The Legacy of Lamar Hunt
No other professional sports team in Dallas has the pioneering legacy of FC Dallas. The story of FC Dallas is tied to Dallas’ soccer history, which began in 1966 when Lamar Hunt attended a World Cup match in England and was inspired to bring professional soccer to the U.S.
Mr. Hunt formed the Dallas Tornado, one of the first professional soccer clubs in the U.S., and the NASL (North American Soccer League) in 1967. The team carried a roster of professional players transported from Europe. When their playing days were over many of these players, such as Bobby Moffat and Kenny Cooper Sr., began second careers in coaching/conducting clinics, further spreading interest and developing talent in North Texas.
Professional soccer continued in Dallas through the 1980’s with the rise of the indoor Dallas Sidekicks. Former Tornado players Billy Phillips and Neil Cohen played significant roles in the success of the Sidekicks.
The United States was awarded the 1994 World Cup. Not only was Lamar Hunt key to the bid to bring the World Cup to the U.S., but his leadership also influenced the creation of MLS.
In 1995, Dallas was awarded a charter team in MLS, the only FIFA sanctioned first division league in the U.S. The Dallas Burn won its first Championship, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, in 1997.
Hunt Sports Group, an original investor in MLS, acquired the Burn in 2002 and launched plans to build a soccer-specific stadium in North Texas. After an intensive search process, HSG, City of Frisco, Frisco Independent School District and Collin County developed the first public/private soccer specific stadium in the US.
In 2005, the team was relaunched as FC Dallas. With a new name, new European-style jerseys and a first-class venue in FC Dallas Stadium, Lamar Hunt, and the Hunt Sports Group again helped to solidify the future of soccer in our region.
The continued success and growth of youth soccer in Dallas and the surrounding areas is directly related to Mr. Hunt’s four decades of supporting soccer at all levels. Mr. Hunt’s vision is carried on today through his sons, Clark and Dan, and the fans of FC Dallas.
Since his passing in 2006, players of FC Dallas have worn a patch with a Circle LH to honor the legacy of Lamar Hunt.
Thank you, Uncle Lamar.
http://www.fcdallas.com/club/legacy Revised October 16, 2013
Mr. Hunt formed the Dallas Tornado, one of the first professional soccer clubs in the U.S., and the NASL (North American Soccer League) in 1967. The team carried a roster of professional players transported from Europe. When their playing days were over many of these players, such as Bobby Moffat and Kenny Cooper Sr., began second careers in coaching/conducting clinics, further spreading interest and developing talent in North Texas.
Professional soccer continued in Dallas through the 1980’s with the rise of the indoor Dallas Sidekicks. Former Tornado players Billy Phillips and Neil Cohen played significant roles in the success of the Sidekicks.
The United States was awarded the 1994 World Cup. Not only was Lamar Hunt key to the bid to bring the World Cup to the U.S., but his leadership also influenced the creation of MLS.
In 1995, Dallas was awarded a charter team in MLS, the only FIFA sanctioned first division league in the U.S. The Dallas Burn won its first Championship, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, in 1997.
Hunt Sports Group, an original investor in MLS, acquired the Burn in 2002 and launched plans to build a soccer-specific stadium in North Texas. After an intensive search process, HSG, City of Frisco, Frisco Independent School District and Collin County developed the first public/private soccer specific stadium in the US.
In 2005, the team was relaunched as FC Dallas. With a new name, new European-style jerseys and a first-class venue in FC Dallas Stadium, Lamar Hunt, and the Hunt Sports Group again helped to solidify the future of soccer in our region.
The continued success and growth of youth soccer in Dallas and the surrounding areas is directly related to Mr. Hunt’s four decades of supporting soccer at all levels. Mr. Hunt’s vision is carried on today through his sons, Clark and Dan, and the fans of FC Dallas.
Since his passing in 2006, players of FC Dallas have worn a patch with a Circle LH to honor the legacy of Lamar Hunt.
Thank you, Uncle Lamar.
http://www.fcdallas.com/club/legacy Revised October 16, 2013
Not Just Soccer....Heard of the Kansas City Chiefs?
Lamar Hunt has been an instrumental part of creating what we now know as the NFL. His finger print in the sport shall never be forgotten. Below is a timeline of how the AFL was created and how many of the teams in the NFL were formed, including the Kansas City Chiefs. The timeline below can be seen in further detail at http://www.kcchiefs.com/team/chiefs-history.html.
1958
Lamar Hunt's efforts to acquire an expansion NFL franchise for his hometown of Dallas were rebuked by the league. However, his desire to secure a professional football franchise was further heightened after watching the historic '58 NFL Championship Game between Baltimore and the N.Y. Giants.
1959
After another attempt at landing an NFL expansion franchise for Dallas was spurned, NFL officials suggested that Hunt contact the Wolfner family, owners of the Chicago Cardinals franchise. Violet Bidwell Wolfner, mother of current Cardinals owner William Bidwell, and her husband Walter eventually agreed to sell Hunt 20 percent of the Cardinals franchise. Hunt declined the opportunity. He then conceived the concept of forming a second league. "Why wouldn't a second league work," Hunt recalled. "There was an American and National League in baseball, why not football?" Hunt contacted several other individuals who had expressed interest in the Cardinals franchise - Bud Adams (Houston), Bob Howsam (Denver), Max Winter and Bill Boyer (Minneapolis) - and gauged their interest in forming a second league. Adams quickly signed on and the young league, albeit still very much in its infancy stages, already had its first rivalry.
