Hank Stram
Encyclopedia
Henry Louis "Hank" Stram (ˈstræm; January 3, 1923 – July 4, 2005) was an American football
coach. He is best known for his 15-year tenure with the American Football League
's Dallas Texans
/Kansas City Chiefs
and the Chiefs of the NFL
. Stram won three AFL
Championships (more than any other coach in the league's history) and Super Bowl IV
with the Chiefs. He also coached the most victories (87), had the most post-season appearances (6) and the best post-season record in the AFL (5–1). Stram is largely responsible for the introduction of Gatorade
to the NFL due to his close association with Ray Graves
, coach at the University of Florida during Gatorade's development and infancy. Hank Stram never had an offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, or special teams coach during his legendary career with the Dallas Texans
/Kansas City Chiefs
.
in 1923. His Polish-born father, Henry Wilczek, wrestled professionally under the name Stram and the family name was changed accordingly. He later grew up in Gary, Indiana
, and graduated from Lew Wallace High School
class of 1941.(The football stadium press box was renamed after him in his honor.) He earned seven letters playing football and baseball and joined the Sigma Chi
Fraternity at Purdue in the 1940s, playing in 1942 and again in 1946 and 1947. Stram served in the US military during World War II interrupting his university career.
He was an assistant football coach for the Boilermaker
s from 1948 to 1955 and the head baseball coach from 1951 to 1955. In 1996, Stram and Len Dawson
were inducted into the Purdue Athletic Hall of Fame. After coaching at Purdue, Stram was an assistant at Notre Dame
, Southern Methodist University
, and Miami
.
rs Len Dawson
, Bobby Bell
, Buck Buchanan
, Willie Lanier
, Jan Stenerud
and many others like Johnny Robinson, Ed Budde
and Otis Taylor
. He was also the first coach in professional football to use Gatorade
on his sidelines and run both the I formation
and two-tight end offense, still used in professional football today. On defense, the Chiefs employed a triple-stack defense, hiding the three linebackers behind defensive linemen.
He was considered a motivational genius, and his emphasis on the Chiefs' wearing of a patch
commemorating the AFL in Super Bowl IV was one of his typical ploys, extracting maximum effort from players who had been derided by proponents of the NFL. Stram was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
in 2003, ironically, nine years after Bud Grant
, the man whose team he had convincingly defeated in Super Bowl IV, had been enshrined. At the Hall of Fame ceremonies, Stram was so weakened by the effects of diabetes that Len Dawson pushed his former coach onto the stage in a wheelchair. Stram's induction speech was then played from a previously-recorded videotape.
Stram's contributions to the game, like those of other AFL pioneers, helped to change the face of professional football.
recruited Stram to coach his Dallas Texans in the new AFL, which commenced play in 1960. Hunt had previously been a bench player at SMU when Stram had been coaching there and the Texans' position had been turned down by Bud Wilkinson
and Tom Landry
, then an assistant at the New York Giants
. The Texans played their first game in the new AFL in September 1960 and proved to be successful from the beginning.
In 1962, the Texans won the AFL Western Division and the AFL championship. The Texans won the championship against the Houston Oilers
20-17 in what remains the longest professional football championship game ever played. Tommy Brooker
kicked a field goal after nearly 16 minutes of overtime to win the game for the Texans and stop the Oilers from winning their third straight title.
31–7 in Buffalo. The Chiefs played the Green Bay Packers
in Super Bowl I
with the Packers winning 35–10. Packers coach Vince Lombardi
used a short passing game to overcome the Chiefs defense which proved successful with quarterback Bart Starr
becoming the first Super Bowl MVP.
In a 1968 game against the Oakland Raiders
in Kansas City, the Chiefs entered the game without a healthy wide receiver ready to play. Stram went in to pro football's past and resurrected the T formation
. The Chiefs won the game 24-10 running the ball 60 times for over 300 yards while passing only three times for 16 yards.
The Kansas Chiefs won the AFL championship again in 1969. In Super Bowl IV
, his ingenious innovations, the "moving pocket" and the "triple-stack defense", dominated the Minnesota Vikings
on both sides of the ball. In the Super Bowl, Stram became the first professional football coach to wear a microphone
. Stram's recorded comments from that game have become classics: "Just keep matriculatin' the ball down the field, boys.", "How could all six of you miss that play?" "65 Toss Power Trap" and his assessment of the Vikings' ineffectual play: "You can't do that in OUR league!". The Super Bowl victory was the second straight by a team from the AFL and added credibility to the newer league, which would complete a planned merger with the NFL the following season.
