Jack French Kemp (July 13, 1935 – May 2, 2009) was an American politician and professional football player. A Republican, he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. Bush from 1989-93, having previously served nine terms as a Congressman for Western New York from 1971-89. He was the Republican Party's nominee for Vice President in the 1996 election, where he was the running-mate of presidential nominee Bob Dole. Kemp had previously contended for the presidential nomination in the 1988 Republican primaries.
Before entering politics, Kemp was a professional quarterback for 13 years in the National Football League (NFL), Canadian Football League (CFL), and American Football League (AFL). He served as captain of both the San Diego Chargers and Buffalo Bills and earned the AFL Most Valuable Player award in 1965 after leading the Bills to a second consecutive championship. He played in the AFL for all 10 years of its existence, appeared in its All-Star game seven times, played in its championship game five times, and set many of the league's career passing records. Kemp also co-founded the AFL Players Association, for which he served five terms as president. During the early part of his football career, he served in the United States Army Reserve.
As an economic conservative, Kemp advocated low taxes and supply-side policies during his political career. His positions spanned the social spectrum, ranging from his conservative opposition to abortion to his more libertarian stances advocating immigration reform. As a proponent of both Chicago school and supply-side economics, he is notable as an influence upon the Reagan agenda and the architect of the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, which is known as the Kemp–Roth tax cut.
After his days in political office, Kemp remained active as a political advocate and commentator, and served on corporate and non-profit organization boards. He also authored, co-authored, and edited several books. He promoted American football and advocated for retired professional football players. Kemp was the benefactor of Pepperdine University's Jack F. Kemp Institute of Political Economy. Kemp was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 by President Barack Obama.
Early life
Youth
Born, raised, and educated in Los Angeles, California, Kemp was the third of four sons of Frances Elizabeth (née Pope) and Paul Robert Kemp, Sr. Paul turned his motorcycle messenger service into a trucking company that grew from one to fourteen trucks. Frances was a well-educated social worker and Spanish teacher. Kemp grew up in the heavily-Jewish Wilshire district of West Los Angeles, but his tight-knit middle class family practiced in the Church of Christ, Scientist. In his youth, sports consumed Kemp, who once chose the forward pass as the subject of a school essay on important inventions, although his mother attempted to broaden his horizons with piano lessons and trips to the Hollywood Bowl.
Kemp attended Melrose Avenue's Fairfax High School, which was, at the time, known both for its high concentration of Jewish students and concentration of celebrities' children. Over 95 percent of Kemp's classmates were Jewish, and he later became a supporter of Jewish causes. His classmates included Herb Alpert, Larry Sherry, and Judith A. Reisman. During his years in high school, Kemp worked with his brothers at his father's trucking company in downtown Los Angeles. In his spare time, he became a rigorous reader, preferring history and philosophy books.
College
After graduating from high school in 1953, he attended Occidental College, a founding member of the NCAA Division III Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Kemp selected Occidental because its football team used professional formations and plays, which he hoped would help him to become a professional quarterback. At 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) and 175 pounds (79.4 kg), he considered himself too small to play for the USC Trojans or UCLA Bruins, the major Southern California college football programs.
At Occidental, Kemp was a record-setting javelin hurler and played several positions on the football team: quarterback, defensive back, place kicker, and punter. Although he was near-sighted, Kemp was tenacious on the field. During his years as starting quarterback the team posted 6–2 and 3–6 records. Kemp was named a Little All-America player one year in which he threw for over 1,100 yards. That year, he led the nation's small colleges in passing. He and close friend Jim Mora, who later became an NFL head coach, were members of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. Another teammate in college was Ron Botchan, who was a NFL umpire for years (record five Super Bowls). Kemp declined to become involved in student government. After graduating from Occidental with a degree in physical education, he pursued post-graduate studies in economics at Long Beach State University and California Western University, and served in the military from 1958 to 1962.
Marriage and family
Kemp graduated from Occidental in 1957 and married Joanne Main, his college sweetheart, after she graduated from Occidental in 1958. Main had grown up in Fillmore, California, and attended Fillmore High School in Ventura County. Her father was a teacher and football coach in the Fillmore Unified School District before becoming vice principal and eventually superintendent of the district. Kemp's Biblical Literature professor, Keith Beebe, presided over the wedding, after which Kemp converted to his wife's Presbyterian faith. Jack Kemp was a 33rd degree Freemason in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction.
They had two sons, who were both professional football quarterbacks: Jeff Kemp played in the NFL from 1981 to 1991, and Jimmy Kemp played in the CFL from 1994 to 2002. Significantly for a man with his demanding schedule, Jack never missed one of their games as children or in college. They also had two daughters: Jennifer Kemp Andrews and Judith Kemp. Joanne once suffered a miscarriage, which Kemp later said made him re-evaluate the sanctity of human life and affected his opposition to abortion. Kemp is survived by his wife of fifty years, his four children and 17 grandchildren.
Football career
After being drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 17th round of the 1957 NFL Draft, Kemp was cut from the team before the 1957 NFL season began. He spent 1957 with the Pittsburgh Steelers and 1958 on the taxi squads of the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers. The 1958 New York Giants played in that year's NFL Championship Game, known as the "Greatest Game Ever Played" and the first overtime NFL playoff game, but, as a third-string quarterback member of the taxi squad, Kemp did not take the field.
After his time in the NFL, Kemp served a year as a private in the United States Army Reserve. During his service, he played one game for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League, which made him ineligible for the NFL in 1959. According to his older brother Tom, his parents drove him from California to Calgary, Alberta only to see him get cut. By this time Kemp had been cut from five professional teams (Lions, Steelers, Giants, 49ers, and Stampeders) and his family encouraged him to get on with his life.
On February 9 and February 11, 1960, the newly formed AFL agreed to "no tampering" policies with the NFL and CFL respectively to keep from stealing star players. Thus, players like Kemp with modest NFL experience were common AFL signees at the time. Kemp signed as a free agent with the AFL's Los Angeles Chargers.
Sid Gillman era (1960–1962)
In 1960, Kemp led the Chargers to a Western Division Championship with a 10–4 record. He finished second in the league to Frank Tripucka in passing attempts, completions, and yards (making him and Tripucka the league's first 3,000-yard passers), led the AFL in yards per completion and times sacked, and finished one rushing touchdown short of the league lead. Under Kemp, the Chargers' offense averaged 46 points over its last four games and scored more than 41 points in five of its last nine games. In the 1960 AFL Championship Game, he led the team to field goals on its first two possessions, but after the Houston Oilers posted a touchdown in the second quarter for a 7–6 lead, the Chargers never recovered.
In 1961, San Diego Union editor Jack Murphy convinced Barron Hilton to move the Chargers from Los Angeles to San Diego. Kemp led the relocated team to a 12–2 record and a repeat Western Division Championship. He again finished second in passing yards (this time to George Blanda). The Chargers earned an AFL Championship Game rematch against the Oilers. However, this time the Chargers were unable to score until a fourth quarter field goal in a 10–3 loss.
The Berlin Wall was erected in August 1961. On October 15, 1961, President John F. Kennedy activated Kemp's San Diego-based 977th Transportation Company reserves unit for duty in response. In September, the right-handed Kemp had injured his left shoulder while playing football. Medical examiners found swelling and muscle spasms and described his voluntary range of motion at 80 percent. In a decision that was reviewed and upheld by the Surgeon General of the United States Army, Army doctors found him as unfit for active duty. That year, he led the Chargers to a division title, passing for 2,686 yards and 15 touchdowns. Years later, Kemp's 1961 Chargers roommate, Ron Mix, recalled that Kemp neede
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