Ted's Polish-Mexican Page

In the news about the death of Lamar Hunt, you'll see an awful lot about his contributions to the game of football. He was, after all, the driving force behind the old AFL and he was willing to take on NFL owners and changed the way the sport was organized in this country. Heck, he even invented the Super Bowl.

One thing that is missed is his importance to the game of professional soccer in this country. A friend cajoled Hunt into watching the 1966 World Cup and Hunt was so hooked that he invested in the Dallas Tornado of the then brand new NASL. Hunt remained committed to that league for many years. Whatever poor business decisions were made by that league, it is hard to imagine that soccer would have even the second-rate status it has now without the dedication of businessmen like Hunt in those years.

(Oddly, one of the other big investors in the NASL was Ahmet Ertegün, who also died today.)

Hunt has, at one time or another, owned three MLS teams: Kansas City Wizards, FC Dallas and the Columbus Crew. The US Open Cup, a competition based on the English FA Cup and one of the oldest competitions of its kind in the world, was recently renamed the Lamar Hunt Cup in his honor. Even more of an honor for him, he got to raise that cup with both the Wizards and Crew.


Probably the best indication of his importance to the sport was something I heard from the MLS employee whose job it is to take care of the MLS Cup trophy. The trophy used to be heavier, but it was re-cast a bit lighter so that Hunt, then in his late 60's, could lift it over his head if any team he owned won the trophy. This happened once with the 2000 Kansas City WIzards.




Hasta la proxima. Do zobaczenia.