Len Dawson, the Hall of Fame quarterback who led the Kansas City Chiefs to a Super Bowl victory, has died at 87.
Dawson's family confirmed the news in a statement to KMBC-TV, where the NFL star worked as a broadcaster after retiring.
"With wife Linda at his side, it is with much sadness that we inform you of the passing of our beloved Len Dawson. He was a wonderful husband, father, brother, and friend. Len was always grateful and many times overwhelmed by the countless bonds he made during his football and broadcast careers," his family said.
"He loved Kansas City and no matter where his travels took him, he could not wait to return home," the statement continued. "Linda wants to acknowledge and thank the wonderful team of doctors, nurses and support staff at KU Med who showed tremendous amounts of love and compassion for Len."
Born and raised in Alliance, Ohio, Dawson attended Purdue University, where he starred from 1953 to 1956.
"I went to Purdue University for two reasons: One, it's a great university and secondly, their offense threw the football," Dawson said in an interview about his career, according to KMBC.
Dawson went on to be the No. 5 overall pick of the 1957 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he remained until 1959, according to Fox News. He was then traded to the Cleveland Browns and remained there for five seasons before signing with the Dallas Texans of the American Football League, who later became known as the Kansas City Chiefs.
Under coach Hank Stram, Dawson's career took off. He won the passing title four times and was a league All-Star six times. In 1966 he led the team to the Super Bowl, where they were defeated by the heavily favored Green Bay Packers. Hungry from the 35-10 loss, the Chiefs made Super Bowl IV in 1970, where they defeated the Minnesota Vikings for the title, KMBC noted.
In 1966, while still playing for the Chiefs, Dawson was also named sports director at KMBC. In 1987 he entered the Hall of Fame.
"I am the seventh son of a seventh son. And all my life they said, 'Hey, that's great. That's good luck,' " Dawson said at the time of his induction. "The people of Kansas City, for those of you who don't know those folks, it's some kind of town."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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