Chiefs are kings of the world: Stram, Dawson and that lock-down defense win it all
It’s said history tends to repeat itself, but the blueprint is rarely the same.
Such is the case for the Chiefs, whose 1969 season ended with a Super Bowl victory, an outcome the 2019 Chiefs hope to replicate.
How the regular season unfolded for each team, separated by 50 years, includes some similarities — including a key injury — but many differences, too.
Here is a closer look at the 1969 season that led to, and culminated in, a Super Bowl championship.
The 1969 Chiefs
The previous season ended with disappointment in the playoffs. The Chiefs lost 41-6 to the archrival Raiders in Oakland after tying for the division crown and leading the American Football League in scoring defense.
But when the Chiefs broke camp at William Jewell College in Libery, Missouri, there was reason for optimism that they could return to the AFL-NFL World Championship Game (soon to be known as the Super Bowl) after losing three years earlier in the first such contest.
The Chiefs finished the preseason 6-0 (yep, six games), including four victories against NFL teams, then opened the season with a convincing 27-9 win over the Chargers in San Diego.
Because the Kansas City Royals were in their inaugural season and playing at Municipal Stadium, the Chiefs then traveled to Boston and crushed the Patriots 31-0.
Unfortunately, quarterback Len Dawson injured his knee during the game, dampening the celebration.
That’s one of the most obvious similarities between the 1969 Chiefs and this season’s edition: Patrick Mahomes also missed time because of a knee injury.
Doctors recommended season-ending surgery for Dawson, but a St. Louis team physician suggested if Dawson merely rested, he could be back in less than two months.
The Chiefs’ strength was its defense, of which coach Hank Stram was keenly aware.
The book ‘69 Chiefs quotes Stram as telling the team after Dawson’s injury: “We are a complete football team directed to one purpose, and that is to win. We are a Rolls Royce. All we have got to do is keep it on the road.”
Backup quarterback Jacky Lee threw a touchdown pass the following week at Cincinnati, but he separated his shoulder and third-stringer Mike Livingston took over. The Chiefs led by three going into the fourth quarter, but the Bengals scored two touchdowns and won 24-19.
Despite being the third-string quarterback, Livingston made an instant impact for the Chiefs, who rattled off four straight victories with Dawson out.
When Dawson returned, the Chiefs ran that winning streak to seven, capped by an easy 34-16 victory over the defending champion Jets in New York.
That gave Kansas City a 9-1 record and a half-game lead over the Raiders in the AFL’s West division. But hopes of a division crown were dashed as the Chiefs went 2-2 down the stretch, with both losses coming to Oakland.
The Chiefs made the AFL playoffs as a wild card and went back to New York, where they squeezed out a 13-6 win over the Jets thanks to Dawson’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Gloster Richardson late in the game.
That set up a third meeting with the Raiders for the AFL championship and the right to play in the Super Bowl, which got its name from AFL and Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt (“Super Bowl” would be used for the first time in 1970).
Oakland was so confident of winning the AFL championship that players brought their suitcases to the stadium, with the expectation the Raiders would leave for New Orleans, site of the AFL-NFL championship game, right afterward.
The Raiders scored the first touchdown, but the Chiefs stifled Oakland after that, scoring the game’s final 17 points. Oakland threw four interceptions and missed three field goals in the Chiefs’ 17-7 victory.
That sent the AFL champion Chiefs to their second meeting against an NFL team for a world championship in four years. This time, the Chiefs scored the first 16 points against the Minnesota Vikings and strolled to a 23-7 win.
Stram wore a microphone for NFL Films that day, and the words “matriculate” and “65 Toss Power Trap” would forever become part of the Chiefs lexicon.
The 1969 Chiefs were AFL and Super Bowl IV champions, a double title for Kansas City.
Game-by-game
Week 1: Chiefs 27, at Chargers 9
Otis Taylor catches five passes from Len Dawson for 111 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Week 2: Chiefs 31, at Patriots 0
Four Chiefs players rush for 40 yards or more, including Mike Garrett (79), who also has 49 yards receiving.
Week 3: At Bengals 24, Chiefs 19
Backup quarterback Jacky Lee completes 11 of 18 passes with a touchdown and an interception.
Week 4: Chiefs 26, at Broncos 13
Kicker Jan Stenerud makes all four of his field-goal attempts, including one from 54 yards.
Week 5: At Chiefs 24, Oilers 0
Houston is limited to seven first downs and George Daney returns a fumble 5 yards for a touchdown.
Week 6: At Chiefs 17, Dolphins 10
Mike Livingston throws for 308 yards and his first touchdown of the season.
Week 7: At Chiefs 42, Bengals 22
Mike Garrett rushes for 96 yards and adds 101 receiving yards with a TD catch.
Week 8: Chiefs 29, at Bills 7
Dawson returns and throws for 94 yards as Stenerud boots four field goals.
Week 9: At Chiefs 27, Chargers 3
Running back Warren McVea tosses a 50-yard touchdown pass.
Week 10: Chiefs 34, at Jets 16
Taylor hauls in a trio of touchdown passes from Dawson.
Week 11: Raiders 27, at Chiefs 24
Robert Holmes rushes for 80 yards, but Dawson is intercepted five times.
Week 12: At Chiefs 31, Broncos 17
McVea runs for just 29 yards in 14 attempts but scores two touchdowns.
Week 13: At Chiefs 22, Bills 19
The defense holds O.J. Simpson to 62 yards and Stenerud nails five field goals.
Week 14: At Raiders 10, Chiefs 6
The Chiefs are held to 194 yards but Mike Garrett rushes for 71.
AFL Divisional playoff: Chiefs 13, at Jets 6
Gloster Richardson’s 19-yard TD pass from Dawson breaks a tie in the fourth quarter.
AFL Championship game: Chiefs 17, at Raiders 7
The Chiefs’ defense intercepts Daryle Lamonica and George Blanda four times.
Super Bowl IV: Chiefs 23, Vikings 7
Taylor catches six passes for 81 yards and a touchdown. The Chiefs are champions.
This story was originally published January 12, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
