cities with interest in a team: Buffalo, Louisville, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Atlanta.

Wilson did some homework. He eventually concluded, although with great skepticism, that Buffalo would be the right home for his franchise.

And with that, "The Foolish Club," the name that then-Oakland Raiders majority leader Wayne Valley had given to himself and the other AFL investors, was born. The other members, besides Hunt and Wilson, were: Bud Adams (Houston), Bob Howsam (Denver), Barron Hilton (San Diego), Billy Sullivan (Boston), and Harry Wismer (New York). Hunt founded the Dallas Texans, whom he moved to Kansas City after three years.

Of course, these men proved anything but foolish. Their investments would grow as the AFL's popularity took off. Eventually, the "honky-tonk" league, as Wilson said his friends would mockingly call it in its infancy, became so strong that the NFL was forced to merge with it.

Lamar Hunt (holding ball) persuaded seven other investors to form "The Foolish Club," and created the AFL.
Lamar Hunt (holding ball) persuaded seven other investors to form "The Foolish Club," and created the AFL.
Wilson and other original AFL owners have long felt a great debt of gratitude to Hunt for being such an incredible visionary -- for recognizing pro football's potential to grow and prosper and for persuading enough others to share that belief and add to the foundation of what we now know as the greatest sport and the most popular league of them all. As Wilson said, "He was responsible for bringing the game to all parts of the United States."

Through the years, Hunt has been at the forefront of the NFL's continued growth on a variety of fronts. He has had the respect of everyone connected with the league for his foresight and passion and league-wide perspective -- the same qualities that made him the catalyst for the birth of the AFL.

Hunt also was a kind and gentle soul. He had an uncanny ability to make anyone who met him come away feeling better much for the experience.

That's what makes his passing so sad. That's what I will remember most about him.

And even though his relationship with Hunt was forged in business, Wilson's feelings for the man are no different.

"He was respectful and generous to everybody," Wilson said. "I have tears in my eyes in expressing my condolences to (Hunt's wife) Norma and his family."

I do, too.

[cdcox]

Without Hunt, the eight AFL cities that spanned from San Diego to Buffalo would not have been NFL teams for so long, if at all. Without Hunt, football would not be the same.



Nice article by Schefter, but this really under estimates his influence on the NFL. In the late 1950's the NFL was happy to be a 12 team league. However, with the threat of the AFL, the NFL rapidly expanded to include the Dallas Cowboys, and Minnesota Vikings and later the Saints and Falcons. By the merger in 1970, the NFL went from 12 to 26 teams, and Hunt was the key driving force, if not the impetus for it all.

[Bob Dole]

There's a nice Dallas Morning News article at http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/121406dnmethuntobit.90f04cf.html

One interesting note: Lamar wore #37 in high school.

[Wile_E_Coyote]

I can not like Schefter. I can listen to him or read him without catching little digs