Lamar Hunt

For some of you who may or may not know,Lamar Hunt,owner of the Kansas City Chiefs,and the Father of the AFL died on Thursday at the age of 74.For those who don't know Hunt,he was the man who challenged the NFL in 1959 when he created the AFL.It all began when Lamar Hunt was denied by the NFL to create a franchise in Dallas(Note:This was before the Dallas Cowboys).In response he formed his own Football league,The AFL.The AFL began play in 1960 with 8 teams:The Boston(New England)Patriots,Buffalo Bills,Houston Oilers(Tennessee Titans),New York Titans(Jets),Dallas Texans,Denver Broncos,Los Angeles(San Diego)Chargers,and the Oakland Raiders.

When the AFL began their had been already been 4 leagues to challenge the NFL(3 of them being called the AFL,and the All-American Football Conference who despite having 2 teams survive to this day in the NFL(Cleveland and San Francisco) didn't exactly make an Impact on the league).At first the league was in trouble with low attendence and being cited as "NFL Rejects".The Houston Oilers captured the 1960 and 61 AFL Championships,but success came for Hunt when the Dallas Texans dethroned them to win the 1962 Championship,20-17 in 2 OTs.In the offseason...facing pressure from the Dallas Cowboys(who had been formed AFTER the AFL's announcement),the Dallas Texans moved to Kansas City and became the Chiefs.The AFL rose to heights when it set a single-game attendence record on November 8,1964 when the Jets faced the Bills in Shea Stadium.

In 1966 the rivalry between the two leagues reached its peak when both leagues merged.With that merger both leagues scheduled a AFL-NFL Championship game on January 15,1967.It was Lamar Hunt who coined the name "Superbowl" when his daughter was talking about a new toy she had gotten called "The Super Ball".However the way she said it made it sound like Superbowl.However,it wasn't until around Superbowl IV that it was called, "The Superbowl".

In 1970 the AFL was officially dissolved into the NFL and the modern day era began.The NFL began to adopt old AFL ideas afterwards with the additions of names on players jerseys,revenue sharing of gate and television,the 2-point conversion,and the field time on the scoreboard.Along with the AFL and the Kansas City Chiefs,Lamar Hunt also created the Dallas Tornado of the North American Soccer League(who folded in 1981),the Columbus Crew,the Kansas City Wizards,and FC Dallas.All teams played in Major League Soccer.He also founded the NASL and MLS.On December 13,2006,Lamar Hunt died of prostate cancer.

He will always be remembered as a father,owner,and the man who changed the NFL.The news came as shock to me and the Kansas City Chiefs organization,as he was the only owner in Chiefs history prior to his death.

RIP Lamar Hunt 1932-2006