American football in Texas

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American football is the most popular sport in Texas.[ citation needed ] The state of Texas has produced the most professional football players and most pro football players of all time. [1]

Contents

AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, the most popular pro football team in the state Arlington June 2020 4 (AT&T Stadium).jpg
AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, the most popular pro football team in the state

History

American football has a long history in Texas, but its modern popularity can be traced back to 1959, when Lamar Hunt, the son of Texas Oil magnate H.L. Hunt established the American Football League. [2] Lamar Hunt had shown previous interest in owning a professional football team in Dallas having shown interest in buying the Chicago Cardinals and relocating them to his hometown of Dallas. [3] After being rejected by the National Football League, Hunt (Who founded the Dallas Texans started the American Football League with 7 other owners, including Bud Adams (The founder of the Houston Oilers), another Texas Oilman[ citation needed ]. In response to this, the National Football League created the Dallas Cowboys, owned by Clint Murchison Jr., son of Clint Murchison Sr., also an Oil Tycoon [ citation needed ]. In the 1962 American Football League Championship Game, the Dallas Texans faced off against the Houston Oilers in which Dallas won 20-17. This would end up being the final game of the franchise in Dallas. The franchise was losing money [ citation needed ] despite putting up better records than the NFL's Dallas Cowboys. Owner Lamar Hunt, after considering Atlanta and Miami to relocate to. Kansas City, Missouri mayor H. Roe Bartle made an offer for team owner Lamar Hunt which he accepted and the franchise officially relocated to Kansas City on May 22, 1963 and the team was renamed the Kansas City Chiefs 4 Days later. [4] The 1990s would prove a tough decade for Houston, losing the Houston Oilers to Nashville, Tennessee for the 1997 season, and became known as the Tennessee Titans for starting in the 1999 season. Team owner Bud Adams in a stadium funding dispute with the city had already threatened to move the Oilers to Jacksonville, Florida in 1987. [5]


Professional teams

Current

Former

Notable people

Players

Coaches

Owners

References

  1. ↑ "Why does Texas produce so many amazing football players?". khou.com. 2024-02-09. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
  2. ↑ "1959 | Pro Football Hall of Fame". pfhof. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
  3. ↑ "Lamar Hunt, Class of 1972 | Pro Football Hall of Fame". pfhof. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
  4. ↑ "Inside the Stacks: Exploring Important Documents in Chiefs and AFL history". Kansas City Chiefs. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  5. ↑ "Why the Oilers left Houston for Nashville". link.houstonchronicle.com. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
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