By Mark Gaughan | BuffaloNews.com |
Jack Kemp attempted the most passes, completed the most passes and compiled the most passing yards of any quarterback during the 10-year history of the American Football League.
Yet former Buffalo Bills teammates respected him above all for his leadership.
Bills great Paul Maguire on Friday recalled an incident when the two of them played for the Los Angeles Chargers, before they both came to Buffalo.
“We’re going to play the Dallas Texans, and it was either ’60 or ’61,” Maguire said. “When we got to Dallas, they told us the black players have to go to a hotel in Grand Prairie, Texas, which is just outside of Dallas, and the white players could stay here [at the Dallas Hilton].”
“Now Barron Hilton owned the team,” Maguire said. “He was the sole owner of the Chargers, and they owned the Hilton hotels. Jack Kemp and [coach] Sid Gillman got together and Jack said, ‘That’s not acceptable. The players won’t do it. We play together. We either all stay together or we go home.’