Len Dawson, Hall of Fame quarterback who received Super Bowl with Chiefs, dead at 87

Len Dawson, a Super Bowl winner and Hall of Fame quarterback who used most of his profession with the Kansas City Chiefs, has died at age 87.

“My family members and I are heartbroken,” Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt claimed in a statement Wednesday.

“Len Dawson is synonymous with the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs. Len embraced and came to embody Kansas City and the people that contact it household. You would be difficult-pressed to obtain a participant who had a greater impact in shaping the firm as we know it right now than Len Dawson did.”

A bring about of demise was not released for Dawson, who was confirmed to be in hospice treatment earlier this thirty day period by his spouse, Linda. He experienced battled wellness issues including prostate cancer and a quadruple heart bypass medical procedures, according to ESPN.

Dawson received Super Bowl IV with the Chiefs in 1970 and was named the game’s Most Beneficial Participant following passing for 142 yards and a landing. The championship marked the initially Super Bowl title in Chiefs history.

He later on delivered investigation as the color commentator for the Chiefs radio broadcasts from 1985 to 2017, and also worked as the sports activities director of the Television station KMBC in Kansas Metropolis.

“I admired Len my overall lifestyle — 1st as a Hall of Fame participant on the area, and afterwards as he transitioned into a prosperous broadcasting career,” Hunt mentioned. “Throughout his exceptional occupation, Len designed it a precedence to give again to the neighborhood that he liked. The franchise has misplaced a accurate legend.”

Dawson was a initially-spherical select by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1957, and also played for the Cleveland Browns right before becoming a member of the Dallas Texans of the then-American Football League in 1962. The Texans moved to Kansas Metropolis and grew to become the Chiefs the next 12 months.

The AFL merged with the NFL just after the 1966 time, but the leagues played separate schedules for their typical seasons right up until 1970. Dawson gained 3 AFL titles with the Chiefs business in 1962, 1966 and 1969.

The 6-time AFL All-Star and 1-time NFL Professional Bowler passed for 28,711 yards and 239 touchdowns across 19 expert seasons, 14 of which he put in with the Chiefs.

Dawson was inducted into the Professional Football Corridor of Fame as a participant in 1987, then as a broadcaster in 2012. His No. 16 is retired by the Chiefs, who inducted him into the team’s Hall of Fame in 1979.

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