In 1971, the Chiefs won the AFC Western Division championship. The Miami Dolphins
defeated the Chiefs on Christmas Day 1971. The teams played the longest game in the history of professional football. After that, the Chiefs did not enjoy the same success, resulting in Stram leaving the franchise. Stram's tenure in Kansas City ended with a 35–15 loss at home to the same Viking
team the Chiefs defeated in Super Bowl IV.
in 1976, but posted losing records in his two seasons, 4–10 & 3–11. Hampering Stram's efforts to rebuild the typically pathetic Saints was a severe elbow injury to quarterback Archie Manning
, who missed the entire 1976 season and parts of the 1977 campaign. Stram also had to deal with continuous discipline problems caused by his leading rusher, Chuck Muncie
, who was in the early stages of a cocaine
addicition which would lead to his trade in 1980 from New Orleans to the San Diego Chargers
.
Perhaps the biggest highlight of his New Orleans tenure was a 27–17 win over his former team, the Kansas City Chiefs
, at Arrowhead Stadium
in 1976, Stram's first victory with the Saints. The 1977 campaign culminated in an historic home loss to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers
who were riding a 26 game losing streak over two seasons. Stram took the loss hard; he burned the game film. He was fired after the final game of the season.
on CBS
' television
and radio
broadcasts of NFL games. As a broadcaster, he was best remembered for his near 20 year stint (beginning in 1978
and lasting through the 1995 season
) with Jack Buck
on radio broadcasts of Monday Night Football
games. Stram's key broadcasting trademark was his habit of predicting the next play before it happened.
On January 10, 1982, Stram, along with Vin Scully
, called the famous NFC Championship Game between the San Francisco 49ers
and the Dallas Cowboys
. The game in question was immortalized by Dwight Clark
's touchdown catch
which elevated the 49ers into their first Super Bowl
appearance (the first of four during the 1980s).
During a 1988
broadcasting trip to Indianapolis
for a Chicago Bears
–Colts
game, Stram collapsed with a severely blocked aortic valve and underwent open heart surgery. He was hospitalized in Indianapolis for a week and later resumed his career with CBS.
Stram began broadcasting games for CBS in 1975, originally calling games with Frank Glieber
. After a brief hiatus so he could return to coaching, Stram returned to call games with Gary Bender
in 1978. He remained a part of CBS' television broadcast team until 1993; his other broadcast partners were Buck, Vin Scully
, Curt Gowdy
, Dick Stockton
, Tim Brant
, Steve Zabriskie, Sean McDonough
, and Jim Nantz
, along with various other substitute announcers. His last game as a broadcaster was Super Bowl XXX
for CBS Radio.
Hank Stram retired to New Orleans, Louisiana
, where he built a home in the town of Covington
. He died at St. Tammany Parish hospital in Covington, from complications due to diabetes, on July 4, 2005.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
coach. He is best known for his 15-year tenure with the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
's Dallas Texans
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
/Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
and the Chiefs of the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. Stram won three AFL
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
Championships (more than any other coach in the league's history) and Super Bowl IV
Super Bowl IV
Super Bowl IV was the fourth AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, and the second one to officially bear the name "Super Bowl"...
with the Chiefs. He also coached the most victories (87), had the most post-season appearances (6) and the best post-season record in the AFL (5–1). Stram is largely responsible for the introduction of Gatorade
Gatorade
Gatorade is a brand of sports-themed food and beverage products, built around its signature product: a line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo, distributed in over 80 countries...
to the NFL due to his close association with Ray Graves
Ray Graves
Samuel Ray Graves is a former American college and professional football player and former college football coach. He is a native of Tennessee and an alumnus of the University of Tennessee, where he played college football...
, coach at the University of Florida during Gatorade's development and infancy. Hank Stram never had an offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, or special teams coach during his legendary career with the Dallas Texans
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
/Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
.
Early life and career
Stram was born Henry Louis Stram in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in 1923. His Polish-born father, Henry Wilczek, wrestled professionally under the name Stram and the family name was changed accordingly. He later grew up in Gary, Indiana
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...
, and graduated from Lew Wallace High School
Lew Wallace High School
Lew Wallace High School is a four year public high school of the Gary Community School Corporation in Gary, Indiana, United States.- History :...
class of 1941.(The football stadium press box was renamed after him in his honor.) He earned seven letters playing football and baseball and joined the Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...
Fraternity at Purdue in the 1940s, playing in 1942 and again in 1946 and 1947. Stram served in the US military during World War II interrupting his university career.
He was an assistant football coach for the Boilermaker
Purdue Boilermakers football
The Purdue Boilermakers football team is the intercollegiate football program of the Purdue University Boilermakers. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I Bowl Subdivision, and the team competes in the Big Ten Conference. The Boilermakers have an all-time record of...
s from 1948 to 1955 and the head baseball coach from 1951 to 1955. In 1996, Stram and Len Dawson
Len Dawson
Leonard Ray "Len" "Lenny" Dawson is a former American collegiate and Professional Football quarterback who attended Purdue University and went on to play for three professional teams, most notably the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs...
were inducted into the Purdue Athletic Hall of Fame. After coaching at Purdue, Stram was an assistant at Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
, Southern Methodist University
SMU Mustangs football
The SMU Mustangs football program is a college football team that represents Southern Methodist University . The team competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member Conference USA...
