DALLAS, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt lost his long battle with prostate cancer Wednesday night at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.
He was 74 years old.
Hunt, the team's founder, came up with the phase "Super Bowl," for the NFL's annual championship game.
He was the guiding force behind the formation of both the American Football League and the Chiefs' franchise, and was recognized as one of the great sportsmen in U.S. history.
"He lived his whole life to make a difference, not just to make a living," said Chiefs coach Herman Edwards said in a statement. "We can learn something from that."
The co-founder of the American Football League (1960-1969) and the first AFL figure to be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972, Hunt was a key figure behind the AFL-NFL merger in 1966.
A year later, on Jan. 15, 1967, his Chiefs participated in the first Super Bowl ever.
