Jack Kemp & Daryle Lamonica (AP)

For much of the nation, Jack Kemp is being remembered as a political leader, scholar and statesman.  Most people outside of Buffalo probably didn’t even know Kemp played football.  But those close to Kemp say it was football that molded Kemp to become a major force in American policy making and tax reform.

Ed Rutkowski was Kemp’s teammate on the Bills AFL Championship teams.  They remained close riends.  Rutkowski says that Jack always went back to football when dealing with politics.

“He said everthing he learned in politics he learned on the field of athletics.  He said the greatest entrepreneurial experiment was a huddle.  You have 11 guys.  You make a decision.  Everybody’s on the same page.  You try to achieve a goal, and if you’re successful in achieving that goal you’re rewarded.  If you’re not successful, you’re not rewarded.  If you make some stupid mistakes along the line, you’re penalized.  But you get four chances at success. If you get knocked on your keester, as Lou Saban used to say, you have the ability to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again.”

So anybody who didn’t know about Jack Kemp the football player, should know that Jack Kemp the politician might not exist without those experiences on the field.

What are your memories of Jack Kemp the quarterback?