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On this day in history, Lamar Hunt was responsible for bringing major professional sport to Texas. He was instrumental in the formation of the American Football League and the Dallas Cowboys.
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Introduction
Lamar Hunt was an American businessman and sportsman who was responsible for bringing professional football to Texas. He was the owner of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL) and the Dallas Texans of the American Football League (AFL). He also helped found Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a Major League Baseball (MLB) minority owner for the Kansas City Royals.
Early life and family
Lamar Hunt was born in El Dorado, Arkansas, in 1932, the son of oil wildcatter H.L. Hunt and grandson of Arkansas governor James P. Clarke. He had two sisters, Swanee and Margaret. In his youth the family lived in many locations, including Tyler and Mexico City, due to his father’s job as an oil wildcatter. The familyorus Butkus, Dick Butkus was a linebacker for the Chicago Bears from 1965 to 1973. He was drafted by the Bears with the third overall pick in the 1965 NFL Draft out of the University of Illinois, where he was a two-time consensus All-American. Butkus is widely regarded as one of the best and most intimidating linebackers in pro football history.[1]
He became known for his playing style characterized by his tenaciousness against opponents and sure tackling ability. In 2009, The Sporting News ranked him as the 25th greatest player ever in their “Nerve Wrackin’ Top 50,”[2] while profiled on their list of Football’s 100 Greatest Players.[3] Butkus was inducted into both the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983. In 1994 he was named to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team; he also earned selection to NFL 1960s All-Decade Team.[4]
DickButkus played high school football at Chicago Vocational Career Academy (CVCA), where he led his team to an undefeated season in 1958.[5][6] As a middle guard on defense he had 162 tackles and eight quarterback sacks).[7] He also played fullback on offense and gained 1,030 yards on 133 carries (7.8 yard average), scored 16 touchdowns,[8] and threw four touchdown passes.[9][10][11] In 1959 he again led CVCA to an undefeated season Segal was born Joan Marie Larkin Kleinbarde”;Expand heading 3: “in New York City”
Education
Lamar Hunt was born in El Dorado, Arkansas, in 1932, the son of oilman H.L. Hunt and Lyda Bunker. He was raised in Dallas, Texas, where he attended Highland Park High School before going on to study at the University of Southern California. While at USC, Hunt played football and was a member of the track team. He graduated with a degree in business administration in 1954.
After college, Hunt began working for his father’s company, Hunt Oil Company. He also became involved in sports, owning a minor league baseball team, the Dallas Chaparrals, as well as participating in the ownership of the American Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs. In 1960, Hunt helped to establish the AFL’s Dallas Texans, which later became the Kansas City Chiefs when they moved to Missouri in 1963.
Hunt was an active supporter of NFL expansion into Dallas and was responsible for bringing major professional sport to Texas. In addition to his work with the Chiefs and Texans, he also owned the Dallas Tornado soccer team and was a founding member of Major League Soccer. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972 and the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame in 2010.
Business career
In the early 1960s, while still in college, Hunt became interested in professional football. He convinced his father to purchase a franchise in the new American Football League (AFL), and they founded the Kansas City Chiefs in 1963. The team’s original home was Municipal Stadium, where they played several seasons before moving to Arrowhead Stadium in 1972.
In 1974, the AFL merged with the National Football League (NFL), and the Chiefs became part of the NFL. In 1970, Hunt helped establish World Championship Tennis (WCT), a competing professional tennis tour, and he later became involved with promoting soccer as well. In 1972, he helped found the Kansas City Comets of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL).
Sports ownership
In the early 1960s, professional football in the United States was still in its infancy. The National Football League (NFL) had only been around for about fifty years, and the American Football League (AFL) was a relatively new rival league that had started up in the late 1950s. At this time, there were no professional football teams in the state of Texas.
That all changed when a man named Lamar Hunt decided to bring a professional football team to Dallas. Hunt was a wealthy oilman who had inherited his father’s business, Hunt Oil Company. He was also an avid sports fan, and he saw an opportunity to bring major professional sport to Texas.
In 1959, Hunt unsuccessfully tried to buy an NFL team, but he was not discouraged. He went on to co-found the AFL, and in 1960 he was awarded a franchise for a Dallas team that would later become known as the Dallas Texans. The Texans began play in the AFL’s inaugural season in 1960, and they went on to win the AFL championship in 1962.
In 1963, the Texans moved to Kansas City and became the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs remain one of the most successful teams in NFL history, and they have won two Super Bowl championships (1970 and 2019).
Lamar Hunt passed away in 2006, but his legacy as a pioneer of professional football in Texas lives on.
Death and legacy
Hunt continued to be involved with many business interests until his death on December 13, 2006, at the age of 74, from cancer. He had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1998. In 2002, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. The Chiefs retired his jerseys number (37) in his honor, and in 2010 they unveiled a bronze bust of him in their Arrowhead Stadium lobby. In 2006, the National Soccer Hall of Fame created the Lamar Hunt Lifetime Achievement Award, given to an individual who has made significant contributions to soccer in the United States over an extended period of time.
See also
-Lamar Hunt Trophy
– Kansas City Chiefs
– American Football League
– National Football League
References
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Hunt
-https://www.lamarhunt.com/ Untitled Document
