[dirk digler]

KC Star article. What I don't understand is ESPN and some others are saying he died on Sunday but the local media are saying today.

Former Chiefs coach Hank Stram dies at 82

By RANDY COVITZ The Kansas City Star

Hank Stram, known as one of pro football’s most creative coaches, and the dapper figure who paced the sidelines during the Chiefs’ glory years, died Monday at his home in New Orleans.

He was 82.

Stram’s 17-year NFL coaching career was highlighted by the Chiefs’ two Super Bowl appearances, a 35-10 loss to Green Bay in Super Bowl I and a 23-7 victory over Minnesota in Super Bowl IV.

“Hank was the most important coach in the history of the American Football League,” said Chiefs founder and owner Lamar Hunt, who hired Stram as the club’s original coach when the franchise began play as the Dallas Texans of the AFL in 1960.

Stram had been in declining health for several years and had been battling diabetes and a congestive heart problem.

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August 2003, which was considered a long-overdue honor by many, and elected to the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 1986.

Stram, known affectionately by his players as “The Mentor,” served as the Texans/Chiefs head coach during 1960-1974 and was the winningest coach in club history. Stram had a 124-76-10 regular-season record with the franchises — the second-best mark in pro football during that span — plus a 5-3 mark in the playoffs.

During the AFL’s 10-year history, Stram’s Texans/Chiefs won more games than any other AFL team, and he won more championships than any other coach (1962, 1966 and 1969). The Chiefs enjoyed nine straight winning seasons in Kansas City during 1965-73.

Services are pending.