Jack Kemp dead at 73

Jack Kemp

WASHINGTON -- A spokeswoman says Jack Kemp, a former quarterback, congressman, housing secretary and Bob Dole's vice-presidential nominee, has died.

Kemp had been battling cancer.

Kemp had been serving at his Washington-based Kemp Partners consulting firm and remained involved in his charitable and political work.

After his football career, Kemp represented western New York for nine terms in Congress, leaving the House for an unsuccessful presidential bid in 1988. He later served as President George H.W. Bush's housing secretary and ran for vice president as Bob Dole's running mate.

As an economic conservative, Kemp advocated low taxes and supply-side policies. 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 was notable as the molder of the Reagan agenda and the architect of the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, which was known as the Kemp–Roth tax cut. Kemp described himself as a "bleeding-heart conservative."

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Before politics, Kemp was a professional quarterback for 13 years in the National Football League, Canadian Football League, and American Football League. 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.

His spokeswoman Bona Park and longtime friend and former campaign adviser Edwin J. Feulner confirmed that Kemp died after a lengthy illness.

Born, raised, and educated in Los Angeles, Kemp attended Fairfax High School. His classmates included Herb Alpert and Judith Reisman, a regular WND contributor and author.

After graduating from high school in 1953, he attended Occidental College. He was a record-setting javelin hurler and played several positions on the football team: quarterback, defensive back, place kicker and punter.

Kemp graduated from Occidental in 1957 and married Joanne Main, his college sweetheart, after she graduated from Occidental in 1958.

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. They also had two daughters: Jennifer and Judith.

Fuelner had this to say about Kemp: "Jack Kemp was a leader – whether it was in a football huddle, a national political campaign or a policy discussion about the Austrian school of economics."

"Many people will remember Jack as a great football player – and rightly so," said Fuelner. "But he was also a great player in the world of ideas, with a mind as strong as his arm. I will miss his strength and friendship greatly."

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