, and Miami
Miami Hurricanes football
The Miami Hurricanes football program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the University of Miami. The program began in 1926 and has won five AP national championships...
.
Professional football coaching career (1960–1977)
Stram was an innovator, a shrewd judge of talent, and an excellent teacher. He helped develop Hall of FameHall of Fame
A hall of fame, wall of fame, walk of fame, walk of stars or avenue of stars is a type of attraction established for any field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field...
rs Len Dawson
Len Dawson
Leonard Ray "Len" "Lenny" Dawson is a former American collegiate and Professional Football quarterback who attended Purdue University and went on to play for three professional teams, most notably the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs...
, Bobby Bell
Bobby Bell
Bobby Lee Bell, Sr is a former professional American football linebacker/defensive end. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame, and was a member of the Chiefs' team that won Super Bowl IV against the Minnesota Vikings.- High school career :He excelled in...
, Buck Buchanan
Buck Buchanan
Junious "Buck" Buchanan was an American collegiate and professional Football defensive tackle. He played for the Kansas City Chiefs in the American Football League and in the National Football League ....
, Willie Lanier
Willie Lanier
Willie Edward Lanier is a former American football middle-linebacker who played for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1967 through 1977. He won postseason honors for eight consecutive years, making the American Football League All-Star team in 1968 and 1969 before being selected to the Pro Bowl from...
, Jan Stenerud
Jan Stenerud
Jan Stenerud is a former professional football player for the American Football League's Kansas City Chiefs , and the NFL's Chiefs , Green Bay Packers , and Minnesota Vikings .-Background:...
and many others like Johnny Robinson, Ed Budde
Ed Budde
Edward Leon Budde , a product of Denby High School in Detroit, Michigan and later Michigan State University, was the number one draft pick of the American Football League's Kansas City Chiefs in 1963....
and Otis Taylor
Otis Taylor (American football)
Otis Taylor was an American college and professional American football player, for Prairie View A&M University and the American Football League's Kansas City Chiefs...
. He was also the first coach in professional football to use Gatorade
Gatorade
Gatorade is a brand of sports-themed food and beverage products, built around its signature product: a line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo, distributed in over 80 countries...
on his sidelines and run both the I formation
I formation
The I formation is one of the most common offensive formations in American football. The I formation draws its name from the vertical alignment of quarterback, fullback, and running back, particularly when contrasted with the same players' alignments in the T formation.The formation begins with...
and two-tight end offense, still used in professional football today. On defense, the Chiefs employed a triple-stack defense, hiding the three linebackers behind defensive linemen.
He was considered a motivational genius, and his emphasis on the Chiefs' wearing of a patch
Ten-year AFL patch
The Ten-Year AFL Patch is a shoulder patch adapted for use on American Football League team uniforms.-History:During the entire 1969 professional football season, all NFL players wore a shoulder patch on their uniforms, reading "50 NFL", marking the 50 years which had passed since the league's...
commemorating the AFL in Super Bowl IV was one of his typical ploys, extracting maximum effort from players who had been derided by proponents of the NFL. Stram was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 2003, ironically, nine years after Bud Grant
Bud Grant
Harry Peter "Bud" Grant, Jr is the former longtime American football head coach of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League for eighteen seasons. Grant was the second and fourth head coach of the team...
, the man whose team he had convincingly defeated in Super Bowl IV, had been enshrined. At the Hall of Fame ceremonies, Stram was so weakened by the effects of diabetes that Len Dawson pushed his former coach onto the stage in a wheelchair. Stram's induction speech was then played from a previously-recorded videotape.
Stram's contributions to the game, like those of other AFL pioneers, helped to change the face of professional football.
Dallas Texans
In 1959, Lamar HuntLamar Hunt
Lamar Hunt was an American sportsman and promoter of American football, soccer, basketball, and ice hockey in the United States and an inductee into three sports' halls of fame. He was one of the founders of the American Football League and Major League Soccer , as well as MLS predecessor the...
recruited Stram to coach his Dallas Texans in the new AFL, which commenced play in 1960. Hunt had previously been a bench player at SMU when Stram had been coaching there and the Texans' position had been turned down by Bud Wilkinson
Bud Wilkinson
Charles Burnham "Bud" Wilkinson was an American football player, coach, broadcaster, and politician. He served as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1947 to 1963, compiling a record of 145–29–4. His Oklahoma Sooners won three national championships and 14...
and Tom Landry
Tom Landry
Thomas Wade "Tom" Landry was an American football player and coach. He is ranked as one of the greatest and most innovative coaches in National Football League history, creating many new formations and methods...
