Former NFL player and long-time Republican politician Jack Kemp has passed away at the age of 73 from a battle with cancer.

Kemp served several terms in Congress before running as Bob Dole’s running mate in 1996.

Kemp, a former quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, represented western New York for nine terms in Congress, leaving the House for an unsuccessful presidential bid in 1988.

Eight years later, after serving a term as President George H.W. Bush’s housing secretary, he made it onto the national ticket as Bob Dole’s running-mate.

Kemp was a 17th round pick of the Detroit Lions in 1957. He was cut and battled his way back into the league with the Buffalo Bills where he made his name as a star quarterback.

Kemp led Buffalo to the 1964 and 1965 AFL Championships, and won the league’s most valuable player award in 1965. He co-founded the AFL Players Association in 1964 and was elected president of the union for five terms. When he retired from football in 1969, Kemp had enough support in blue-collar Buffalo and its suburbs to win an open congressional seat.

Kemp is survived by his wife Joanne, four children, and seventeen grandchildren.