Of Clark Hunt’s Super Ball, Andy Reid’s nod to Hank Stram and the past as prologue
It’s been 50 years gone by now, we all know, since those glory days of the Chiefs culminated with a 23-7 clobbering of the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV. And to some, the rich history that included three AFL titles and playing in two of the first four Super Bowls and a pioneering role in the integration of the sport and the evolution of offense might seem too remote to remain relevant.
But as the Chiefs prepare to play San Francisco on Sunday in their first Super Bowl in the ensuing half-century, that time remains precious to the two pivotal men whose football legacies have become as entwined with each other as their forefathers.
That’s literally, in the case of owner Clark Hunt, the son of late founder Lamar Hunt. And figuratively in the form of Andy Reid, the 12th successor to late former coach Hank Stram.
Even as they seek to create fresh history, they’re cognizant of that past as prologue and its connection to this day.
Reid revealed this week that he has plays named after Stram (we’ll get back to that), and Hunt finally is in possession of the AFC Championship trophy that bears his father’s name.
“In the run-up to that game. I thought about him,” Hunt said Tuesday. “During the game, I thought about him. Certainly, when they handed the trophy to us, I thought about him.
“When my mom kissed the trophy, I thought a whole lot about him. When I looked out at the fans in Arrowhead and saw them, I thought about him.
“And then this week, it’s really sort of shifted to his many ties to the Super Bowl. You know, we really wouldn’t have a Super Bowl, or something called a Super Bowl, without my dad.”
The story has been passed down to the son who was a year old on Christmas 1965 when his mother, Norma, bought those bouncy Wham-o Super Balls for each of their three children.
At that age, Clark Hunt said, laughing, he was more apt to be gumming one of the balls or crawling after it more than anything else.
“But my older brother and sister were bouncing it all around the house,” he said, “and I think that stuck in my dad’s mind.”
Stuck enough to mention it in a July 25, 1966, letter to then-NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle in anticipation of the inaugural clash between leagues set for the end of that season. Never mind that even Lamar Hunt seemed to suggest the name kiddingly and said it “obviously can be improved upon.”
But it took … even as the Chiefs of that era took off.
That time became an essential part of the profiles that earned Lamar Hunt and Stram inductions in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, both for the unique contributions of each but also for what they created together.
And different as the relationships might be, it’s easy to see some emerging parallels in what Reid and Clark Hunt have done for each other and the franchise.
“Both teams were characterized by the comfort and closeness of that relationship, of ownership believing in the head coach’s program, and providing all the necessary support for the franchise to thrive,” Michael MacCambridge, also the author of Lamar Hunt’s biography (“Lamar Hunt: A Life In Sports”), said in a recent email.
He added, “Hank Stram and Lamar Hunt were like brothers, in many ways. And though I have no special insight into the relationship between Andy Reid and Clark Hunt, there seems to be an immense amount of trust there, going in both directions; the stability and success for the team has followed.”
Along with a shared reverence for the long ago and far away, a phase gone dormant until recently — yet still foundational to this franchise.
That’s why Reid is proud to say that back home he gathers his team daily in the Stram Theater at the team’s practice facility. And that he has crafted plays with Stram’s name attached, including one that’s been used a time or two this season.
“I can’t tell you what it is,” he said, smiling, though suggesting it’s been both sent in as a play and called at the line of scrimmage.
At least as of Thursday, though, evidently that repertoire doesn’t include “65 Toss Power Trap.”
That term (along with “keep matriculating the ball down the field, boys”) was seared into Chiefs lore during Super Bowl IV. A microphoned Stram, basking in that new concept, was recorded saying that play “might pop wide open.”
And it did: Mike Garrett’s 5-yard touchdown run followed three Jan Stenerud field goals, giving the Chiefs a 16-0 halftime lead in the win over the Vikings.
Then again, perhaps Reid might yet call on the play based on some wiggle room in his answer ... at least to the wishful thinkers among us.
“We’re not running it right now,” he said, “but that was his go-to.”
Affirming that history has been one of Reid’s go-tos since he took over in Kansas City after the 2012 season.
When he arrived, he retained defensive backs coach Emmitt Thomas, one of six defensive players on that Super Bowl team to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame and someone who helped impart the meaning of that past. (Thomas retired from coaching after last season).
“I think that’s important,” Reid said. “Know where you came from.”
Where they came from, of course, is a ways back.
But wake up the echoes of a half-century gone by with a win on Sunday, and these Chiefs can honor that time in a new way by forging a connection across the years.