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Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. Hunt revolutionized three different sports—pro football, tennis, and soccer—winding up in the Hall of Fame of each. What he couldn't possibly have known on that day was that the forces of the entrenched National Football League would soon be arrayed against him. The league would place its own team in his hometown of Dallas, in direct competition with his team, and would attempt to undermine the new league, trying on repeated occasions before that first season to prevent the new American Football League from ever starting. And what the NFL couldn't have known, but would soon find out, was that Hunt, the mild-mannered, bespectacled son of legendary oilman H. Hunt, had an indomitable will, and patience beyond his years. Resolute and innovative, he successfully launched the AFL and, seven years later, helped broker a merger deal, which created the need for a championship game between the two leagues. Then he came up with the name of the game--the Super Bowl.
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Born on August 2, in El Dorado, Arkansas, Hunt is recognized as one of the greatest sports visionaries in American history and a pioneer professional soccer in the United States. Hunt helped make pro football history in by founding and organizing the American Football League. Uncle Lamar formed the Dallas Tornado, one of the first professional soccer clubs in the U. The team carried a roster of professional players transported from Europe. The United States was awarded the World Cup. The Hunt family stepped to the forefront of U. The Hunts were the original investor-operators of the charter teams from Columbus Ohio and Kansas City. Hunt made his greatest contribution to soccer in this country in , when he made pro soccer history by funding the construction of the first soccer-specific stadium in the United States as the Columbus Crew opened their revolutionary facility. The stadium broke ground on Aug. Columbus Crew Stadium opened on May 15, and a sold-out, overflow crowd of 24, to watch the Crew defeat the New England Revolution
Hunt was originally diagnosed with prostate cancer in '98 and quietly underwent many treatments and surgeries over the past eight years. He maintained his active schedule until entering the hospital for the final time on November 22nd. He is survived by his wife, Norma and their four children, Lamar, Jr. He was also the proud grandfather of 14 grandchildren. Recognized as one of the greatest sportsmen in American history, Hunt served as the guiding force behind the formation of both the American Football League and the Kansas City Chiefs franchise. Hunt served as a positive influence on the game for 47 years dating back to his conception of the American Football League in ' He was the first AFL figure to be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in '72, a remarkable feat considering he became involved in the game just 13 years earlier. Hunt served as the catalyst who brought together the whimsically-named "Foolish Club" comprised of the eight original AFL owners. His "impossible dream" became a reality when his fledgling league took foot on the field for the '60 season. Without him, there would have been no AFL.