- 1969 Kansas City Chiefs season
Infobox NFL season
team = Kansas City Chiefs
year = 1969
record = 11-3
division_place = 2nd Western Division
coach =Hank Stram
stadium = Municipal Stadium
playoffs = W AFL Championship (Raiders)
WSuper Bowl IV (Vikings)The 1969Kansas City Chiefs season resulted in a 11-3 record and a 23-7 victory inSuper Bowl IV over theNFL ’s heavily-favoredMinnesota Vikings . The team beat their rivals, theOakland Raiders in the final AFL Championship Game, claiming their third AFL Championship in franchise history. The Chiefs were coached byHank Stram , led by quarterbackLen Dawson and a powerful defense led byBobby Bell , Willie "Contact" Lanier andBuck Buchanan . The Chiefs' defense became the fourth defense in the history of pro football to lead its league in fewest rushing yards, fewest passing yards and fewest total yards. [The Best Show in Football:The 1946-1955 Cleveland Browns, p.294, Andy Piascik, Taylor Trade Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-58979-360-6] The Chiefs were the second AFL team to win the Super Bowl and last AFL team to do so before theAFL-NFL Merger in the following season.The season was marred not only by an injury to quarterback Len Dawson but also controversy surrounding Dawson and his purported involvement in a
sports gambling ring. Back-up quarterbackMike Livingston and the Chiefs' stellar defense led the Chiefs back to the Super Bowl, this time, to win it all.Seven future Hall of Famers played for the Chiefs on the 1969 squad, including QB
Len Dawson , LB'sWillie Lanier andBobby Bell , DTBuck Buchanan , CBEmmitt Thomas and KJan Stenerud . CoachHank Stram has also been enshrined in the Hall of Fame.In
2006 , the 1969 Kansas City Chiefs were ranked as the 18th greatest Super Bowl champions on theNFL Network 's documentary "". [http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2006/12/07/americas_game_1969_kansas_city_chiefs/ "America's Game: The 1969 Kansas City Chiefs"] "KCChiefs.com" 7 December 2006.]Offseason
1969 AFL Draft
In the first round of the 1969 AFL Draft, the Chiefs selected cornerback
Jim Marsalis fromTennessee State . Marsalis became an immediate starter at cornerback alongside veteranEmmitt Thomas . He was the only Chiefs rookie to start for the 1969 team, asEd Podolak and Bob Stein were benched, andMorris Stroud andJack Rudnay sat out the season with injuries.
After a decisive 27-9 win at San Diego (9/14), the club posted a 31-0 shutout at Boston (9/21), but QB
However, Livingston engineered a five-game winning streak, while getting plenty of help from the club’s defense. The team’s home opener at Municipal Stadium was played in a daylong deluge referred to as a “frog-strangler” by Chiefs radio broadcaster
Dawson returned to the starting lineup in a 27-3 win vs. San Diego (11/9) and guided the club to three wins in the season’s next four games.
chedule
Postseason
In an AFL Divisional Playoff Game at the
Divisional playoffs
Linescore Amfootball
Road=Chiefs
R1=0
R2=3
R3=3
R4=7
RT=13
Home=Jets
H1=3
H2=0
H3=0
H4=3
HT=6
coring Summary
*NY - Field goal Turner 27
*KC - Field goal Stenerud 23
*KC - Field goal Stenerud 25
*NY - Field goal Turner 7
*KC - Richardson 19 pass from Dawson (Stenerud kick)
AFL championship game
Linescore Amfootball
Road=Chiefs
R1=0
R2=7
R3=7
R4=3
RT=17
Home=Raiders
H1=7
H2=0
H3=0
H4=0
HT=7
coring Summary
*OAK - Smith 3 run (Blanda kick)
*KC - Haynes 1 run (Stenerud kick)
*KC - Holmes 5 run (Stenerud kick)
*KC - Field goal Stenerud 22
uper Bowl IV
Even though the Vikings were 13-point favorites coming into the game, the Chiefs defense dominated the game by limiting the Minnesota offense to only 67 rushing yards, forcing 3 interceptions, and recovering 2 fumbles. The victory by the AFL evened the Super Bowl series with the NFL at two games apiece.
