KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Lamar Hunt founded the Chiefs franchise, and his son Clark Hunt is the team’s chairman and CEO. But quarterback Len Dawson became its first widely known personality.
Dawson, whose death at age 87 was announced by his family on Wednesday, played in the first Super Bowl, was the MVP of Super Bowl IV and is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
His career in media added to his fame. It began when Dawson became a sports anchor at KMBC-TV while he played for the Kansas City Chiefs. Later, he was a studio analyst for HBO’s groundbreaking Inside the NFL, and he spent more than three decades in the Chiefs’ radio booth.
He was known as “Lenny the Cool,” for his poise and confidence. Dawson’s kept the mistakes to a minimum, leading the league in completion percentage, passer rating and touchdown passes multiple times. The Chiefs were winners soon after arriving in Kansas City, and Dawson became a face of the franchise.
Literally. He started appearing regularly on Channel 9 as the station’s first sports anchor in 1966. In a 2009 interview with The Kansas City Star, Dawson said he’d finish practice at 5 p.m., anchor at 6 p.m., head home for dinner, then return to the station for the 10 p.m. sports report. Dawson was picking up extra cash, and the Chiefs were getting additional publicity.
Clark Hunt spoke for the Chiefs Wednesday morning, remembering Dawson’s contributions and offering condolences to Dawson’s widow, Linda Dawson, and their family.
“My family and I are heartbroken,” Hunt said in a statement. “Len Dawson is synonymous with the Kansas City Chiefs. Len embraced and came to embody Kansas City and the people that call it home. You would be hard-pressed to find a player who had a bigger impact in shaping the organization as we know it today than Len Dawson did.
“I admired Len my entire life — first as a Hall of Fame player on the field, and later as he transitioned into a successful broadcasting career. Throughout his remarkable career, Len made it a priority to give back to the community that he loved. The franchise has lost a true legend. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Linda and his family.”
The Pro Football Hall of Fame noted that Dawson’s hometown of Alliance, Ohio, is less than 20 miles from the Hall’s home in Canton, and how after five seasons as a reserve with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns, Dawson found success in the AFL.
“Len grew up only a few miles from where the Pro Football Hall of Fame later was built, and fans in the area have always taken a special pride in seeing one of the greats from this region enshrined in Canton,” Hall of Fame president Jim Porter said in a statement.
“Fans connected with Len’s story of perseverance, appreciating how he gave the game one more try after five nondescript seasons when many others would have quit.
“The American Football League, and Hall of Fame coach Hank Stram, gave Len a true opportunity, and he made the most of it, building the Chiefs into a Super Bowl contender and eventually a world champion. Our thoughts and prayers extend to his wife, Linda, and to all of Len’s family and friends in Kansas City and in Alliance, Ohio.
“The flag at the Pro Football Hall of Fame will be flown at half-staff in his honor.”
Stram, who had served as an assistant at Purdue when Dawson played there, brought the quarterback to the franchise that would soon be known as the Chiefs. When Dawson had asked the Browns to put him on waivers, the Dallas Texans, led by Stram, claimed him and made Dawson their starter.
Dawson led the Texans to the AFL title in 1962, and the team moved to Kansas City for the next season. Starting in 1965, the Chiefs posted nine straight winning seasons. Four of those teams went to the playoffs.
Dawson retired as a player after the 1975 season with franchise-record career totals of 237 touchdown passes and 28,507 yards. He became the third Chiefs player inducted into the Hall of Fame, following Bobby Bell and Willie Lanier.
From the Super Bowl IV championship team, eight Chiefs have been enshrined. Dawson is the only member of that offense in the Hall.
The AFL Player of the Year in 1962, Dawson was selected to play in six AFL All-Star games — he was named the offensive MVP of the 1968 game — and the 1972 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl.
In a 2017 interview with The Star’s Vahe Gregorian as he was approaching his final year in the Chiefs’ broadcast booth, Dawson said he wouldn’t have changed anything about his path.
“I’ve had a great life,” Dawson said. “If you ask somebody else, ‘Would like to have the life of Len Dawson, never had to work in his life?’ That’s been me. So I’m just going to keep on tricking those people.”
