Soccer's Grandfather Subbed Out

Yesterday, at the age of 74, soccer's biggest fan passed away after a long battle with cancer. Hunt had been in the hospital since Thanksgiving with a collapsed lung and further complications from the disease.

Although Lamar Hunt is often remembered as a hero in the American Football League for his work with the Kansas City Chiefs, Hunt's greatest contributions helped establish two leagues playing the other kind of football.

After the 1966 World Cup, Hunt and few other football franchise owners such as Jack Kent Cooke believed that soccer would give their stadiums solid ticket dates during the summer off-season.

Hunt pioneered the way for soccer in America in 1967 when he became one of the founding members of the North American Soccer League.

Hunt established the Dallas Tornados, who cleared the path for nearly every soccer team afterwards.

Hunt's success in Dallas relied heavily on the establishment of youth leagues and the signing of American players. After about a decade, Dallas went from a city with no soccer fields nor equipment, to a soccer metropolis with 60,000 youth players.

With American players like Kyle Rote Jr., Hunt's Tornados brought in decent numbers. In 1972, over 24,000 spectators attended a match against Moscow Dynamo.

This model of grassroots marketing through local youth leagues and the signing of top American talents continues to be used to this day.

Hunt also put the first professional soccer team in Kansas City at his Arrowhead Stadium, the Kansas City Spurs.

After the NASL folded, Hunt took a brief break from soccer but would return with the foundation of Major League Soccer.

With full confidence in the new league after World Cup '94's success, Hunt purchased the rights to establish clubs in Columbus and Kansas City.

The Wizards replaced the Spurs as the soccer team in Arrowhead Stadium, but for Hunt's Crew a special project was in the wings.

In 1999, after three fairly successful campaigns in Columbus, the Crew became the first Major League Soccer to introduce the Soccer Specific Stadium. Hunt funded the construction of Crew Stadium, which can only be described as the Disneyland of American Soccer Stadiums.

1999 also saw Hunt invest in the oldest sports tournament in the United States, the U.S. Open Cup. This poorly recognized soccer tournament provides a stage for all professional club teams at all levels to face one another much like England's FA Cup. The tournament was renamed "The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup".

Hunt contributions to American soccer continued when in 2003 Hunt purchased the Dallas Burn, later renamed F.C. Dallas. Hunt saw to the construction of Dallas' new home, Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, TX.

Only a few months ago, Hunt sold the Wizards in Kansas City to OnGoal LLC who agreed to keep professional soccer in Kansas City, as Hunt wished.

It is clear that soccer as lost a champion and steward to the sport. Under his nurturing care, the sport blossomed in the United States to become the most played sport in America with approximately 17 Million participants. Hunt's attentiveness and passion for the game make him more than just a supporter or investor, they made him The Grandfather of American Soccer.

Lamar Hunt will be sorely missed by all of the fans of the beautiful in the United States. His accomplishments were many and will never be forgotten.