They are the defending Super Bowl champions. But which four players of the Kansas City Chiefs can be considered the franchise’s most fabled?
It’s one of the eight original franchises of the American Football League which was born in 1960. But the Kansas City Chiefs weren’t always the Kansas City Chiefs. Instead, the club was based in Dallas and known as the Texans before moving slightly north and taking on the team name that it has been under since 1963. During their time in the AFL, no team won more games in that league than the club led by Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Hank Stram.
The Chiefs played in the first Super Bowl and fell to the Green Bay Packers, 35-10. Of course, the team also played in the last Super Bowl (LIV) and rallied for a 31-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. It was the second Lombardi Trophy for the organization and its first since 1969. And head coach Andy Reid’s team brings a nine-game overall winning streak into 2020.
In terms of franchise history, there are plenty of standouts. The list includes running backs Ed Podolak, Christian Okoye, Larry Johnson, Priest Holmes, Jamaal Charles and Joe Delaney, the latter who left us too soon. There’s also veteran wide receiver Otis Taylor and these days, speedster Tyreek Hill. There’s a slew of reliable offensive linemen in Jim Tyrer, Ed Budde, John Alt, Tim Grunhard, Dave Szott and Pro Football Hall of Famers Will Shields and Willie Roaf (briefly).
On defense, how about cornerback Albert Lewis, safeties Gary Barbaro, Deron Cherry and Eric Berry and pass rushers Justin Houston and Tamba Hali? And Jan Stenerud was the first pure placekicker inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hence, narrowing the list down to four (in alphabetical order) is not necessarily easy. But what a way to go down memory lane.
QB Len Dawson
Three seasons into his NFL career, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Holmes has become a sensation. He made one start as a rookie in the season finale in 2017, but he learned well behind Alex Smith during his rookie campaign. In 2018, he inherited the job, throwing for 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns (12 interceptions) and captured NFL MVP honors. This past season, the numbers were still solid but more significantly, the Chiefs won their first Super Bowl since 1969 and Mahomes was voted the game’s Most Valuable Player.
But long before he was a first-round pick in ’17, quarterback Len Dawson was doing his thing in a big way for the franchise. The fifth overall pick in the NFL draft in 1957 by the Pittsburgh Steelers, he played for that franchise and the Browns – making just one start for each franchise – before joining Hank Stram’s team in 1962.
He would spend 14 seasons with the franchise and remains the club’s all-time leader in passing yards (28,507) and TD tosses (237). He would be the Chiefs’ starter in Super Bowls I and IV and captured Most Valuable Player honors for the latter in Kansas City’s 23-7 win over the Vikings. The seven-time Pro Bowler was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987.
TE Tony Gonzalez
There are only two players in NFL history that have caught more passes than Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez. Tops on the list is the legendary Jerry Rice (1,549) – whose bust is also in Canton – and the other is current Arizona Cardinals’ wideout Larry Fitzgerald (1,378). When it comes to the tight end position, the former member the Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons is in many ways in a class by himself statistically.
His 1,325 receptions for 15,127 yards and 111 scores in 17 NFL campaigns puts him among the greatest pass catchers in league annals regardless of position. As a member of the Chiefs from 1997-2008, he caught 916 passes for 10,940 yards and 76 touchdowns before being dealt to Atlanta in 2009. During his days in Kansas City, Gonzalez was named to the Pro Bowl 10 times and earned All-Pro honors on five occasions.
It’s certainly worth noting that these days, the Chiefs have another quality tight end on the roster in five-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro Travis Kelce. Over the last six years, he’s hauled in 507 passes for 6,465 yards and 37 touchdowns. Sensational numbers and perhaps one day he’ll challenge a few of Gonzalez’s impressive statistics.
MLB Willie Lanier
The Kansas City Chiefs won their first Super Bowl back in 1969 via a 23-7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings at Tulane Stadium. While Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson was the game’s Most Valuable Player, Hank Stram’s defense whipped up on Vikings’ quarterback Joe Kapp, who was seen on the sidelines in obvious discomfort. He was sacked three times and picked off twice in the 16-point setback.
Of course, when you trot out a defensive unit that would put six starters into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the results in some ways was predictable. There were defensive linemen Buck Buchanan and Curley Culp, cornerback Emmitt Thomas, safety Johnny Robinson and big-play linebackers Bobby Bell and Willie Lanier.
While Bell is certainly worthy of Mount Rushmore status, Lanier – a second-round pick by the Chiefs in 1967 from Morgan State – was a steady force for the franchise for 11 seasons from 1967-77. The eight-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro would finish with 27 interceptions and 18 fumble recoveries. His physical presence epitomized Kansas City’s imposing unit and he, Bell (a 9-time Pro Bowler and 6-time All-Pro) and unsung Jim Lynch made up one of the great linebacking groups in pro football annals.
OLB Derrick Thomas
He was far from the perfect defender. And there were those who thought he was a very one-dimensional player. But that one dimension was simply off the charts. University of Alabama standout Derrick Thomas was the fourth overall pick in the 1989 NFL Draft. A year earlier, the club used the second overall pick on University of Nebraska defensive end Neil Smith and the duo would be one of the best in the league for quite some time.
Thomas played for 11 seasons and earned Pro Bowl honors nine times and was named All-Pro twice. His ability to turn the corner was astounding and in 169 regular-season contests he rolled up 126.5 sacks and 41 forced fumbles. He finished with at least seven sacks in every one of his NFL campaigns and finished with 10 or more quarterback traps seven times. There were also 19 fumbles recoveries, four of which he returned for touchdowns.
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The 6-foot-3, 243-pound defensive force passed away in February of 2000 (story courtesy of Mike Freeman of the New York Times). Who knows what kind of sack numbers would have put up had he played a few more years? But the 2009 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee left quite the legacy with this franchise.