Since 1963, the Kansas City Chiefs have been the city’s professional football representative. First created in 1960 and named the Dallas Texans, they moved to Kansas City three years later – where they have remained to this day. A charter franchise in the now defunct American Football League, the Chiefs now compete in the American Football Conference’s (AFC) Western Division. There have been many great players over the last five decades who have worn the Chiefs uniform, but one of the greatest Chiefs ever was former quarterback and Hall of Famer Leonard “Len” Dawson.
Len’s early career
Quarterback Lenny Dawson was a star long before he hit the professional ranks. He led his Purdue Boilermakers in three successful seasons first. His presence with the Purdue team was never a foregone conclusion, however, as he was also heavily recruited by the Buckeyes of Ohio State. Eventually, his decision came down to the type of offense that the teams ran and his newfound fondness for Purdue’s coach. History was kind to both the team and Dawson, since he led all of his competition in the Big Ten Conference in each of the three years he started as quarterback, while posting gaudy passing yard numbers throughout.
A nomadic beginning to a pro career
Though he was a much anticipated rookie, Dawson failed to really find a home in either Pittsburgh or Cleveland. At the time, both had star quarterbacks, and Lenny was of little use to either team. When he was released in 1962, it provided him the opportunity to rejoin his old college coach who was then coaching the Dallas Texans. His initial campaign as the Texans starter resulted in winning the season touchdown titles, while also snaring the most yards per attempted pass. He was the AFL’s MVP that year, and cheerily followed the team as it moved the next year to its Kansas City home.
Home in the Chiefs jersey
As a Chief, Len got his old accuracy back. This was important, because the Chiefs were using that same mobile pocket system that he had experienced in college. He soon became the AFL’s perennial passing leader, with his 1966 season being so successful that his team was invited to participate in the AFL-NFL matchup that s now known as Super Bowl I. Against the then-dynasty of Lombardi, Starr, and the rest of the Packers, there was little that the upstart Chiefs could do to stop the Packers from winning the game going away. Nevertheless, Dawson was still in competent form during a losing effort, as he compiled more than 200 yards passing and one touchdown.
Super Bowl IV
It wouldn’t take long for those hopes to be realized, either. The Chiefs went back to the Super Bowl three short seasons later and had no Packers with which to contend this time. Their opponent was the team from Minnesota – the Vikings – and this time the Chiefs made sure they won the game. At the time, no one would have expected it to be the Chief’s sole Super Bowl title. Lenny Dawson was rightfully ushered into professional football’s legendary Hall of Fame in 1987, just 12 years after retiring from football. His time with the Chiefs will always be remembered with great fondness by the franchise’s fans, and he will always be – to many fans of the game – one of the trailblazers who demonstrated that teams from the AFL could be just as good as their NFL counterparts.
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