, then an assistant at the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. The Texans played their first game in the new AFL in September 1960 and proved to be successful from the beginning.
In 1962, the Texans won the AFL Western Division and the AFL championship. The Texans won the championship against the Houston Oilers
1962 Houston Oilers season
Dallas Texans 20, Houston Oilers 17 Scoring*DAL – Field goal Brooker 16*DAL – Haynes 28 pass from Dawson *DAL – Haynes 2 run *HOU – Dewveall 15 pass from Blanda *HOU – Field goal Blanda 31...
20-17 in what remains the longest professional football championship game ever played. Tommy Brooker
Tommy Brooker
William Thomas “Tommy” Brooker is a former American collegiate and Professional Football player....
kicked a field goal after nearly 16 minutes of overtime to win the game for the Texans and stop the Oilers from winning their third straight title.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Dallas Texans became the Kansas City Chiefs in 1963 and continued their success. In 1966, they won the AFL title again on the back of one of the best defensive teams in the history of professional football featuring three hall-of-famers and eight all star players. The Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills1966 Buffalo Bills season
Kansas City Chiefs 31, Buffalo Bills 7The Bills went into the 1966 AFL Championship having already won the game the previous two years. Though the game was to be played in Buffalo, the visiting Kansas City Chiefs were three-point favorites, mainly because of their explosive and innovative offense...
31–7 in Buffalo. The Chiefs played the Green Bay Packers
1966 Green Bay Packers season
The 1966 Green Bay Packers season was their 46th in the NFL and resulted in a 12-2 record, coached by Vince Lombardi and led by quarterback Bart Starr. The team beat the Dallas Cowboys in the 1966 NFL Championship Game, the Packers' 10th NFL title...
in Super Bowl I
Super Bowl I
The First AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, later known as Super Bowl I and referred to in some contemporary reports as the Supergame, was played on January 15, 1967 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California.The National Football League ...
with the Packers winning 35–10. Packers coach Vince Lombardi
Vince Lombardi
Vincent Thomas "Vince" Lombardi was an American football coach. He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, where he led the team to three straight league championships and five in seven years, including winning the first two Super Bowls following the 1966 and...
used a short passing game to overcome the Chiefs defense which proved successful with quarterback Bart Starr
Bart Starr
Bryan Bartlett "Bart" Starr is a former professional American football player and coach. Wearing #15, he was the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers from 1956 to 1971 and head coach from 1975 to 1983, compiling a record of 52–76–3 ....
becoming the first Super Bowl MVP.
In a 1968 game against the Oakland Raiders
1968 Oakland Raiders season
-Staff:HC: John RauchAst: John Polonchek , Ollie Spencer , Tom Dahms , John Madden , Charlie Sumner , Marv Marinovich -References:...
in Kansas City, the Chiefs entered the game without a healthy wide receiver ready to play. Stram went in to pro football's past and resurrected the T formation
T formation
In American football, a T formation is a formation used by the offensive team in which three running backs line up in a row about five yards behind the quarterback, forming the shape of a "T"....
. The Chiefs won the game 24-10 running the ball 60 times for over 300 yards while passing only three times for 16 yards.
The Kansas Chiefs won the AFL championship again in 1969. In Super Bowl IV
Super Bowl IV
Super Bowl IV was the fourth AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, and the second one to officially bear the name "Super Bowl"...
, his ingenious innovations, the "moving pocket" and the "triple-stack defense", dominated the Minnesota Vikings
1969 Minnesota Vikings season
1969 was the ninth year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 50th regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings again won the NFL Central Division title, as finished with a record of 12 wins and two losses, plus playoff wins over the Los Angeles Rams in the Western...
on both sides of the ball. In the Super Bowl, Stram became the first professional football coach to wear a microphone
Wireless microphone
A wireless microphone, as the name implies, is a microphone without a physical cable connecting it directly to the sound recording or amplifying equipment with which it is associated...
. Stram's recorded comments from that game have become classics: "Just keep matriculatin' the ball down the field, boys.", "How could all six of you miss that play?" "65 Toss Power Trap" and his assessment of the Vikings' ineffectual play: "You can't do that in OUR league!". The Super Bowl victory was the second straight by a team from the AFL and added credibility to the newer league, which would complete a planned merger with the NFL the following season.
In 1971, the Chiefs won the AFC Western Division championship. The Miami Dolphins
1971 Miami Dolphins season
-NFL Draft:-Schedule:-Playoffs:- Standings : -Roster:-Scoring summary:*Dallas Mike Clark, FG 14 yds *Dallas L.Alworth, 9 yd pass from Staubach *Miami Yeprmeniam, FG 23 yds...
defeated the Chiefs on Christmas Day 1971. The teams played the longest game in the history of professional football. After that, the Chiefs did not enjoy the same success, resulting in Stram leaving the franchise. Stram's tenure in Kansas City ended with a 35–15 loss at home to the same Viking
1974 Minnesota Vikings season
-References:...
team the Chiefs defeated in Super Bowl IV.