Kansas City's Len Dawson became the fourth consecutive winning quarterback to be named Super Bowl MVP. He completing 12 of 17 passes for 142 yards and one touchdown, with 1 interception. Dawson also recorded 3 rushing attempts for 11 yards.
Linescore Amfootball
Road=Vikings
R1=0
R2=0
R3=7
R4=0
RT=7
Home=Chiefs
H1=3
H2=13
H3=7
H4=0
HT=23
Game summary
The Vikings began the game by taking the opening kickoff and marching from their own 20-yard line to the Kansas City 39-yard line, but were forced to punt. The Chiefs then drove 42 yards in 8 plays to score on kicker
On the first play of their ensuing drive, Chiefs quarterback
On the second play of their next drive, Vikings wide receiver
However, the Vikings also could not take advantage of the turnover. Quarterback
On the ensuing kickoff, Vikings returner Charlie West fumbled the ball, and Kansas City's Remi Prudhomme recovered it at Minnesota 19-yard line. Defensive tackle Jim Marshall sacked Dawson for an 8-yard loss by on the first play of the drive, but then a 13-yard run by running back
West returned the ensuing kickoff 27 yards to the 32-yard line. Then on the first play of the drive, Kapp completed a 27-yard pass to Henderson to advance the ball to the Kansas City 41-yard line. However, on the next 3 plays, Kapp threw 2 incompletions and was sacked by defensive tackle
In the third quarter, the Vikings managed to build some momentum. After forcing the Chiefs to punt on the opening possession of the second half, Minnesota drove 69 yards in 10 plays to score on fullback
The Chiefs would then go on to shut out the Vikings in the fourth quarter, forcing three interceptions on three Minnesota possessions, to clinch the 23-7 victory. The defeat was total for the Vikings, as even their "Indestructible" quarterback Joe Kapp had to be helped off the field in the fourth quarter after being sacked by Chiefs defensive lineman Aaron Brown.
Garrett was the top rusher of the game, recording 11 carries for 39 yards and a touchdown. He also caught 2 passes for 25 yards and returned a kickoff for 18 yards. Taylor was the Chiefs' leading receiver with 6 catches for 81 yards and a touchdown. Kapp finished the game with 16 of 25 completions for 183 yards, with 2 interceptions. Henderson was the top receiver of the game with 7 catches for 111 yards.
coring Summary
*KC - FG Stenerud 48
*KC - FG Stenerud 32
*KC - FG Stenerud 25
*KC - Garrett 5 run (Stenerud kick)
*MIN - Osborn 4 run (Cox kick)
*KC - Taylor 46 pass from Dawson (Stenerud kick)
AFL All-Star Game
"The Chiefs sent nine players to the
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Trivia
*The 1969 Chiefs were the last team to be awarded the World Championship Game Trophy, as later that fall the trophy was renamed the
*During
*Coach Hank Stram had a local Kansas City tailor custom-fit each member of the Chiefs team with a suit jacket and pants which were to be worn on all road trips during the 1969 season.
*Kansas City began the regular season with four consecutive road games for the only time in team history. [http://www.kcchiefs.com/history/60s/ Chiefs History: 1960's] "KCChiefs.com", retrieved 1 January 2007.] This is likely due to the fact the
"65 Toss Power Trap"
*"65 Toss Power Trap" – Wearing an NFL Films microphone during Super Bowl IV, Chiefs head coach Hank Stram made one of the classic play calls in NFL history, “65 Toss Power Trap.” Len Dawson recounts, “I’m in the huddle and here comes Gloster Richardson into the game with a play. He says ‘Coach wants you to run 65 Toss Power Trap.’ I said, ‘We haven’t run that play in a really long time, are you sure that’s what he wants?’ Gloster says, ‘Yes, it’s 65 Toss Power Trap.’” Running back
References
External links
* [http://www.databasefootball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=KAN&lg=afl&yr=1969 1969 Kansas City Chiefs on Database Football]
succession box
title =
years = 1969
before = New York Jets
1968
after = "Final champion"succession box
title =
years = 1969
before = New York Jets
1968
after = Baltimore Colts
1970
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