Hank Stram

Lore & Background

Stram was born in Chicago as Henry Louis Stram on January 3, 1923. His Polish-born father, Henry Wilczek, a tailor, had wrestled professionally under the name Stramm, the German word for 'sturdy,' and the family's surname was eventually changed to Stram. He later grew up in Gary, Indiana, and graduated from Lew Wallace High School class of 1941. He earned seven letters playing football and baseball and joined the Sigma Chi fraternity at Purdue in the 1940s, playing in 1942 and again in 1946 and 1947. Stram served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, interrupting his university career. He was an assistant football coach for the Boilermakers from 1948 to 1955 and the head baseball coach from 1951 to 1955. In 1997, Stram was inducted into the Purdue Athletic Hall of Fame (Len Dawson was inducted in 1996). After coaching at Purdue, Stram was an assistant at Notre Dame, Southern Methodist University, and Miami. Stram was Miami's backfield coach and credited with installing the multiple offense that helped lead the team to a 6–4 record in 1959. In 1959, Lamar Hunt recruited Stram to coach his Dallas Texans in the new AFL, which commenced play in 1960. Hunt had previously been a student manager at SMU when Stram had been coaching there and the Texans' position had been turned down by Oklahoma Sooners head coach Bud Wilkinson and New York Giants defensive coordinator Tom Landry. The Texans played their first game in the new AFL in September 1960 and proved to be successful from the beginning. In 1962, the Texans won the AFL Western Division and the AFL championship. The Texans won the championship against the Houston Oilers 20–17 in what was the longest professional football championship game ever played. Tommy Brooker kicked a field goal at 17:54 of overtime to win the game for the Texans and stop the Oilers from winning their third straight title. The Dallas Texans became the Kansas City Chiefs in 1963 and continued their success. In 1966, they won the AFL title again on the back of one of the best defensive teams in the history of professional football featuring three hall of famers and eight all star players. The Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills 31–7 in Buffalo. The Chiefs played the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl I with the Packers winning 35–10. To overcome the Chiefs' defense, Packers' coach Vince Lombardi used a short passing game whic

In Their Own Story

The tunnel at Tulane Stadium felt colder than the New Orleans night air suggested. Stram adjusted his headset, the wire coiling like a snake against his shoulder pads. He looked down the line of players, their breath misting in the floodlights. He didn't shout; he spoke with a quiet intensity that cut through the crowd noise. “We’re gonna win this thing,” he told them, not as a hope, but as a promise. The Vikings were heavy favorites, but Stram saw something they didn’t: a team forged in the fire of rivalry and ready to claim their place in history.

Reader's Guide

Stram won three AFL championships: one with the Dallas Texans (1962) and two with the Kansas City Chiefs (1966, 1969). He then won Super Bowl IV with the Chiefs. He never had an offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, or special teams coach during his career with the Chiefs. He was the only head coach who lasted the entire history of the AFL (1960–1969).

Did You Know?

• Stram led the Dallas Texans to one AFL championship (1962) before the franchise relocated to Kansas City in 1963.
• The 1966 AFL championship was won by the Kansas City Chiefs, not the Dallas Texans.
• Stram won three AFL championships total: 1962 (Dallas Texans), 1966 and 1969 (Kansas City Chiefs).
• Stram was the first professional football coach to wear a microphone during a Super Bowl (Super Bowl IV).