New Orleans Saints
Stram became the head coach of the New Orleans SaintsNew Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
in 1976, but posted losing records in his two seasons, 4–10 & 3–11. Hampering Stram's efforts to rebuild the typically pathetic Saints was a severe elbow injury to quarterback Archie Manning
Archie Manning
Elisha Archibald "Archie" Manning III is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League, playing for the New Orleans Saints from 1971 to 1982, then for the Houston Oilers and Minnesota Vikings...
, who missed the entire 1976 season and parts of the 1977 campaign. Stram also had to deal with continuous discipline problems caused by his leading rusher, Chuck Muncie
Chuck Muncie
Harry Vance "Chuck" Muncie is a former American football running back who played for the New Orleans Saints and San Diego Chargers in the National Football League from 1976 to 1984...
, who was in the early stages of a cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
addicition which would lead to his trade in 1980 from New Orleans to the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
Perhaps the biggest highlight of his New Orleans tenure was a 27–17 win over his former team, the Kansas City Chiefs
1976 Kansas City Chiefs season
The 1976 Kansas City Chiefs season ended with a third consecutive 5–9 record and no playoff berth.Buck Buchanan announced his retirement in February, while Len Dawson announced his own departure on May 1. Off the field, Jack Steadman was promoted to team president and Jim Schaaf was named general...
, at Arrowhead Stadium
Arrowhead Stadium
Arrowhead Stadium is a stadium located in Kansas City, Missouri and home to the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs....
in 1976, Stram's first victory with the Saints. The 1977 campaign culminated in an historic home loss to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1977 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season
The 1977 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season continued the losing streak that encompassed the entire 1976 season, and extended it to 26 games, which as of remains a record in the modern National Football League. Fear of becoming the Buccaneers' first victim provided motivation to opposing teams...
who were riding a 26 game losing streak over two seasons. Stram took the loss hard; he burned the game film. He was fired after the final game of the season.
Broadcasting career
Following his retirement from coaching, Stram enjoyed a long and successful career as a color commentatorColor commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
on CBS
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
' television
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
and radio
NFL on Westwood One
The NFL on Westwood One is the brand name given to weekly National Football League games carried on the radio over the Dial Global Radio Network...
broadcasts of NFL games. As a broadcaster, he was best remembered for his near 20 year stint (beginning in 1978
1978 NFL season
The 1978 NFL season was the 59th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded the regular season from a 14-game schedule to 16. Furthermore, the playoff format was expanded from 8 teams to 10 teams by adding another wild card from each conference...
and lasting through the 1995 season
1995 NFL season
The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...
) with Jack Buck
Jack Buck
John Francis "Jack" Buck was an American sportscaster, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals. Buck received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, and is honored with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame...
on radio broadcasts of Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
games. Stram's key broadcasting trademark was his habit of predicting the next play before it happened.
On January 10, 1982, Stram, along with Vin Scully
Vin Scully
Vincent Edward Scully is an American sportscaster, known primarily as the play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on Prime Ticket, KCAL-TV and KABC radio...
, called the famous NFC Championship Game between the San Francisco 49ers
1981 San Francisco 49ers season
The San Francisco 49ers 1981 season was their 32nd season in the National Football League. The season was highlighted by their first Super Bowl victory. A big turning point for the franchise was the drafting of Ronnie Lott from the University of Southern California. Quarterback Joe Montana began...
and the Dallas Cowboys
1981 Dallas Cowboys season
The 1981 Dallas Cowboys season was their 22nd in the league. The team matched their previous output of 12–4. They lost the Conference Championship game for the second straight season....
. The game in question was immortalized by Dwight Clark
Dwight Clark
Dwight Edward Clark is a former American Pro Bowl wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers from 1979 to 1987...
's touchdown catch
The Catch (American football)
The Catch refers to the winning touchdown reception by Dwight Clark off a Joe Montana pass in the January 10, 1982, NFC Championship Game between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers...
which elevated the 49ers into their first Super Bowl
Super Bowl XVI
Super Bowl XVI was an American football game played on January 24, 1982, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan to decide the National Football League champion following the 1981 regular season. It marked the first time that a Super Bowl was held at a cold-weather city...
appearance (the first of four during the 1980s).
