Lamar Hunt facts for kids
Hunt circa 1975
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| Personal information | |
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| Born: | August 2, 1932 El Dorado, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Died: | December 13, 2006 (aged 74) Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school: | The Hill (Pottstown, Pennsylvania) |
| College: | SMU |
| Career history | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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Pro Football Hall of Fame
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Lamar Hunt (born August 2, 1932 – died December 13, 2006) was an American businessman. He was famous for helping to grow sports like American football, soccer, and tennis in the United States.
He was the main person who started the American Football League (AFL) and Major League Soccer (MLS). He also helped create the North American Soccer League (NASL) and World Championship Tennis. Hunt was the owner of the Kansas City Chiefs in the National Football League (NFL). He also owned soccer teams like the Kansas City Wizards, Columbus Crew, and FC Dallas. In Kansas City, he helped build the fun theme parks Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun.
The oldest soccer tournament in the U.S., the U.S. Open Cup, is named after him. This honors his big role in making soccer popular. He was added to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972. He also joined the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1982 and the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1993. These honors show how much he helped professional sports.
Contents
About Lamar Hunt
Early Life and Education
Lamar Hunt was born in El Dorado, Arkansas. His father, H. L. Hunt, was a very rich oil businessman. Lamar grew up in Dallas, Texas. He went to The Hill School in Pennsylvania and then to Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas. He graduated from SMU in 1956 with a degree in geology.
Even though he was a college football player, he mostly sat on the bench. But he loved sports very much, all through his childhood and adult life. While at SMU, he joined the Kappa Sigma fraternity. Later, in 1972, he was named Kappa Sigma's Man of the Year.
Starting the American Football League
Lamar Hunt wanted to own an NFL team. He tried to get a new team for Dallas but was turned down. Back in 1959, professional football was not as popular as baseball. NFL leaders worried that adding too many teams would make it less special. Hunt also tried to buy the Chicago Cardinals team to move them to Dallas, but this was also refused.
So, Hunt talked to other businessmen who also wanted NFL teams. They decided to start their own football league. In August 1959, the American Football League (AFL) was created. The eight people who started the AFL teams were called the "Foolish Club". Hunt's main goal was to bring professional football to Texas. He became the owner of the Dallas Texans. He hired Hank Stram, who would later become a famous coach. The team and the AFL started playing in 1960.
Team Ownership and NFL Merger
After the AFL started, the NFL quickly put their own team in Dallas, the Dallas Cowboys. Both teams started playing in 1960. The Dallas Texans were a good AFL team, but they struggled to get fans. They had to compete with the Cowboys for people's attention.
By the end of the 1962 season, Hunt realized Dallas might not be big enough for two teams. He thought about moving his team. Kansas City became a top choice. Hunt wanted a city he could easily travel to from Dallas. The mayor of Kansas City, H. Roe Bartle, promised Hunt that 25,000 people would come to each game. Hunt agreed to move the team, and in 1963, the Dallas Texans became the Kansas City Chiefs.
At first, the Chiefs' attendance was not as high as the mayor promised. But by 1966, more people started coming to games. By 1969, about 51,000 fans came to each home game. In 1966, the Chiefs won their first AFL Championship. They played in the very first Super Bowl, but lost to the Green Bay Packers. The Chiefs continued to be successful. In 1970, they won the AFL Championship and Super Bowl IV. They beat the Minnesota Vikings, who were expected to win. This was the last Super Bowl before the AFL joined the NFL.
Hunt always wanted to be called the founder of the Chiefs, not just the owner. He even listed his phone number in the phone book. From 1960 to 2005, the Chiefs made it to the playoffs 14 times with Hunt as their founder.
Naming the "Super Bowl"
In 1966, the NFL and AFL decided to join together. They planned a championship game between the two leagues. On July 25, 1966, Hunt wrote a letter to NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle. In it, he said, "I have kiddingly called it the 'Super Bowl,' which obviously can be improved upon." Hunt later said the name might have come to him because his children played with a toy called a Super Ball. Even though the team owners chose a different name, the media quickly started using Hunt's "Super Bowl" name. It became the official name starting with the third game in 1969.
Promoting Soccer in the U.S.
Lamar Hunt also helped make professional soccer popular in the United States. His interest in soccer began in 1962. He went to a Shamrock Rovers game in Dublin, Ireland, with his future wife, Norma. In 1966, he watched the FIFA World Cup in England. After that, he attended nine of the next 11 World Cup tournaments.
In 1967, Hunt started the Dallas Tornado soccer team. They were part of the United Soccer Association. In 1968, this league joined with another to form the North American Soccer League (NASL). Hunt worked hard to support soccer and the league. His Dallas Tornado team won the NASL championship in 1971.
Some NFL owners were not happy that Hunt owned a soccer team. They tried to make rules that would stop NFL owners from owning teams in other sports. But this plan did not work for the NFL. The NASL won a legal case against the NFL, and Lamar Hunt benefited greatly from this.
Major League Soccer
Hunt returned to soccer as one of the first people to invest in Major League Soccer (MLS). MLS started in 1996. He first owned two teams: the Columbus Crew and the Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting Kansas City). In 1999, Hunt paid for the building of what is now called Historic Crew Stadium. This was one of the first large stadiums built just for soccer in the USA.
In 2003, Hunt bought a third team, the Dallas Burn (now FC Dallas). He also helped pay for their own soccer stadium. In 2006, Hunt sold the Wizards team to a group of new owners.
Tennis Ventures
In 1968, Hunt helped start the World Championship Tennis circuit. This event helped begin the "Open Era" of tennis, where both amateur and professional players could compete. Because of his contributions, he was added to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1993.
Other Business Ventures
Theme Parks and Underground Complex
Lamar Hunt founded two theme parks in Kansas City: Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun. Worlds of Fun opened in 1973, and Oceans of Fun opened in 1982. These parks grew out of a large business area he developed near the Missouri River.
Right next to these parks is SubTropolis. This is a huge underground business complex that Hunt developed. It is 55 million square feet and is said to be the World's Largest Underground Business Complex. Hunt's many business dealings in this area helped the Chiefs have their training camp nearby for many years.
Family and Legacy
Lamar Hunt was married twice. His first wife was Rosemary Carr, and they had two children, Lamar Jr. and Sharron Hunt. They divorced in 1962.
In 1964, he married Norma. She was a schoolteacher and worked as a hostess for the Dallas Texans. They had two sons, Clark and Daniel. Norma Hunt was special because she was one of the very few people, and the only woman, to attend every single Super Bowl game from 1967 until her death in 2023.
Lamar Hunt passed away on December 13, 2006, at the age of 74. He had been in the hospital for weeks due to complications from prostate cancer. After his death, his son Clark became the chairman of the Kansas City Chiefs and FC Dallas. Clark was chosen by Lamar's other children to manage the teams.
See also
- Other American Football League players, coaches, and contributors
- Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
