Lamar Hunt

Lamar Hunt, a native Texan and resident of Dallas throughout the time he owned the Chiefs, did an incredible amount of good for Kansas City during his lifetime. Of course, there are the Chiefs, which started out as the Dallas Texans in the American Football League. Oh, yeah, there's the American Football League, which Hunt founded and helped foster to what is now (basically) the NFL's American Football Conference. "It starts with Lamar Hunt," said Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson. "I've said many times: what would professional football be today without Lamar Hunt?"

But there's also Worlds of Fun. And Oceans of Fun.

Then there are the Wiz, Kansas City's pro soccer team, which has morphed into Sporting Kansas City and plays in the league that Hunt helped start, Major League Soccer (MLS). "To Kansas City, he's more than just the owner of a professional franchise," said the Chiefs' former president and general manager, Carl Peterson. "He's committed himself there with other businesses such as Hunt Midwest Enterprises, creating thousands of jobs throughout the Kansas City community. He's been one of the most philanthropic people I've ever been involved with."

He also encouraged his players to get involved in the Kansas City community with charitable endeavors. Really, there's no telling how many lives in Kansas City have been touched — directly or indirectly — by Lamar Hunt, the most unassuming and unsuspecting son of a billionaire oil man. "When you looked at the guy, you wouldn't think he had 20 cents on him, and he never did to my knowledge," Dawson said. "But he was a very humble person who wanted to win."

Hunt's humility helped shape the Chiefs franchise. Along the way, whether in the early days of the organization when they were his contemporaries or in his later years when he was a fatherly figure, Hunt left an impression that remains today.

"The difference between Lamar and all of the other owners I've had the opportunity to meet," said former defensive back Jayice Pearson, "is that he genuinely cared about the players. That's something that is rare. He would walk up to you and know your name, know where you're from. He'd come up to us after a game, almost apprehensive like a fan ... and here's the dude who's signing the checks! He could talk to us any way he wanted to, but he was a really humble guy and cared about people."

The son of wealthy oil baron H.L. Hunt, Lamar used that money to purchase an AFL team, an understandable investment, considering he played college football at SMU. His impact on football was immeasurable. He would even coin the term "Super Bowl," a term originated from the Super Ball toy with which his children played. While owning the Chiefs, Hunt became one of the more popular and respected figures — both within the NFL and his own franchise.

"Lamar Hunt was a wonderful man; I love Lamar Hunt and his wife Norma," said former quarterback Bill Kenney. "Great people and great for this city. When I decided to run for the Missouri Senate, I called Lamar and asked him if he'd support me. He said he would, so I asked if he'd host a fund-raiser for me at his suite. He agreed to do it. The event was kicking off, and Lamar and I were standing there, looking at the field [at Arrowhead]. They were just putting down grass. I had played on artificial turf my entire career here. I joked and said, 'Lamar, if we had grass when I was playing, I might still be collecting a paycheck from you.' He chuckled and said, 'Yeah, but you never would've gotten into politics.' I asked what he meant. He said, 'Bill, I think you hit your head one too many times on that artificial turf.'"

No one worked closer with Lamar Hunt than Jack Steadman, who had been working for Hunt Oil for about five years before joining Hunt and the Texans with the AFL endeavor. Steadman, of course, became the team's general manager and president. "When God created man," Steadman has said many times, "he had Lamar Hunt in mind. He was one of the most humble, gracious, caring persons that I've ever been around. In all of the 47 years that I worked with...