‘First lady of football’ Norma Hunt, wife of Kansas City Chiefs founder Lamar and mother of owner Clark, dies – four months after attending her 57th and final Super Bowl to see her beloved team win
- ‘Football First Lady’ Norma Hunt was the only woman to attend every Super Bowl
- The Kansas City Chiefs matriarch’s cause of death is currently unknown
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Norma Hunt, wife of Kansas City Chiefs founder and former owner Lamar Hunt, has died, the franchise announced Sunday.
The cause of death of the woman dubbed the ‘first lady of football’ by many is currently unknown.
Norma, mother of current NFL team owner Clark, was the only woman to attend every Super Bowl and watched her beloved chefs lift the Lombardi Trophy for the third time in February.
She stood by her husband throughout his many sporting ventures, from the merger of the AFL and NFL to the formation of Major League Soccer, World Championship Tennis, the North American Soccer League and their founding investment in the Chicago Bulls.
In a statement from the Hunt family, released by the NFL franchise, Norma was described as kind, generous and always positive.
Norma Hunt (center), wife of Kansas City Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt, has died
The statement read: “Our family is deeply saddened by the passing of our mother, Norma. She was a wonderful mother and an extraordinary woman who will be dearly missed by all who knew her.
Kind, generous and always positive, Mom was one of a kind. His joy and zeal for life were contagious. She loved caring for others, and she always had a word of encouragement. She was a loyal friend, an accomplished hostess, and she had a rare ability to make everyone she met feel valued and at ease.
Mom was staunchly devoted to her family and fiercely passionate about her family’s sports teams. She has been with our father Lamar every step of the way – from the merger of the AFL and the NFL to the formation of Major League Soccer, the World Tennis Championship, the North American Soccer League and their investment founder in the Chicago Bulls. She was the only person we knew who rivaled her love of sports. The two have found such joy together, whether at home or in the stands of stadiums around the world.
‘[…] Her quiet but deep faith sustained her throughout her life, and we take great comfort in knowing that she is at home with the Lord. She will be sadly missed by our family, the extended families of the Chiefs and FC Dallas, and all who knew her.
The NFL also honored the “First Lady of Football” with Commissioner Roger Goodell paying tribute to Norma in a statement released Sunday night.
“The entire NFL family is deeply saddened by the passing of Norma Hunt, who was a significant presence in the NFL for the past seven decades,” Goodell said.
“Norma’s role in football was highlighted recently in the aptly titled documentary ‘A Lifetime of Sundays’. Norma’s place in NFL history will forever be remembered by the organization. Chiefs and the whole league.
“We send our deepest condolences to Clark and the entire Hunt family, as well as the many people she impacted during her remarkable life.”
Norma was working as a schoolteacher and hostess for the Dallas Texans when she met Lamar Hunt in 1964, five years after he and other Foolish Club members founded the AFL.
She and Lamar married later that year and had two children – current owners Chiefs Clark and Daniel.
Lamar moved the Texans to Kansas City and renamed them the Chiefs and the upstart league eventually merged into the NFL.
Lamar, who died in 2006, also coined the term “Super Bowl” for the league championship game and wears the AFC Championship trophy named after him.
More soon.
