Lamar Hunt Jr. (born October 20, 1956) is an American businessman and a scion of the wealthy
Hunt family.Hunt is president and owner of the
Kansas City Mavericks professional hockey team. He is the son of
Lamar Hunt and grandson of oil tycoon
H. L. Hunt.
Early life and education
Lamar Hunt Jr. was born to
Lamar and Rose Mary Whittle Hunt on October 20, 1956. He grew up in Dallas, Texas, where he spent the first 11 years of his life. Lamar and Rose Mary Hunt separated when Lamar Hunt Jr. was five years old and divorced In the summer of 1963. His childhood was spent between both parents, his father and his father's new wife, Norma Knobel, whom he married in 1964 and his mother and her new husband, a Texas businessman named John David Carr.
Hunt attended private school at
St. Mark's School of Texas, an all-boys school located in North
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
. After graduating from high school, Hunt attended the
University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (UCCCM). He received a Master of Arts in Counseling in May 2003 from
Dallas Baptist University.
Music career
While in high school, Hunt studied with David Vornholt, a flutist from the
Dallas Symphony. After graduating from the
University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 1979, Hunt attended Duquesne University, where he received a masters degree in music. He then auditioned for the
Kansas City Symphony and became second flute in the orchestra. He also recorded an album at St. James Catholic Church in Liberty, MO of Bach's flute sonatas in 1990.
Professional career
Hunt runs four organizations (one non-profit and three commercial), all under the Loretto name.
The Loretto Foundation is a Catholic-education-focused charitable organization.
Loretto Commercial works to develop commercial projects in Kansas City.
Loretto Sports Ventures is closely tied to the
Kansas City Mavericks ECHL
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...
hockey franchise.
Loretto Sports Ventures also purchased the Topeka RoadRunners, a
junior hockey team, that was then renamed
Topeka Pilots in 2018.
Loretto Properties is a commercial and residential real estate development company
dedicated to building projects of all types.
An affiliate of Hunt's Loretto Sports Ventures, LLC purchased the Missouri Mavericks ice hockey team in January 2015, which became the
Kansas City Mavericks in June 2017.
Another affiliate of Hunt's Loretto Sports Ventures, LLC also purchased the
Topeka RoadRunners (of the North American Hockey League) in 2018. Hunt renamed the team the Topeka Pilots and operated in Topeka for two seasons. In February 2020, the team was moved to Kansas City and renamed the Kansas City Scouts but did not play during the 2020-21 hockey season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2021, Hunt sold the team to a group in Amarillo Texas that re-branded the franchise as the Amarillo Wranglers.
In addition to owning the Mavericks, Hunt is part of the founding and operating family of the
Kansas City Chiefs NFL team.
Personal life
Hunt was raised in Dallas, Texas. His first marriage, to Jocelyn, produced 7 children and ended in 2000 following his settlement of a lawsuit in which allegations were made that he sexually assaulted his wife's sister. While Hunt agreed to the settlement, Hunt characterized the behavior as consensual rather than assault. In 2003, Hunt married Rita Mae Hammerschmidt, who had two children from her prior marriage. He has nine grandchildren and resides in Kansas City.
References
External links
Kansas City Mavericks Bio
Loretto Companies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Lamar, Jr.
1956 births
Living people
American flautists
American philanthropists
American sports executives and administrators
Dallas Baptist University alumni
Hunt family
St. Mark's School (Texas) alumni
Kansas City Mavericks
University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music alumni
University of Missouri–Kansas City faculty
American Roman Catholics
21st-century Roman Catholics