Nt Great Speaks On Lamar Hunt

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Abner Haynes recalls the great Lamar Hunt

By Scott Boyter

EDITOR

Abner Haynes was what you might call the original Super Chief. Although his pro career started in Dallas as a member of the Texans, Haynes still holds 11 Kansas City Chief franchise records, including most career combined yards (8,442). He was Hall of Fame head coach Hank Stram’s most versatile and dangerous weapon during his five seasons in Dallas and Kansas City, amassing 43 touchdowns and 4,472 rushing and receiving yards from 1960-62 alone.

Haynes shared his thoughts on another legend, Lamar Hunt, who was the Texans’ original owner. He moved the team to KC in 1963. But Hunt’s legacy stretches even further in the National Football League, as one of the founders of the AFL and one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Super Bowl. As the 41st edition of the big game approaches we thought it’d be appropriate to pay tribute to the late Mr. Hunt through the words of Haynes, someone who knew him better than most.

What was your perception of Lamar Hunt before he signed you to play for the Texans?

My original perception, based on the situation I was in, you’d have to start with my family. I grew up in South Dallas and attended Lincoln High School, had brothers

and sisters who were all high school and college athletes, and had a father who was bishop of our church. He knew Mr. Hunt’s father, H.L. We all knew about the Hunts as a family.

As far as Lamar goes, I had a really positive perception of him. I knew he loved Dallas, and really was a city leader.

What was he like as an owner?

At the time, he was more involved with us as players than most owners. Usually, owners and players really didn’t have relationships. I looked to him for a lot of guidance to deal with different situations I encountered as a black athlete in this country.

I knew I was OK in Dallas, but I was concerned whenever we would leave. He was just what I needed, I guess, because I needed to learn how to handle tough situations without being too reactionary when trouble came up.

There was one time where we were scheduled to play an exhibition game in Little Rock. That was bothering me and my family, but we didn’t say anything. And

Lamar was a good friend through all of that. When we got to Little Rock, I noticed that he and Coach (Hank) Stram spent a lot of time having meetings, and I could tell something was wrong. I just couldn’t tell what it was. Finally, Coach Stram called me and the other captains over and told us that we, the black players, wouldn’t be able to stay in the same hotel as the rest of the team.

Lamar pulled me over and explained to me how this was out of his control, and he asked me to make sure I kept an eye on all of the black players, to try and keep order. That was an incident where just about any other owner wouldn’t have said anything to the guys. It taught me a lot about him. And there were a lot of other instances where I received death threats in the mail and threatening phone calls, but he and the organization handled those situations so well I didn’t have to worry. All I had to do was perform on the field.

How did the relationship between you and Mr. Hunt evolve after your playing career ended?

Lamar and I stayed close through the years, but we had to be careful not to create any conflicts of interest because I was a licensed player agent for a long time. He helped teach me about the term “conflict of interest,” in fact. He also taught me a lot about integrity. He set up my contract so that I’d be OK financially after I played. You know, a lot of times as a player you don’t think about what you’re going to do after your career’s over. But he made sure I didn’t do that. All through the process of knowing him, I was amazed at the guy’s loyalty and commitment to the people of Dallas. Especially the young people. He used to tell me that one of the best things we can do, and the reason that we work so hard, is there are so many youngsters out there watching, if we can accomplish our goals it can inspire

them to accomplish theirs. He also knew it was important to help people understand about different cultures and about the problem of racism.

The truth is, playing pro ball is just that, playing pro ball. It turned out that we the players were the tool that the country used to deal with racism and hatred. By playing football games in areas that had never seen blacks and whites working together, we showed people that it could work. Mr. Hunt seemed to have a sense of that, and he ingrained it into me.

You knew Mr. Hunt a lot better than most people. What was a facet of his personality a lot of people may not know he possessed?

Well, he was an extremely competitive person. I saw it all the time. All you had to do is be around him. What a lot of people don’t realize is that Mr. Hunt was a guard on the SMU football team. As a player, I knew that. He was just like another player. If you have been through the process of college or high school ball, you may not be an All-American, but the important thing is you’re a brother because you’ve come through the pain of that process.

I was familiar with Mr. Hunt and the whole team. To me, he was another player. He’d knock the hell out of you. His daddy had money and all of that, but I knew a lot of rich guys and that wouldn’t keep them from knocking you out if they had the chance.

Where would Mr. Hunt rank among the most influential people in your life, and why?

Right at the top. I met him at a very young age, at the time where I was trying to develop in other areas. I had the foundation from my family, but as you get older you grow and you need to be around the kind of people from whom you can pick up the characteristics that will help you and others down the road. I can’t think of anyone who had not only more impact, but who had that impact for a longer time. This story will go on for many years because of the success that Mr. Hunt, the Hunt family and the Haynes family have had building our relationship.

He was such a humble guy; he never acted like he had a lot of money. And he was a real fan. He came to see me play at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, and I was

shocked. It was coooold. But he told me that he was going to sign me after the game under the goal post.

And I’ll be damned if he didn’t.

COURTESY: NFLMEDIA.COM

THE HAYNES

FILE

Date of Birth: September 19, 1937

Place of Birth: Denton, Texas

Position(s) Running back

College: North Texas

AFL Draft: 1960/Round 1

AFL All-Star: 1961,1962, 1963

Awards: 1960 AFL Rookie of the Year

Honors: 1962 UPI, AP AFL MVP; All-Time

All-AFL 2nd Team