The Kansas City Chiefs are currently one of the more consistently good teams in the NFL, having appeared in two Super Bowls in recent years, and also having won several division titles. The franchise first entered professional football back in 1960, and have been a member of the NFL since the 1970 season. Today, the Kansas City Chiefs are part of the AFC West Division of the National Football League, competing with the Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos.
Here are six fun facts about the Kansas City Chiefs.
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- The franchise originally entered the world of professional football as the Dallas Texans. (source) It was in 1960 that businessman Lamar Hunt founded the Dallas Texans as one of the charter members of the American Football League (AFL). However, the franchise’s stint in Dallas wouldn’t last long, as Hunt relocated the team to Kansas City with the ‘Chiefs’ nickname in 1963. It would be in 1970 that the AFL-NFL merger would cause the Kansas City Chiefs to become one of the new teams in the National Football League.
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- The Kansas City Chiefs had the longest drought between Super Bowl wins in NFL history. (source) With their 31-20 win over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 54, the Kansas City Chiefs won their first Lombardi Trophy since defeating the Minnesota Vikings by a score of 23-7 in Super Bowl 4. This 50 year stretch is the longest gap in NFL history between Super Bowl victories for one of the league’s coveted franchises.
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- The Kansas City Chiefs have won the Super Bowl twice, but the team won 3 AFL Championships prior to joining the National Football League. (source) The 1960s were a very successful decade for the franchise, as they secured AFL Title wins in 1962 (as the Dallas Texans), 1966, and 1969, with the latter happening right before the franchise became part of the AFL-NFL merger and joined the National Football League for the 1970 NFL season.
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- Kansas City Chiefs legend Derrick Thomas holds the NFL record for the most sacks in a single game. (source) In 1990, Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro defensive star Derrick Thomas made NFL history when he sacked Seattle Seahawks quarterback Dave Krieg seven times in a single game. Despite the dominant performance from Thomas and the Chiefs defense, the Kansas City Chiefs still fell to the Seahawks that day by a score of 17-16.
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- The first Kansas City Chiefs player to ever be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame was defensive star Bobby Bell. (source) Bobby Bell played both defensive end and linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1963-1974, which was his entire career in professional football, across both the AFL and the NFL. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the 1983 class, and is also a member of the National Collegiate Football Hall of Fame, as well as the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame.,
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- The longest Chiefs game ever took place in 1971 against the Miami Dolphins. (source) It was on the Christmas Day of 1971 that one of the longest games in NFL history took place, which saw the Miami Dolphins defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 27-24 in double-overtime. The game was decided on a Dolphins field goal in the second overtime period.
The Kansas City Chiefs have quite the successful history in the National Football League, and one of the oldest franchises in the NFL. If you’re a Chiefs fan out there and have any more fun facts to share about your favorite team, share them with us in the comments below.
Featured image photo credit: All-Pro Reels, 2021. Originally found on Wikimedia.org. Image was resized and cropped. Creative Commons 2.0.
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