Lamar Hunt
The NFL would look vastly different today if it hadn’t been for a 27-year-old Texan named Lamar Hunt – and a bold move he initiated in 1959. That year, Hunt helped form the American Football League, more commonly known as the AFL, to rival the NFL. In 1960, Hunt founded the Dallas Texans, which Hunt moved to Kansas City three years later and was re-named the Chiefs. Hunt coined the term "Super Bowl" and in 1969, Hunt's Chiefs won Super Bowl IV. The Chiefs, along with many AFL teams including the Raiders, Jets, Broncos, and Patriots, joined the NFL after the 1969 season under a merger agreement that Hunt helped negotiate. Hunt was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972, the first AFL-associated person to receive the honor. Each season since 1984, a trophy bearing Lamar Hunt’s name has been awarded to the AFC Championship winner.