Corridor of Fame quarterback Len Dawson, whose unmistakable swagger in serving to the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs to their first Tremendous Bowl title earned him the nickname “Lenny the Cool,” died Wednesday. He was 87.
Dawson’s household introduced his demise in a press release by way of KMBC-TV, the Kansas Metropolis station the place he starred in his second profession as a broadcaster. No trigger was given, although Dawson had been in declining well being for years. He entered hospice care on Aug. 12.
“With spouse Linda at his aspect, it's with a lot unhappiness that we inform you of the passing of our beloved Len Dawson,” the household’s assertion learn. “He was an exquisite husband, father, brother and good friend. Len was at all times grateful and lots of occasions overwhelmed by the numerous bonds he made throughout his soccer and broadcast careers.”
Dawson was named most beneficial participant of the Chiefs’ 23-7 Tremendous Bowl victory over the Minnesota Vikings in January 1970.
“Len Dawson is synonymous with the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs,” workforce proprietor Clark Hunt mentioned in a press release on Wednesday. “Len embraced and got here to embody Kansas Metropolis and the folks that decision it dwelling. You'll be hard-pressed to discover a participant who had a much bigger affect in shaping the group as we all know it right now than Len Dawson did.”
Dawson personified the Chiefs virtually from the beginning, when the suave standout from Purdue misplaced out on beginning jobs in Pittsburgh and Cleveland and landed with the nascent franchise, then situated in Dallas. There, Dawson reunited with Hank Stram, who had been an assistant with the Boilermakers, and collectively they modified the franchise.
The coach and quarterback received the AFL championship collectively in 1962, their first 12 months collectively, and have become bona fide stars the next 12 months, when membership founder Lamar Hunt moved the workforce to Kansas Metropolis and rechristened it the Chiefs.
They proceeded to win two extra AFL titles, one in 1966 once they misplaced to the Inexperienced Bay Packers within the first Tremendous Bowl, and the opposite in 1969, when Dawson returned from an damage to assist beat the Vikings at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans.
“Trying again on my profession, I’ve been blessed for what I had the chance to do,” Dawson advised the Related Press in 2017, shortly after he introduced his retirement as a Corridor of Fame broadcaster. “I couldn't have completed a lot with out my teammates and colleagues, and I’m grateful for every of them.”
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