With four teams in the ranks including Hunt's Dallas franchise, he sought franchises in New York and Los Angeles. Before ownership in those cities was secured, Hunt sought the NFL's blessing for his endeavor, hoping that NFL Commissioner Bert Bell would oversee both leagues. "I told myself I didn't want to go into this if it meant some kind of battle," Hunt remembered. "Of course, this was one of the more naive thoughts in the history of pro sports." Although the NFL wanted no part of Hunt's new league, Hunt gave his blessing for Bell to mention it in the course of his testimony before a Congressional committee on July 28th. "At that point, no one had put up a penny and I had no commitments from New York or Los Angeles," Hunt continued. "But Bert Bell had announced it. We were in business."
The AFL forged forward as former World War II hero and two-term South Dakota governor Joe Foss was named commissioner on November 30th. A second, 20-round AFL draft was held on December 2nd. Hunt pursued both legendary University of Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson and N.Y. Giants defensive assistant Tom Landry to lead his Texans franchise. Wilkinson opted to stay at Oklahoma, while Landry was destined to coach the NFL's franchise in Dallas. Hunt settled on a relatively unknown assistant coach from the University of Miami (Florida), Hank Stram. "One of the biggest reasons I hired Hank was that he really wanted the job," Hunt explained. "It turned out to be a very lucky selection on my part."
1960
Hunt was elected President of the AFL on January 26th. Minneapolis officially withdrew from the AFL on January 27th. An ownership group from Dallas was awarded an expansion NFL franchise on January 28th to begin play that season in direct competition with the Texans. That same day, AFL owners approved the two-point conversion rule which was utilized for the AFL's 10-year existence, a rule that wouldn't resurface in the NFL for 34 more years. On January 30th, Oakland replaced Minneapolis as the eighth AFL outpost. In another ironic twist, the Chicago Cardinals franchise which Hunt had attempted to purchase a year earlier received permission from the NFL to transfer to St. Louis on March 13th. Perhaps the most important moment in the AFL's formative years came on June 9th when the league signed a five-year television contract with ABC that paid each club $112,000 during the '60 season.
The Texans set up offices in the Mercantile Securities Building, while Foss headquartered the AFL offices out of Dallas, as well. The Texans shared the Cotton Bowl for three seasons with the NFL's Cowboys. Reserved seats were $4, general admission $2 and high school students paid $.90 that initial season. Don Rossi served as the team's General Manager until November when he was succeeded by Jack Steadman. The Texans conducted their inaugural training camp at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, NM. The club embarked on a whirlwind preseason barnstorming tour that featured road games in Oakland, Tulsa, Boston, Abilene and Little Rock. An announced crowd of 51,000 at the Cotton Bowl witnessed a 24-3 victory vs. Houston (9/2) as the club concluded a perfect 6-0 preseason record.
Goin' To Kansas City
1963
Despite the Texans championship season in '62, the Dallas market simply could not sustain two professional football franchises. In early '63, Hunt had taken scouting trips to cities such as Atlanta and Miami. Kansas City Mayor H. Roe Bartle learned of Hunt's interest in a new home for the Texans and extended an invitation for Hunt and Jack Steadman to move the franchise to Mid-America. After the duo visited Kansas City on an incognito basis, an ambitious campaign took shape to deliver on Bartle's guarantee to Hunt of tripling the season-ticket base the Texans had enjoyed in Dallas. Kansas City's mayor, nicknamed "Chief," also promised to add 3,000 permanent seats to Municipal Stadium, as well as 11,000 temporary bleacher seats. Along with Bartle, a number of other prominent Kansas Citians stepped forward to aid in the efforts, putting together more than 1,000 workers to sell season tickets. On May 22nd, Hunt announced he was moving the franchise to Kansas City. Hunt and Stram initially planned on calling the relocated team the Kansas City Texans, but thanks to the insistence of Steadman, the team was officially christened the Chiefs on May 26th, in part to honor the efforts of Bartle. During their inaugural season in Kansas City, the Chiefs charged $7 for box seats and $6 for reserved seats at Municipal Stadium.
1970
In the final game in AFL history, the Chiefs became the league's only three-time champions, defeating the Raiders by a 17-7 count at Oakland (1/4). Making the victory even more satisfying for the Chiefs was the fact that the Raiders players had to sheepishly walk out of the stadium with the luggage they had packed for New Orleans and Super Bowl IV. During the days preceding Kansas City's clash with the heavily-favored Vikings, unsubstantiated media reports associating Dawson with a known gambler hounded the Chiefs quarterback. The night before the game, Ed Sabol of NFL Films approached Vikings coach Bud Grant about being miked for the game. Grant declined, but Stram accepted. As both the Chiefs and the cameras rolled, Stram clamored for his team to run "65 toss power trap" and to "keep matriculating the ball down the field." The Chiefs used the game as a crusade for the American Football League and wore "AFL-10" patches which referred to the league's 10-year existence.
http://www.kcchiefs.com/team/chiefs-history/1960s.html Revised October 21, 2013