Lamar Hunt

Lore & Background

Lamar Hunt was the principal founder of the American Football League (AFL) and Major League Soccer (MLS), as well as MLS's predecessor, the North American Soccer League (NASL), and co-founder of World Championship Tennis. He was also the founder and owner of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL), the Kansas City Wizards of MLS, and at the time of his death owned two other MLS teams, Columbus Crew and FC Dallas. In Kansas City, Hunt also helped establish the Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun theme parks.

Reader's Guide

The oldest ongoing national soccer tournament in the United States, the U.S. Open Cup (founded 1914), now bears his name in honor of his pioneering role in that sport stateside. Hunt was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972; into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1982; and into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1993 for his contribution to the birth of professional Open Era tennis. The National Soccer Hall of Fame bestowed upon Hunt their Medal of Honor in 1999, an award given to only three recipients in history thus far. He was married for 42 years to his second wife Norma, and had four children, Sharron, Lamar Jr., Daniel, and Clark Hunt.

Did You Know?

• Hunt coined the term 'Super Bowl' after his children played with a Super Ball toy.
• He was a college football player who rode the bench at Southern Methodist University.
• Hunt insisted on being listed as founder of the Chiefs, not owner, and publicly listed his phone number in the phone book for life.
• He financed the construction of Historic Crew Stadium, the first soccer-specific stadium built since 1913.