A statue of the late American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt will be unveiled at Pizza Hut Park tonight as part of the pre-game ceremonies for FC Dallas' friendly against Inter Milan.


Hunt's place as a driving force behind American soccer make the statue more than well-deserved (no comment on what his son is doing to that legacy). Hunt was an NASL owner, an original MLS investor, owned three MLS clubs at one point, built and paid for the country's first modern soccer stadium, and promoted the US Open Cup to the point that his name is now on the trophy. It's safe to say that American soccer isn't where it is today without Lamar Hunt as a champion.


Frankly, a Hunt statue would make just as much sense in Columbus as it would in Dallas.


The "heroic-size" statue of Hunt (of which we clearly need pictures) has me thinking about the rest of MLS. If every current MLS club was to erect a statue in honor of a figure crucial to their history, who would be immortalized in each?


Here are few quick shots at it from the top of my head.  The clubs with NASL legacies are at an advantage, so I'm trying to keep it MLS-era:


Chicago Fire - Peter Nowak. Only problem there is that he's currently coaching another team in the league.

Columbus Crew - Lamar Hunt (Note on this from @MassiveCityFFC on Twitter: "A LH statue at Crew Stadium was proposed many years ago & it was said that he preferred Crew Stadium to stand as his legacy here.")

DC United - Probably Bruce Arena, though there are a number of players from the glory years you could choose from. Funny one: Freddy Adu

Kansas City Wizards - Hmm...Preki? Same problem as with Chicago and Nowak though...

New England Revolution - Steve Nicol? I'd say Kraft, but that probably wouldn't sit well. Maybe a player like Ralston. Active players should be disqualified, so no Twellman.

New York Red Bulls - The rule above eliminates Henry, and I'm only half-kidding that he'd be the choice. Maybe Tab Ramos. - I've been told Mathis or Savarese is a better choice.

Philadelphia Union - Not even old enough to have history, so I'm going with Bryan James.

Toronto FC - Eh. I'm at a loss. Let's go with Danny Dichio

Chivas USA - Jorge Vergara I guess. Which is pretty sad when you think about it. Then again, they haven't been around that long.

Colorado Rapids - Marcelo Balboa

Houston Dynamo - Houston history only, and since I made that dumb active player rule, lets go with...Dom Kinnear.

LA Galaxy - Philip Anschutz? Gross.

Real Salt Lake - Another team with a short history, which makes it tough. But Jason Kreis played for the team and coached them to a title, so let's go with him.

San Jose Earthquakes - I want to say "George Best" and be done with it, but that seems like cheating. Active players are out, so I got nothin'.

Seattle Sounders - Adrian Hanauer or Drew Carey. Maybe both, with scarves up.


I'm leaving out the expansion sides but all you Timbers and Whitecaps fans can fill in the blanks in the comments. Everyone else, feel free to disagree vehemently and share your suggestions.