(cid:42)(cid:79)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:92)(cid:3)(cid:39)(cid:68)(cid:92)(cid:86) L amar Hunt was a man who was used to getting his way He made millions in the energy business and was one of the most recognizable people in Texas One thing eluded Hunt a team in the National Football League NFL His solution was to start a league of his own the American Football League AFL The AFL played its first season in 1960 The name of Hunt’s team was the Dallas Texans The NFL fought back by putting its own team in Dallas The Cowboys also played their first season in 1960 Hunt had a trick up his sleeve He hired Hank Stram to coach the Texans Stram was a young coach who loved to try new ideas He also knew how to find talented players Among the Dallas stars in the early 1960s were quarterback Cotton Davidson linemen Jerry Mays and E J Holub and linebacker Sherrill Headrick (cid:25)
The team’s best player was running back Abner Haynes He was named Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year in his first season Haynes led the AFL in rushing touchdowns in each of his first three seasons In 1962 the Texans signed quarterback Len Dawson He led Dallas to its first AFL championship that same season Other stars on that team included Jim Tyrer Fred Arbanas Chris Burford Bobby Hunt and Johnny Robinson A few months after their victory the Texans moved to Kansas City Missouri and became the Chiefs Hunt no longer wanted to compete with the Cowboys and Kansas City fans were hungry for a team The AFL and NFL joined forces in 1970 During the AFL’s 10 years the Chiefs had the league’s best record at 87 wins 48 losses and five ties They won three championships in all The Chiefs played in the first Super Bowl in 1967 and lost to the Green Bay Packers They returned to the big game three years later and beat the Minnesota Vikings LEFT Lamar Hunt ABOVE Len Dawson calls a play in the Kansas City huddle (cid:26)
Kansas City had a well-balanced team during the 1960s Running back Mike Garrett and receiver Otis Taylor starred with Dawson on offense The defense was led by Buck Buchanan Bobby Bell Willie Lanier and Emmitt Thomas Jan Stenerud was the team’s kicker Once they joined the NFL the Chiefs in the competitive Western played Division of the American Football Conference AFC During the 1970s and 1980s they struggled to finish ahead of the Oakland Raiders Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers Kansas City fans still had some exciting players to root for including receivers Stephon Paige and Carlos Carlson quarterbacks Bill Kenney and Steve DeBerg running back Christian Okoye and defensive stars Art Still Deron Cherry and Albert Lewis In the early 1990s the Chiefs returned to their winning ways They were led by two NFL legends Joe Montana and Marcus Allen Young pass-rushers Derrick Thomas and Neil Smith turned LEFT Derrick Thomas zeroes in on the quarterback ABOVE Marcus Allen catches his breath between plays (cid:28)
