Forty-seven years ago, a small coterie of businessmen of varying backgrounds and degrees of wealth gathered with the notion of launching a football league.
They called those men “The Foolish Club,” but a new football concern wasn’t the wildest proposition; just nine years earlier the NFL had absorbed the All-America Football Conference into its ranks, an annexation that brought two franchises that would become among sport’s most beloved in the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers. (The Baltimore Colts, on the other hand, would not fare so well, though the name would be resurrected in 1953.)
The AFL would endure its ups and downs. Two of its original eight teams relocated within the league’s first three years. Another changed names, with the New York Titans becoming the Jets after Sonny Werblin and Leon Hess bought the team from founding owner Harry Wismer.
Eventually, though, the league flourished, and Lamar Hunt was in many ways its guiding light, first bringing together the founding owners and then sticking with the fledgling AFL after the NFL opted to expand to his hometown of Dallas. The AFL’s persistence and growing popularity eventually forced a merger with the NFL and the creation of a championship game — one whose name drew from Hunt observing his daughter playing with a Super Ball. Super Ball … Super Bowl … and a paragon of the American cultural lexcion was born.
Such is Hunt’s importance to the sport that the AFC championship trophy is named for him; six of his eponymous pieces of silverware sit in the lobby of Broncos headquarters, testament to their success in rising from AFL also-ran to perennial AFC contender.
The NFL that you recognize might not exist today were it not for Hunt and the other members of what was called the “Foolish Club” of owners who founded the American Football League.
Today, Hunt fights for his life in a Dallas hospital. After battling prostate cancer for eight years, he took ill with a collapsed lung last month, causing him to miss the Thanksgiving night showdown between his beloved Chiefs and the Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium. Further examination revealed that the cancer has spread, and he has been hospitalized ever since.
“There’s not any improvement,” Chiefs president Carl Peterson said. “He’s giving it everything he can. The doctors are also. We hope and pray for good results.”
If you spent even a small part of your life giving a damn about the Broncos, any of the teams that rose to NFL stability out of those fledgling days of the early 1960s, or even the growth of soccer in the United States, a sporting cause that Hunt held dear for years, manifesting itself in the 1994 World Cup and the creation of Major League Soccer — keep Hunt in your prayers. Without his efforts four decades ago, there might not be the Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders, Chargers, Bills, Patriots, Titans, Jets or their two AFL expansion followers in Cincinnati and Miami.
Tags: History, Lamar Hunt
Andrew,
Just wanted to take a moment and tip my cap to you for a great post regarding Mr. Hunt. Anyone with half a football brain knows what Lamar Hunt and other mean to the Denver Broncos, the NFL and professional sports in general in the United States. All Broncos fans should say a little prayer for Mr. Hunt an his family during this trying time.
TSG
http://www.milehighreport.com
Andrew, how about talking about Mike Shanahans mistakes?
THE CHICAGO BEARS ARE A REAL TEAM!
Rex Grossman just bounced back from a pretty horrible stretch where his defense had to carry him–though they did lose a game to a pretty good New England team. This included one of the worst games by any quarterback all year; 3 INTs, 0 TDs, 34 passing yards, and 6-19 completions–a QB rating of 1.3. But through it all, Lovie Smith and indeed the entire Bears team backed him…”Rex Grossman is our starting quarterback.”
So last night against the Rams, Grossman answered the out-and-out confidence of his coaches and teammates by playing a very good game; 2 TDs, 0 INTs, 200 yards on 13-23 passing. His teammates pumped fists, cheered loudly, and patted Rex on the back with every positive gain and the Bears re-established themselves as THE team to beat in the NFC. Quarterback controversy? Please.
Compare this to the Broncos, who feebly backed Jake Plummer for about 1/4 of a season while they “secretly” hinted towards Jay Cutler. It caused a ripple of uncertainty that now looks to keep the Broncos home during the playoffs for the first time since before the Plummer Era. No playoff money. No chance to step up and shine. Nothing but a mid-level draft pick.