During a 1988
1988 NFL season
The 1988 NFL season was the 69th regular season of the National Football League. The Cardinals relocated from St. Louis, Missouri to the Phoenix, Arizona area becoming the Phoenix Cardinals but remained in the NFC East division....
broadcasting trip to Indianapolis
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
for a Chicago Bears
1988 Chicago Bears season
The 1988 Chicago Bears season was their 69th regular season and 19th postseason completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 12-4 record, winning the NFC Central for the fifth straight season, but lost in the NFC Championship Game. Coach Mike Ditka suffered a heart attack during the...
–Colts
1988 Indianapolis Colts season
The 1988 Indianapolis Colts season was the 36th season for the team in the National Football League and 5th in Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Colts finished the National Football League's 1988 season with a record of 9 wins and 7 losses, and finished tied for second in the AFC East division with...
game, Stram collapsed with a severely blocked aortic valve and underwent open heart surgery. He was hospitalized in Indianapolis for a week and later resumed his career with CBS.
Stram began broadcasting games for CBS in 1975, originally calling games with Frank Glieber
Frank Glieber
Frank John Glieber was an American sportscaster.-Early life and career:...
. After a brief hiatus so he could return to coaching, Stram returned to call games with Gary Bender
Gary Bender
Gary Bender is a retired American sportscaster and 2008 inductee in to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. He officially retired, April 13, 2011, from Fox Sports Arizona network after 18 years calling the NBA Phoenix Suns games.-Early career:...
in 1978. He remained a part of CBS' television broadcast team until 1993; his other broadcast partners were Buck, Vin Scully
Vin Scully
Vincent Edward Scully is an American sportscaster, known primarily as the play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on Prime Ticket, KCAL-TV and KABC radio...
, Curt Gowdy
Curt Gowdy
Curtis Edward "Curt" Gowdy was an American sportscaster, well known as the longtime "voice" of the Boston Red Sox and for his coverage of many nationally-televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports in the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:The son of a manager for the Union Pacific railroad,...
, Dick Stockton
Dick Stockton
Dick Stockton is an American sportscaster. He is currently employed by Fox Sports and Turner Sports as a football, baseball, and basketball play-by-play announcer.-Early life and career:...
, Tim Brant
Tim Brant
Tim Brant is an American sportscaster and Vice President and Director of Sports for ABC 7 / WJLA-TV in Washington DC. He has spent nearly thirty years covering sports nationally for CBS and ABC....
, Steve Zabriskie, Sean McDonough
Sean McDonough
Sean McDonough is an American sportscaster, currently employed by ESPN.-Early life and career:The son of Boston Globe sportswriter Will McDonough, Sean graduated from Syracuse University in 1984. It was in Syracuse where McDonough began his broadcasting career in 1982 as the play-by-play announcer...
, and Jim Nantz
Jim Nantz
James William Nantz, III is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his work with CBS Sports television.-Early life:...
, along with various other substitute announcers. His last game as a broadcaster was Super Bowl XXX
Super Bowl XXX
Super Bowl XXX was an American football game played on January 28, 1996 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona to decide the National Football League champion following the 1995 regular season...
for CBS Radio.
Later life and death
Stram made a guest appearance as himself on the TV show Coach. In the episode, Stram was attending a coaching convention with fellow coaches Barry Switzer and George Allen. Hayden Fox, the fictional protagonist of the show, also attended the conference.Hank Stram retired to New Orleans, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, where he built a home in the town of Covington
Covington, Louisiana
Covington is a city in and the parish seat of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 8,483 at the 2000 census. It is located at a fork of the Bogue Falaya and the Tchefuncte River....
. He died at St. Tammany Parish hospital in Covington, from complications due to diabetes, on July 4, 2005.
