Chiefs great Fred Arbanas gets ‘Fred Friday’ celebration as he nears end of second career

It was Red Friday across Chiefs nation as Kansas City revved up for Monday night’s game at Arrowhead. But on the steps of the Jackson County Courthouse, it was “Fred Friday” in honor of former Chiefs player and longtime county Legislator Fred Arbanas.

After 42 years, Arbanas is stepping down at the end of the year, by far the longest-serving member ever on Jackson County’s governing body.

He’s leaving, he told a crowd of elected officials and county employees, most clad in Chiefs jerseys bearing his name and number (84), with greater respect for the men and women who seek and hold local public office.

“When I first got elected in 1972, I was kind of a redneck,” he said. “I figured everybody who got elected was on the take.”

Instead, Arbanas found that most of those he served with over the decades approached the job with an earnest desire to serve the taxpayers.

No one served them with more honesty and dedication, County Executive Mike Sanders said. Scott Burnett, chairman of the Legislature this year, praised Arbanas for his integrity and hard work.

But it was Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson, Arbanas’ colleague and friend on the 1970 Super Bowl championship team, who offered the highest praise. Arbanas, he said, was not only a tough customer on the football field who set team records, but anyone who served as long as he has in county government has true grit.

“Forty-two years,” Dawson said, “that shows you how tough he is.”

As he steadied himself on the cane he needs because of old football injuries, the 75-year-old Arbanas told stories about his dual careers.

How Dawson helped him keep his spot on the team by helping him relearn how to catch passes after losing his sight in one eye.

“Lenny’s the guy who kept my career going,” Arbanas said.

And how he was proud to have been on the Legislature that saw to it that county employees get basic benefits like health insurance and pensions when before they had none.

“Things have come a long way,” he said.

Then, with former Chiefs players at his side — Dawson and Jan Stenerud from his era and several whose careers came later: Gary Spani, Deron Cherry, Bill Maas, Dave Lindstrom and Walter White — Arbanas accepted five footballs covered with the autographs of more than 1,000 county employees.

“We were a helluva team,” he said of the Chiefs teams that went to Super Bowls I and IV.

He said as much about the folks he’s worked with at Jackson County over a much longer career before the confetti cannons blew out their streamers and the crowd screamed, “Go Chiefs!”

This story was originally published September 26, 2014 at 5:38 PM with the headline "Chiefs great Fred Arbanas gets ‘Fred Friday’ celebration as he nears end of second career."