[KC Chiefs.com] Chiefs founder/owner Lamar Hunt had the following to say about his former coach Hank Stram.

“Hank was in so many ways the central focus of everything this franchise did in willing it to succeed. If I could find one word that best exemplified Hank, it was ‘resourceful.’ He wanted to win so badly and he was so very good at it. He had a knack for taking the players other teams didn’t want and molding them into fine players for the Chiefs.”

“Hank did not feel coaching in the American Football League was a risk. One of the biggest reasons I hired him was because he really wanted the job. It turned out to be a very fortunate selection on our part. Maybe he wouldn’t have gotten a chance anywhere else. He personified the brand new AFL because he was a salesman, he was an innovator and he wasn’t afraid to try new things. I always thought he was one of the most imaginative, creative coaches the game has ever known.”

“Hank’s accomplishments as a coach are well-documented and were highlighted with his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003, an honor that was so richly deserved. Whether it was his flashy wardrobe, his singularly-unique vocabulary or his on-field flamboyance, what I will remember most about Hank was that he was truly ‘one of a kind.’ Call it charm, call it charisma, call it an aura, but ‘The Mentor’ had a rare quality that is difficult to define. He was the right man at the right time for our franchise and the American Football League. Our players embraced his personality and embodied his passion for the game when they took the field. There is no doubt in my mind that this passion was one of the primary reasons he was so successful. Kansas City, Chiefs fans everywhere, the Hunt Family and the game of Pro Football have lost a unique and distinguished gentleman.”