Lamar Hunt Lamar Hunt ( August 2 , 1932 – December 13 , 2006 ) was an American sportsman and promoter of American football , soccer , basketball , and ice hockey in the United States and an inductee into three sports ' halls of fame . He was one of the founders of the American Football League ( AFL ) and Major League Soccer ( MLS ) , as well as MLS predecessor the ( NASL ) . He was also the founder and owner of the National Football League ' s Kansas City Chiefs , the Kansas City Wizards and at his death owned two MLS teams , Columbus Crew and FC Dallas . The oldest ongoing national soccer tournament in the U . S . , the U . S . Open Cup ( founded 1914 ) now bears his name in honor of his pioneering role in that sport stateside . In Kansas City , Hunt also helped establish the Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun theme parks . He 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 . The National Soccer Hall of Fame bestowed upon Hunt their Medal of Honor in 1999 , an award given to only 3 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 . Biography . Early life . Hunt was born in El Dorado , Arkansas , the son of oil tycoon H . L . Hunt and younger brother of tycoons Nelson Bunker Hunt and William Herbert Hunt . Lamar was raised in Dallas , Texas . He attended Culver Military Academy and graduated from The Hill School in Pennsylvania in 1951 and Southern Methodist University in Dallas in 1956 , with a B . S . degree in geology . Hunt was a college football player who rode the bench but was still an avid sports enthusiast during his time in college and throughout his entire childhood . While attending SMU , Hunt joined the Kappa Sigma Fraternity and in 1972 was named " man of the year . " Founding of the American Football League . On the strength of his great inherited oil wealth , Hunt applied for a National Football League expansion franchise but was turned down . In 1959 , professional football was a distant second to Major League Baseball in popularity , and the thinking among NFL executives was that the league must be careful not to " oversaturate " the market by expanding too quickly . Hunt also attempted to purchase the NFL ' s Chicago Cardinals franchise in 1959 with the intent to move them to Dallas , but was again turned down . In response , Hunt approached several other businessmen who had also unsuccessfully sought NFL franchises , including fellow Texan and oil man K . S . Bud Adams of Houston , about forming a new football league , and the American Football League was established in August 1959 . The group of the eight founders of the AFL teams was referred to as the " Foolish Club . " Hunt ' s goal was to bring professional football to Texas and to acquire an NFL team for the Hunt family . Hunt became owner of the Dallas Texans and hired future hall - of - famer Hank Stram as the team ' s first head coach . Ownership and NFL merger . The Dallas Texans were one of the most successful AFL teams in the league ' s early days but the their success failed to draw fans in large numbers , as the Texans had to compete for fan loyalty with their cross - town NFL rivals , the Dallas Cowboys . In 1963 Hunt began to consider moving the team . Kansas City became one of the contending cities for the franchise . In order to convince Hunt to move the team to Kansas City , mayor H . Roe Bartle promised Hunt home attendance of 25 , 000 people per game . Hunt finally agreed to move the team to Kansas City and in 1963 the Dallas Texans became the Kansas City Chiefs . In 1966 , the NFL and AFL agreed to merge , with a championship game between the two leagues to be played after that season . In a July 25 , 1966 , letter to NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle , Hunt wrote , " I have kiddingly called it the ' Super Bowl , ' which obviously can be improved upon . " Hunt would later say the name was likely in his head because his children had been playing with a Super Ball toy . Although the leagues ' owners decided on the name " AFL - NFL Championship Game , " the media immediately picked up on Hunt ' s " Super Bowl " name , which would become official beginning with the third annual game . In the Chiefs ' first two seaons attendance did not match the levels Mayor Bartle had promised , but in 1966 average home attendance at Chiefs games increased and reached 37 , 000 . By 1969 — aided by some very successful and entertaining teams — Chiefs ' average home attendance had reached 51 , 000 . In 1966 the Chiefs won their first AFL Championship and reached the first ever Super Bowl , which the Chiefs lost to the Green Bay Packers . The Chiefs remained successful through the 1960s , and in 1970 the Chiefs won the AFL Championship and Super Bowl IV ( the last Super Bowl played when the AFL was a separate league prior to it being absorbed into the NFL as the American Football Conference ) over the heavily - favored Minnesota Vikings . In 1972 , Hunt became the first American Football League personage inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame . The trophy presented to each year ' s AFC Champions is named the Lamar Hunt Trophy . In 1984 , Hunt was also inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame . Hunt insisted that he be listed in the team media guide as the " founder " of the Chiefs rather than the " owner " . He publicly listed his telephone number in the phone book until his death . The NASL : ownership and battles with the NFL . In 1967 Hunt helped promote professional soccer in the United States . Hunt ' s interest in soccer began in 1962 when he accompanied his future wife , Norma , to a Shamrock Rovers match in Dublin , Ireland . In 1966 , he viewed the FIFA World Cup in England , and then attended nine of the next 11 World Cups tournaments . Hunt was one of the few people in the world who attended