On Wednesday morning, Chiefs Kingdom was shaken by the tragic news that legendary quarterback and world-renowned broadcaster Len Dawson passed away at 87. The report has left the Chiefs franchise, and fan base heartbroken as everyone reflects on the impact Dawson made both as a player and while up in the booth as a broadcaster.
Chiefs CEO and Chairman Clark Hunt left the following statement on Wednesday morning:
“My family and I are heartbroken. 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,” Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said. “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.”
Dawson was a staple and the heart and soul of the Chiefs for 14 seasons, first coming aboard the team in 1962 when the franchise was located in Dallas, then known as the Texans. After five seasons as a cast away in the NFL, spending time with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1957-1959) and the Cleveland Browns (1960-1961), Dawson took over for former Texans starting QB Cotton Davidson after Dallas missed the AFL Championship in each of the club’s first two seasons of existence (The AFL did not adopt a playoff bracket until the 1966 season).
In his first season with the Texans, Dawson led Dallas to the franchise’s first-ever double-digit record of 11-3 and went on to win the ’62 AFL Championship, defeating the Houston Oiler 20-17 in double overtime. The Texans moved to Kansas City, Missouri, the following season and became the Chiefs. The success from the ’62 season followed the team to KC for the remainder of the 60s decade.
With the help of a stingy defense and a revolutionary offensive playbook that came from the mind of head coach Hank Stram, Dawson led the Chiefs to two more AFL Championship victories in 1966 and 1969. Both achievements earned Kansas City bids to two of the first four Super Bowls. In 1969, Dawson helped lead the Chiefs on a magical postseason run that ended with a 23-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl 4, the franchise’s first-ever world championship.
Since he retired from football following the 1975 season, Dawson reigns as the Chiefs’ franchise leader in passing completions (2,115), passing yards (28,507), and passing touchdowns (237) for a career. Other accolades include Super Bowl MVP (1969), AFL Championship MVP (1966), AFL MVP (1962), six AFL All-Stars, two First-Team All-AFL awards (’62 and ’66), one Pro Bowl (1971), and earning the NFL Man of the Year award in 1973.
In 1979, Dawson was inducted into the Chiefs Ring of Honor and got his number 16 jersey retired. Eight years later, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of the HOF Class of 1987.
During his playing days in 1966, Dawson served as a sports anchor with KMBC Radio and a sports director for KMBC-TV. After he retired from the NFL, Dawson joined NBC to serve as a color analyst for NFL games until 1982. In 1984, he joined the Chiefs Radio Network and served as the color commentator for the next 35 years. While with NBC during the late 70s, Dawson also took on a career venture that led to him being the host of HBO’s “Inside the NFL” which spanned four decades (1977-2001).
In 2012, Dawson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a recipient of the hall’s Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award. He became just the third former player in NFL football history to go to Canton both as a player and as a broadcaster, joining Dan Dierdorf and Frank Gifford.
At the 44th Annual NFL 101 Awards ceremony in 2014, Dawson was presented with the Lamar Hunt award, recognizing his contributions on and off the field that helped shape the NFL into what it is today. In 2017, the Chiefs honored Dawson by renaming the television broadcast booth inside Arrowhead Stadium as the Len Dawson Broadcast Booth.
According to Clark Hunt, the Chiefs plan to pay tribute to Dawson during the team’s third preseason game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday evening.