Head coaching record
| Team | |Regular Season | DAT 1960 Dallas Texans season The 1960 Dallas Texans season was the inaugural season of Lamar Hunt’s American Football League franchise from Dallas, Texas. Head coach Hank Stram led the team to an 8–6 record and second place in the AFL’s Western Conference.... |
1960 1960 American Football League season The 1960 American Football League season was the inaugural regular season of the American Football League.The season ended when the Houston Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Chargers in the inaugural AFL Championship game.-Division races:... |
8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 2nd in AFL West | - | - | - | - |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAT 1961 Dallas Texans season The 1961 Dallas Texans season resulted in a 6–8 record and 2nd place finish in the AFL Western Conference.The club moved its training camp to Lamar Hunt’s alma mater of Southern Methodist University and started the regular season at 3–1 before hitting a six-game losing skid, the longest such streak... |
1961 1961 American Football League season The 1961 American Football League season was the second regular season of the American Football League. The Los Angeles Chargers moved to San Diego, California following the 1960 season, retaining the Chargers name.... |
6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 2nd in AFL West | - | - | - | - | ||
| DAT 1962 Dallas Texans season The 1962 Dallas Texans season was the final season of Lamar Hunt’s American Football League franchise before its relocation to Kansas City, Missouri from Dallas, Texas.... |
1962 1962 American Football League season The 1962 American Football League season was the third regular season of the American Football League. The Dallas Texans moved to Kansas City, Missouri following the season and changed their name to the Kansas City Chiefs.... |
11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 1st in AFL West | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | AFL Champions. | ||
| KC 1963 Kansas City Chiefs season The 1963 Kansas City Chiefs season was the inaugural season of Kansas City’s new football franchise. Despite winning the 1962 AFL Championship the previous year, the Chiefs finished the year 5–7–2 and third in their division.... |
1963 1963 American Football League season The 1963 American Football League season was the fourth regular season of the American Football League.The season ended when the San Diego Chargers defeated the Boston Patriots in the AFL Championship game.-Division Races:... |
5 | 7 | 2 | .417 | 3rd in AFL West | - | - | - | - | ||
| KC 1964 Kansas City Chiefs season The 1964 Kansas City Chiefs season ended with a 7–7 record and no postseason appearance. The Chiefs began the year with a 2–1 mark before dropping three consecutive games as several of the team’s best players, including E.J. Holub, Fred Arbanas and Johnny Robinson, missed numerous games with injuries... |
1964 1964 American Football League season The 1964 American Football League season was the fifth regular season of the American Football League.The season ended when the Buffalo Bills defeated the San Diego Chargers in the AFL Championship game... |
7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 2nd in AFL West | - | - | - | - | ||
| KC 1965 Kansas City Chiefs season The 1965 Kansas City Chiefs season ended with a 7–5–2 record and no postseason appearance.For the 1965 season, the Chiefs were caught in the middle of the AFL and NFL's bidding wars for college talent. Kansas City made running back Gale Sayers from the University of Kansas their first-round draft... |
1965 1965 American Football League season The 1965 American Football League season was the sixth regular season of the American Football League.The season also saw a change of television address as the games moved from ABC to NBC.... |
7 | 5 | 2 | .583 | 3rd in AFL West | - | - | - | - | ||
| KC 1966 Kansas City Chiefs season The 1966 Kansas City Chiefs season ended with the Chiefs' second AFL Championship and first since their relocation to Kansas City, Missouri. Instead of finishing the season with the AFL Championship win, the Chiefs were invited to play in the inaugural AFL-NFL World Championship Game, later known... |
1966 1966 American Football League season The 1966 American Football League season was the seventh regular season of the American Football League, and one of the last before the AFL-NFL Merger. The league entered talks with the National Football League regarding a merger, which would take effect fully in 1970.The season also saw the debut... |
11 | 2 | 1 | .846 | 1st in AFL West | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost to Green Bay Packers 1966 Green Bay Packers season The 1966 Green Bay Packers season was their 46th in the NFL and resulted in a 12-2 record, coached by Vince Lombardi and led by quarterback Bart Starr. The team beat the Dallas Cowboys in the 1966 NFL Championship Game, the Packers' 10th NFL title... in Super Bowl I Super Bowl I The First AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, later known as Super Bowl I and referred to in some contemporary reports as the Supergame, was played on January 15, 1967 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California.The National Football League ... . |
||
| KC 1967 Kansas City Chiefs season The 1967 Kansas City Chiefs season ended with a 9–5 record and no playoff berth despite their AFL championship win and appearance in the inaugural AFL-NFL championship game the previous year.... |
1967 1967 American Football League season The 1967 American Football League season was the eighth regular season of the American Football League, and one of the last before the AFL-NFL Merger.... |
9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 2nd in AFL West | - | - | - | - | ||
| KC 1968 Kansas City Chiefs season The 1968 Kansas City Chiefs season ended with a 12–2 record, resulting in a tie for first place in the AFL Western Division. The Chiefs and Oakland Raiders both finished with 12–2 records in the same division, but the Raiders won the championship in a tiebreaker playoff .A debate raged in Kansas... |
