Jack Steadman (American football executive)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- football executive
- General manager, Kansas City Chiefs from 1960–1976
- President of the Kansas City Chiefs, 1976–1989
Jack Steadman | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 14, 1928 Warrenville, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | July 5, 2015 (aged 86) |
| Alma mater | Baylor University Southern Methodist University |
| Occupations |
|
Jack W. Steadman (September 14, 1928 – July 5, 2015) was an American professional football executive who served as chairman, vice president, president and general manager for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL).
Steadman retired as vice chairman of the Chiefs on January 31, 2007, after being in the organization for over four decades, dating to their days as the American Football League (AFL)'s Dallas Texans.[1]
Steadman – the franchise's first general manager – also served as executive vice president, president, vice chairman and chairman in his 47 years with the Chiefs. He won four championships as general manager including the team's Super Bowl IV title.[1] Steadman and Lamar Hunt were at the forefront of the move to merge the AFL into the NFL.
Steadman grew up in Warrenville, Illinois and Dallas, Texas. He attended Baylor University and received his B.A. in Business Administration from Southern Methodist University. Steadman died at the age of 86 in 2015.[2] He had Alzheimer's disease in his later years.[3] He had 2 sons, Thomas and Donald. Also, a daughter, Barbara. He lived in Kansas City for over 30 years.
Hunt and Steadman bring football to Kansas City
In the early 1960s, Steadman worked with businessman Lamar Hunt to establish the American Football League and the Dallas Texans. In 1963 the team moved to Kansas City, Missouri when Steadman and Hunt negotiated with Kansas City Mayor H. Roe Bartle to move the Texans to Kansas City as the Chiefs.
Truman Sports Complex
In 1967, Kansas City was considering replacing its aging Municipal Stadium with a new multi-use stadium for both its baseball and football teams. Denver self-educated architect Charles Deaton suggested to Steadman that the teams would be better served if each sport had its own stadium that was configured to its unique demands but that the complex reduce costs by sharing parking and highway expenses. The architect firm Kivett and Myers perfected the plan (adding a rolling roof) and voters approved it. (The rolling roof, however, was never added.) Arrowhead Stadium opened in 1972 alongside Royals Stadium (now known as Kauffman Stadium), which opened in 1973.
The rolling roof was not to be built but the concept established Kivett and its successors in Kansas City as the dominant architects for almost all single-purpose major league baseball and football stadiums that have been built since. In 2005, the rolling roof plan re-emerged as part of Kansas City's bid to host Super Bowl XLIX, but the measure failed in the polls.