The Battle for Dallas
(How the Texans Became the Chiefs)
When Lamar Hunt’s AFL was formed, the state of Texas went from 0 pro teams to 3 pro teams in a matter of six months in 1959. To make matters even more complicated two were in Dallas.
The NFL was clearly fighting the AFL by deciding to expand in cities that had accepted AFL teams. Texas is football crazy, we all know that, but many thought at the time their football craziness was solely based on college and high school football. They thought pro ball would be nothing more than a distraction with little fan base support.
For a long while, they were right. First, the fight for talent was on. The AFL teams had to find ways to convince players to trust the new league. Lamar was especially good at gathering talent, of course, his money didn't hurt. Still, a factor in the late 50s was integration. The Dallas Texans were not worried about color, only talent.
But, the fans for the new NFL Cowboys and the AFL Texans did not show up in droves. The Dallas Cowboys versus the Dallas Texans, sounds funny now, but they had important battles during the first years.
With Hank Stram as the head coach, the Texans won a lot of games. After the first three years the Texans were 26-17 while the Cowboys were 9-28-3. It looked like the Texans were winning the battle for Dallas. (Side note, Lamar was once heard to say that the IRS 3-year “hobby rule” was a big factor in the move to KC.) Apparently a business could write off losses for only three years, then the business was seen as a hobby. Lamar was thinking about moving his Texans even before they won the 1962 AFL Championship. Lamar was