1968 1968 American Football League season The 1968 American Football League season was the ninth regular season of the American Football League, and its penultimate season prior to the AFL-NFL Merger.... |
12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 1st in AFL West | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Oakland Raiders 1968 Oakland Raiders season -Staff:HC: John RauchAst: John Polonchek , Ollie Spencer , Tom Dahms , John Madden , Charlie Sumner , Marv Marinovich -References:... in AFL Division Playoff. |
||
| KC 1969 Kansas City Chiefs season The 1969 Kansas City Chiefs season resulted in a 11–3 record and a 23–7 victory in Super Bowl IV over the NFL’s heavily-favored Minnesota Vikings. The team beat their rivals, the Oakland Raiders in the final AFL Championship Game, claiming their third AFL Championship in franchise history... |
1969 1969 American Football League season The 1969 American Football League season was the tenth regular season of the American Football League, and the last one before the AFL-NFL Merger... |
11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 2nd in AFL West | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | Super Bowl IV Super Bowl IV Super Bowl IV was the fourth AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, and the second one to officially bear the name "Super Bowl"... Champions. |
||
| KC 1970 Kansas City Chiefs season The 1970 Kansas City Chiefs season began with the Chiefs attempting to defend their championship but ended with a 7–5–2 record and no playoff berth.... |
1970 | 7 | 5 | 2 | .583 | 2nd in AFC West | - | - | - | - | ||
| KC 1971 Kansas City Chiefs season The 1971 Kansas City Chiefs season saw the club bounce back from a 7–5–2 campaign in 1970 to record a 10–3–1 mark and win the AFC West division championship, the Chiefs' first division title since 1966... |
1971 | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 1st in AFC West | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Miami Dolphins 1971 Miami Dolphins season -NFL Draft:-Schedule:-Playoffs:- Standings : -Roster:-Scoring summary:*Dallas Mike Clark, FG 14 yds *Dallas L.Alworth, 9 yd pass from Staubach *Miami Yeprmeniam, FG 23 yds... in AFC Divisional Game NFL playoffs, 1971-72 The NFL playoffs following the 1971 NFL season led up to Super Bowl VI. Like the previous NFL seasons, the home teams in the playoffs were decided based on a yearly divisional rotation, excluding the wild card teams who would always play on the road... . |
||
| KC 1972 Kansas City Chiefs season The 1972 Kansas City Chiefs season began with the Chiefs moving into the newly constructed Arrowhead Stadium and ended with a 8–6 record and second place finish in the AFC West.The Chiefs introduced the newly completed Arrowhead Stadium to the general public... |
1972 | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 2nd in AFC West | - | - | - | - | ||
| KC 1973 Kansas City Chiefs season The 1973 Kansas City Chiefs season ended with a 7–5–2 record and third place finish in the AFC West.For 1973, the defense kept the club in contention thanks to a nucleus that still included the bulk of the squad’s Super Bowl IV starters... |
1973 | 7 | 5 | 2 | .583 | 2nd in AFC West | - | - | - | - | ||
| KC 1974 Kansas City Chiefs season The 1974 Kansas City Chiefs season ended with a 5–9 record and third place finish in the AFC West, effectively costing head coach Hank Stram his job.... |
1974 | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 3rd in AFC West | - | - | - | - | ||
| DAT/KC Total | 124 | 76 | 10 | .620 | 5 | 3 | .625 | |||||
| NO 1976 New Orleans Saints season The 1976 New Orleans Saints season was the Saints tenth season.-NFL Draft:-Schedule:-Standings:-References:**... |
1976 | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 3rd in NFC West | - | - | - | - | ||
| NO 1977 New Orleans Saints season The 1977 New Orleans Saints season was the team's 11th as a member of the National Football League. They were unable to improve on their previous season's output of 4-10, winning only three games... |
1977 | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 4th in NFC West | - | - | - | - | ||
| NO Total | 7 | 21 | 0 | .250 | 0 | 0 | .000 | |||||
| Total | 131 | 97 | 10 | .575 | 5 | 3 | .625 | |||||
Career highlights
- 1960 Named 1st Head Coach of the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs
- 1962 Dallas Texans AFL champions
- 1966 Kansas City Chiefs AFL champions
- 1967 Played in Super Bowl I against Green Bay Packers (Lost 35-10)
- 1968 American Football League Coach of the Year
- 1969 Kansas City Chiefs AFL champions
- 1970 Chiefs win Super Bowl IV
- 1971 Chiefs win AFC West
- 1974 Coaching career ends at Kansas City Chiefs
- 1977 End of Coaching Career with 134–97–10 record and 5–3 postseason record
- 2003 Inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame
See also
Internet references
- Hank Stram's Hall of Fame article
- Don Shula's speech welcoming Stram to the Hall of Fame
- About Football article on Hank Stram
- Canadian Press obituary, 5 July 2005
Printed references
- Hank Stram with Lou Sahadi, They're Playing My Game, Morrow, New York 1986 ISBN 0-688-06080-3
- Edward Gruver, The American Football League: A Year-by-Year History 1960-1969 McFarland & Company 1997 ISBN 0-7864-0399-3
- Brad Adler, Coaching Matters: Leadership & Tactics of the NFL's Ten Greatest Coaches Brassey's Inc 2003 pages 56–57 ISBN 1-57488-613-4
- "Stram gets Texan post", Dallas Morning News December 21, 1959
- "Texans now rule AFL kingdom", Dallas Morning News December 24, 1962
- MacCambridge, Michael (2005), America's Game. New York:Anchor Books. eISBNInternational Standard Book NumberThe International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering code created by Gordon Foster, Emeritus Professor of Statistics at Trinity College, Dublin, for the booksellers and stationers W.H...
ISBN 978-0-307-48143-6