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Lamar Hunt
Lamar Hunt

Lamar Hunt

The Gentle Giant Who Revolutionized Professional Sports
By David A. F. Sweet

SPORTS & RECREATION

256 Pages, 6 x 9

Formats: Cloth, EPUB, Mobipocket, PDF

Cloth, $24.95 (US $24.95) (CA $27.95)

ISBN 9781600783746

Rights: WOR

Triumph Books (Sep 2010)

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Overview

Lamar Hunt was best known as the founder of both the Kansas City Chiefs and the AFL, which later merged with the NFL to form the most successful sports league in U.S. history. Here, author David A. F. Sweet writes about how football was only one of the many interests in Hunt's life and business ventures. Hunt seemed to be omnipresent in the sporting world, having helped form Major League Soccer, the modern pro tennis tour, and the Chicago Bulls. This biography delves deep into Hunt's impact on many popular sports and reveals never-before-disclosed details of this soft-spoken man's true importance in transforming the sporting landscape into the massive industry that it is today.

Author Biography

David A. F. Sweet is an editor at Sun-Times Media outside of Chicago. He is a former executive sports editor of the daily Glendale News-Press, a former reporter and columnist for the Wall Street Journal Online where he launched the column “Nothing but Net,” and a former columnist for MSNBC.com and for SportsBusiness Journal. He lives in Lake Forest, Illinois.

Media

The Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Patch talks to David Sweet about the writing process for Lamar Hunt.
The Dallas Morning News gives a nice review to Lamar Hunt.
The Evanston Review talks to David Sweet about Lamar Hunt.
Check out David Sweet's website for more info on Lamar Hunt.
SI.com mentions new NFL biographies Lamar Hunt and All Rise.

Book Signings

Past Events


Nov
13
David Sweet - "Lamar Hunt" ›
Lake Forest , IL

Press Releases

Lamar Hunt: The Gentle Giant Who Revolutionized Professional Sports

By David A.F. Sweet

 

CONTACT: Bill Ames, Triumph Books, 312.252.1248, b.ames@triumphbooks.com

 

Lamar Hunt was best known as the founder of both the Kansas City Chiefs and the AFL, which later merged with the NFL to form the most successful sports league in U.S. history.  In the new biography Lamar Hunt: The Gentle Giant Who Revolutionized Sports, author David A.F. Sweet writes about how football was only one of the many interests in Hunt's life and business ventures.

 

Hunt was the son of H.L. Hunt, who was at one time the richest man in America.  While many may surmise that Lamar's successes came easily, they could not be more wrong.  Hunt often battled with a host of rival leagues. Lawsuits and countersuits were common, including one he filed one against the NFL, the organization he would eventually join. When Hunt started leagues or circuits, he had to be willing to endure huge losses at the outset.  Regardless, Hunt seemed to be omnipresent in the sporting world, playing major roles in the following:


  • Helped develop the now-defunct North American Soccer League
  • Helped form Major League Soccer where he opened the first professional stadium dedicated to the sport
  • Created the modern pro tennis tour and forced open tournaments like Wimbledon to non-amateurs
  • Was inducted into halls of fame in football, soccer and tennis
  • One of the original investing partners of the Chicago Bulls
  • Created SubTropolis, a massive underground business complex near Arrowhead Stadium

 

Fittingly, 2010 is the AFL's 50th anniversary.  Author David A.F. Sweet delves deep into Hunt's impact on sports in Lamar Hunt: The Gentle Giant Who Revolutionized Sports, revealing never-before-disclosed details of this soft-spoken man's true importance to many different popular sports. Hunt's human side is brought to light as well.  As a teenager, he had said his ambition in life was simply, "To do bigger and better things than my dad." His lifelong love of sports transformed the sporting landscape into the massive industry that everyone recognizes today.

 

About the Author:

David A. F. Sweet was hired as executive sports editor of the daily Glendale News-Press and two other Tribune-owned papers near Los Angeles in 1990. He later worked as a reporter and as a columnist for the Wall Street Journal Online, where he launched the column "Nothing but Net" in 1998. He also served as a columnist for MSNBC.com and for SportsBusiness Journal. He is currently an editor at Sun-Times Media outside of Chicago and lives in Lake Forest, Illinois, with his wife Tricia and their three children-Hannah, David, and Ford.

 

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