a game in every World Cup stadium during World Cup USA 1994 , World Cup France 1998 and World Cup Korea / Japan in 2002 . In 1967 , Hunt founded the Dallas Tornado as members of the United Soccer Association . In 1968 the league merged with the National Professional Soccer League to form the . Hunt was an active advocate for the sport and the league and the Dallas Tornado won the NASL championship in 1971 and were runners - up 1973 . The NFL owners were not happy with Hunt ' s ownership in and promotion of pro soccer . The NFL attempted to force legal requirements that would disallow team ownership in more than one sport for owners of NFL franchises . This strategy backfired on the NFL , and the NASL won an anti - trust case against the NFL . A primary benefactor of this outcome was Lamar Hunt . Major League Soccer . Lamar Hunt was also one of the original founding investors of Major League Soccer , which debuted in 1996 . He originally owned two teams : the Columbus Crew and the Kansas City Wizards ( now Sporting Kansas City ) . In 1999 , Hunt financed the construction of the Columbus Crew Stadium , the first of several large soccer - specific stadium s in the USA . In 2003 , Hunt purchased a third team , the Dallas Burn ( now FC Dallas ) , after announcing that he would partially finance the construction of their own soccer - specific stadium . On 31 August 2006 , Hunt sold the Wizards to a six - man ownership group led by Cerner Corporation co - founders Neal Patterson and Cliff Illig . Other sports and activities . Basketball : Hunt was one of the founding investors of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association . He remained a minority owner until his death . Tennis : In 1968 , Hunt co - founded the World Championship Tennis circuit , which gave birth to the open era in tennis . He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1993 . NHL : Hunt and John H . McConnell formed Columbus Hockey Limited , L . L . C . ( CHL ) in an effort to obtain a National Hockey League franchise for Columbus , Ohio . Following disagreements over the financing for an arena , McConnell accepted an offer to lease a new arena from Nationwide Insurance Enterprise . McConnell froze - out CHL and Hunt and was awarded the NHL Columbus Blue Jackets franchise . See " McConnell v . Hunt Sports Enterprises " , 132 Ohio App . 3d 657 , 725 N . E . 2d 1193 ( 1999 ) , a lawsuit that Lamar Hunt lost and thus granted McConnel sole ownership of the Columbus Blue Jackets . Amusement Parks and Caves : Hunt was also the founder of two theme parks in Kansas City : Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun , which opened in 1973 and 1982 respectively . The two parks were an outgrowth and adjoined a vast industrial park he developed in the bluffs above the Missouri River in Clay County , Missouri . Immediately south of the parks is the Hunt - developed SubTropolis , a 55 , 000 , 000 square foot ( 5 , 060 , 000 m³ ) , manmade limestone cave which is claimed to be the " World ' s Largest Underground Business Complex ( TM ) . " Hunt ' s extensive business dealings in Clay County were to contribute to the Chiefs having their NFL Training Camp at William Jewell College in Liberty , Missouri until 1991 . Death . Lamar Hunt died December 13 , 2006 at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas of complications related to a ten - year battle with prostate cancer . Upon his death , Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called Hunt , " a founder of the NFL as we know it today . . . He ' s been an inspiration for me . " Said Dan Rooney , chairman of the Pittsburgh Steelers : " Lamar Hunt was one of the most influential owners in professional football over the past 40 - plus years , He was instrumental in the formation of the American Football League and in the AFL - NFL merger , which helped the National Football League grow into America ' s passion . " The Mayor of Kansas City , Missouri , Kay Waldo Barnes , requested that all city flags fly at half - staff the following Thursday and Friday of his death . Upon his death his son Clark Hunt was named chairman of the Kansas City Chiefs and FC Dallas . He was elected by his other three siblings , Lamar Jr . , Sharron Munson , and Daniel . Tribute . In 2007 , the Kansas City Chiefs honored Hunt and the AFL . The Chiefs " 2007 Media Guide " is full of images , logos and anecdotes about the league and each of its original teams . featured in the " Guide " and in the Chiefs " 2007 Yearbook " is a special AFL patch . The " Yearbook ' s " description of the patch states : " As part of a year - long tribute to Hunt in 2007 , the Chiefs will wear a commemorative patch that prominently features the American Football League logo to serve as a reminder of Hunt ' s formation of the AFL and the lasting impact the American Football League has made on the game of Professional Football . The patch will be affixed to the left chest of both Kansas City ' s home and away jerseys , meaning this piece of woven symbolism will be worn over the heart of every Chiefs player . " On January 31 , 2008 , Clark Hunt , Lamar Hunt ' s son and Chairman of the Chiefs , announced that henceforth , the patch will be a permanent part of the Chiefs uniform . In 2007 , the Columbus Crew honored their founder and owner by displaying a commemorative Lamar Hunt emblem on the left chest of both the home and away jerseys . The emblem consisted of the initials " LH " within a circle . Prior to the 2008 season , the Crew announced that the " LH " emblem will be a permanent patch on the left sleeve of the club ' s jerseys . In addition , Crew supporters groups have added the LH emblem to their scarves and banners . After the Crew won the MLS Cup championship in 2008 , the " LH " emblem was inscribed on the inside of the team ' s championship rings .