Deep Pockets

Lamar Hunt, who died last week, was one of the founders of the American Football League. He was the son of H.L. Hunt, a Texas oil tycoon who, among other things, fathered 14 children with three women, including two that he was married to simultaneously. H.L.’s great remark about pro football and his son Lamar came after that first AFL season in 1960 (quotation from Football Digest).

[Lamar] Hunt may not have looked it, but he had a lot of money. His father, the legendary H.L. Hunt, had a fortune estimated at $600 million, which may not seem all that impressive in today’s era of billionaires but made him one of the nation’s richest men at the time.

It was the elder Hunt who came up with the best-remembered quote from the AFL era. After his son reportedly lost $1 million in his first season, H.L. was asked how long Lamar could keep doing that. According to various reports, he said Lamar would go broke in about 150 years if he kept it up.