So you say, “Well, the Bears have terrible backups.” Sure, 3rd-stringer Kyle Orton is in no way an improvement, but Brian Griese is a 9-year NFL veteran who, despite what you may think, has indeed had several successful seasons, throwing 20 TDs against 11 INTs in Tampa only 2 years ago and even in DENVER in 2000, when he threw 19 TDs against only 4 INTs in just 10 games.
You think Brian Griese, underwhelming as his overall career has been, is really a worse choice than an untested rookie from a weaker college program like Jay Cutler? No, he isn’t. And Grossman’s teammates still wanted Rex in there, despite having a couple of games that would have gotten Jake Plummer killed in Denver. I don’t mean booed–I mean KILLED, like shot from a bell tower with a rifle.
How do you think the Broncos felt (or at least, if they’re really a TEAM and not just a roster SHOULD HAVE felt) about the season-long QB controversy that ended with a desperation move by the head coach when the division still seemed winnable? The probably didn’t feel too confident in their coach’s strategies anymore. They probably felt like they’d wasted their season trying to do something they were now being told they weren’t capable of without the help of their magical rookie–who turned out to be depressingly average.
The Bears gave Rex Grossman their unanimous vote of confidence in the face of adversity and it’s looking more and more like the right choice. Consequently, it’s making Shanahan look like the Emperor who had no clothes.
But that’s just one little horsie’s opinion.
Dude…you really shouldn’t put such a post on this article.
LetPlummerPlay, I’m going to leave your post up because it doesn’t come laced with profanity or any overt insults to fellow users, and because I respect your rights to your opinions. But a page on Lamar Hunt really isn’t the time or the place for this discussion, don’t you think?
Are you kidding me?? How does a post honoring one of the patriarch’s of football turn into a Jake V. Jay thread. I have officially seen it all!!
TSG
http://www.milehighreport.com
Andrew….It’s a Denver Broncos page is it not? Do we really need to go into the all the posts that have rants and raves about various things all related to the Broncos? How about the Al Wilson post, where there was more “Jake Sucks” posts? It’s a Denver Broncos blog, I felt as a fan, it was appropriate to talk about anything related to the Denver Broncos and their current state of affairs, which, happens to be a disaster. I am frustrated with the organization and it’s decisions.
I in no way meant to be disrespectful to Lamar Hunt, or his family, but then again, I didn’t know this was a church service? It’s a football blog, where people talk about football.
From now on, I will read and then re-read the story you post and comment only on the story you write about…because if you look back on all your posts, you will notice every comment is ALWAYS about what you write about…..
Conversations have a way of meandering away from the subject of the post, or not even touching upon it at all. That’s fine. But when the subject is one of the giants of the game lying seriously ill, someone who deserves a little tribute … that’s a scosh different. I think we can keep the Plummer/Cutler/causes-for-the-losing-streak debates off of this one page. There’s plenty of places around here to discuss all that, and by all means, do so. Frankly, any other page is fine.
But even in the relatively narrow slice of life that is Broncos football, there are things much bigger than what’s transpiring on the field … like this. This isn’t a church service, but it is about respect — respect for a man who has accomplished more than perhaps even he could possibly imagine, a man without whom we might not have the Denver Broncos and their ups and downs as a discussion topic.
Thank you very much Andrew. Well said. LetPlummerPlay you have every right to post you comments where ever you may please but I did notice you have posted that comment two other times. You could most certainly found something postive to say if you felt it neccessary to comment on this blog, but whatever some people have a sever lack of respect. Thanks again Andrew.
Thank you Andrew. I agree with all said. Mr. Hunt, our thoughts / well wishes / prayers are with you.
Mr. Hunt—–Thank You! The NFL is a part of you!!!
There always was something about Lamar Hunt that made you like him, no matter if our Broncos were in a bitter rivalry with his Chiefs or not. He seemed like this quietly passionate, nice guy that you just had to admire. His contributions to the league cannot be measured by any words, especially in the early AFL days. He was a very instrumental person in pro football that we all will miss and owe a great amount of gratitude to..thank you, Mr. Hunt, for what you did here on this earth. Rest in peace..