- Warpaint (horse)
Warpaint was the
mascot pinto horse for theKansas City Chiefs National Football League team from1963 to1989 .The
gelding is most famously associated with the Chiefs' glory days at Municipal Stadium when the team won twoAmerican Football League Championships, and the horse led the team's victory parade after their win inSuper Bowl IV .The Chiefs have reportedly considered bringing a horse of the same name back for a future season, [Cite news| url=http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/living/15408570.htm| title=Part 3: Chiefs still ‘Rock and Roll’| date=
September 1 ,2006 | publisher=The Kansas City Star|] [Cite news| url=http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/entertainment/columnists/hearne_christopher_jr/15915049.htm| title=Another Warpaint comes and goes| date=November 5 ,2006 | publisher=The Kansas City Star| accessdate=2006-12-10|] but the team currently usesK.C. Wolf as their mascot since1989 .The horse was ridden bareback by rider Bob Johnson who wore full Native American
headdress . [http://www.georgeblowfish.com/Chiefspage7.html Chiefs cheerleaders and mascots] Accessed 15 March 2008.] Warpaint circled the field at the beginning of each game and after each touchdown. In 1975, the Chiefs defeated theOakland Raiders by a score of 42-10, prompting Warpaint to circle the field plenty of times.—
Oakland Raiders head coach John Madden, following their 42-10 loss to the Chiefs in 1975.The horse was said to have lost its footing when the team switched from natural grass at Municipal Stadium to
artificial turf atArrowhead Stadium . Charges were also made that the horse and rider were demeaning to Native Americans, helping to end its use as the team's mascot.The Chiefs attempted to use an officially licensed mascot in the mid-
1980s , but it was scrapped in favor ofK.C. Wolf , team's current mascot, in1989 .The first Warpaint was born in
1955 , and the second was born in1968 . The second Warpaint died in2005 at the age of 37 atBenjamin Stables in Kansas City where it is now buried. The horse made an appearance at a 1997 Chiefs game where it received astanding ovation from a sold-out crowd. [http://www.cvm.missouri.edu/publications/VetMedReview/vmr_16_4.pdf#search=%22warpaint%20benjamin%20ranch%22 Veterinary Medical Review University of Missouri-Columbia Fall/Winter 1999] (pdf)]References
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