Hank Stram dead at 82

[proud2BlibKansan]

Hall Of Fame Coach Hank Stram Dead At 82
July 4, 2005, 07:04 PM
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Kansas City Chiefs

NEW ORLEANS -- Hank Stram, who took the Kansas City Chiefs to two Super Bowls and was known for his inventive game plans, died Sunday at a hospital in suburban New Orleans, his son said. He was 82.

"Pro football has lost one of its most innovative and creative coaches and one of its most innovative and creative personalities as well," Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt said in a telephone interview.

Stram was the Chiefs' first coach. He took over the expansion Dallas Texans of the upstart AFL in 1960 and coached them through 1974, moving with them to Kansas City where they were renamed the Chiefs in 1963.

The gregarious, stocky, blazer-wearing Stram carried a rolled up game plan in his hand as he paced the sidelines. He led the Chiefs to AFL titles in 1962, '66 and '69 and to appearances in two of the first four Super Bowls, beating Minnesota in 1970.

He was the first coach to wear a microphone during a Super Bowl and Stram's sideline antics, captured by NFL Films, helped bring the league into the video age.

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980. The then-80-year-old had to be pushed onto the stage in a wheelchair and his induction speech was videotaped.

Len Dawson, the Hall of Fame quarterback who played under Stram at Kansas City, also called him an innovator.

"He was responsible for doing a lot of the things in the '60s that teams are still using now," said Dawson, citing the moving pocket and the triple stack defense.

"His whole life was football that's what he was born for, I think. He had a passion for it, not just a liking," Dawson said. "He was really sincere when he talked about the team being a family. Everybody really loved him."

http://www.kctv5.com/Global/story.asp?S=3553586

[getmeouttahere]

1. Sad to hear....

even though he coached my Raiders' biggest rivals, I always had a lot of respect for the man.

[are_we_united_yet]

2. A great coach!

RIP Hank and thanks for getting the Chiefs a Superbowl win!

[lapfog_1]

3. When I was a kid growing up in a KC suburb

my wall was covered with Chiefs posters. The win over the Vikings
was a thing of true beauty. RIP Coach.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. My dad worked for the Chiefs

and we got to go to the games and stand on the sidelines when they played at Municipal Stadium. Coach Stram was incredibly nice to us when he had every reason to just ignore us. I am so sad to hear he is gone. I am glad my dad is not here to learn this sad news. It would have torn him up; he loved Coach Stram.

And yes, I will never forget that Super Bowl win for the rest of my life. It was thrilling.

[mosquito]

5. A great coach

He helped make the pro game what it is today -- a sport enjoyed by millions.

[kedrys]

6. Aw crap

He will be missed. :(

[chieftain]

7. Hank was not only a great coach, he was a decent man.

His black players all spoke of his color blindness when it came to who should be in the lineup.He did not buy into the bias at the time that too many African-American athletes would hurt attendance. The great Chiefs teams of the Stram era, were built with stars from the traditional Black Colleges. Willie Lanier from Morgan State; Buck Buchanan from Grambling; and my all time favorite Otis Taylor from Prarie View. We will miss Hank. Thanks for everything.