Jack Kemp

Jack French Kemp (July 13, 1935 – May 2, 2009) was an American professional football player who later became a politician and U.S. Army veteran. He briefly played in the National Football League and the Canadian Football League before becoming a star in the American Football League, where he played for all ten years of the league's existence. Kemp served as captain of both the Los Angeles / San Diego Chargers and the Buffalo Bills. He appeared in the AFL All-Star Game seven times and played in five AFL Championship Games. In 1965 he earned the AFL Most Valuable Player award after leading the Bills to a second consecutive championship.

After his playing career, Kemp entered politics as a member of the Republican Party. He served nine terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1971 to 1989, and contended for the Republican presidential nomination in the 1988 primaries. From 1989 to 1993 he served as the ninth U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President George H. W. Bush. In the 1996 U.S. presidential election he was the party's vice presidential nominee, running alongside presidential nominee Bob Dole; the ticket lost to Democratic incumbents Bill Clinton and Al Gore. Kemp died on May 2, 2009.