1969 Kansas City Chiefs: Achieving Balance

1969 Kansas City Chiefs: Achieving Balance

1969 Kansas City Chiefs: Achieving Balance

The merger of the 2 most popular football leagues, the National Football League and the American Football League, was just around the corner, and all active teams knew that significant changes were coming to the football landscape. In the case of the Kansas City Chiefs they were determined to achieve the kind of balance that propelled them to the very first Super Bowl against the Green Bay Packers. However, unlike Super Bowl I, the Chiefs wanted to actually win the big game this time around. The Chiefs were led by head coach Hank Stram, a fiery personality who dressed in suits when coaching.

In 1969 the Chiefs went 11-3, finishing in 2nd place in the AFL Western Division. They finished just 1.5 games behind their arch rivals the Oakland Raiders.

The Chiefs firmly established a balanced attack on offense as they had just enough power in both their running game and passing game. Quarterback Len Dawson went 5-2 in 7 starts, completing 98 of 166 pass attempts for 1,323 yards and 9 touchdowns, recording a 59% completion percentage and throwing 13 interceptions. Mike Livingston offered relief under center when Dawson went down with an injury during the season. Livingston went 6-0 in 6 starts, completing 84 of 161 pass attempts for 1,123 yards and 4 touchdowns, recording a 52.2 completion percentage and throwing 6 interceptions.

Halfback Mike Garrett had 168 rushing attempts for 732 yards and 6 touchdowns while he had 43 receptions for 432 yards and 2 touchdowns. Fullback Robert Holmes had 150 rushing attempts for 612 yards and 2 touchdowns while having 26 receptions for 266 yards and 3 touchdowns. Running back and wide receiver Warren McVea had 106 rushing attempts for 500 yards and 7 touchdowns. Running back Wendell Hayes had 62 rushing attempts for 208 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Split End Frank Pitts had 31 receptions for 470 yards and 2 touchdowns. Flanker Otis Taylor had 41 receptions for 696 yards and 7 touchdowns. Wide receiver and flanker Gloster Richardson had 23 receptions for 381 yards and 2 touchdowns. Tight end Fred Arbanas had 16 receptions for 258 yards.

Defensive back Willie “Top Cat” Mitchell proved to be a useful weapon on special teams as he had 13 punt returns for 101 yards and 7 kick returns for 178 yards. Warren McVea had 13 punt returns for 318 yards, Wide receiver Noland “Super Gnat” Smith had 9 punt returns for 107 yards and 4 kick returns for 125 yards. Running back Ed Podolak had 7 kick returns for 165 yards. Halfback Paul Lowe had 5 kick returns for 116 yards.

Kicker Jan Stenerud successfully made 27 of 35 field goals, recording a 77.1% field goal percentage.

Kansas City’s defense in 1969 is considered by many football historians to be one of the best defenses in football history. Hank Stram implemented a “Triple Stack” defense where the linebackers would stay back and read the progression of offensive plays. Right cornerback Emmitt Thomas had 9 interceptions for 146 yards and 1 touchdown with 2 fumble recoveries.

Right safety Johnny Robinson had 8 interceptions for 158 yards. Left safety Jim Kearney had 5 interceptions for 143 yards with 1 fumble recovery. Willie Mitchell had 3 fumble recoveries as well as left linebacker Bobby Bell and right defensive end Aaron Brown. Defensive back George Sellers had 2 fumble recoveries for 19 yards and 1 touchdown.

The Chiefs proved to be a solid team right out of the gate as they accumulated a 9-1 record at one point. The Chiefs went on an impressive 7-game winning streak which began with a 26-13 win over the Denver Broncos in Week 4 on October 5, and it ended with a 34-16 win over the New York Jets in Week 10 on November 16.

The Chiefs would play the Jets in the Divisional Round of the playoffs on December 20 at Shea Stadium, and the Chiefs would prevail by the score of 13-6. In the 1st quarter the Jets scored first with a 27-yard field goal made by kicker Jim Turner. In the 2nd and 3rd quarters respectively Jan Stenerud kept the Chiefs in it as he kicked 23 and 25-yard field goals. In the 4th quarter Turner tied the game up at 6-6 with a 7-yard field goal, but the Chiefs moved on with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Len Dawson to Gloster Richardson.

In what would be the final AFL Championship Game in history, the Chiefs would face their arch rivals for the crown as they faced the Oakland Raiders on January 4 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The Chiefs would beat the Raiders 17-7. In the 1st quarter Raiders running back Charlie Smith had a 3-yard touchdown run, but Kansas City took over the game from there as Wendell Hayes had a 1-yard touchdown run in the 2nd quarter, and then Robert Holmes had a 5-yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter. Stenerud added a 22-yard field goal in the 4th quarter to make it a 2 score game.

Super Bowl IV was a memorable game for Chiefs fans as their team finally achieved balance. The Chiefs clicked on all cylinders as they defeated the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 on January 11 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans. Stenerud would claim the early scoring of the game as he kicked a 48-yard field goal with 6:52 remaining in the 1st quarter, and then he kicked 32 and 35-yard field goals with 13:20 and 7:52 remaining in the 2nd quarter respectively.

With 5:34 remaining in the 2nd quarter the Chiefs called a play that they had not run in a long time. This is a play that was made famous in the Super Bowl, and it is called the “65 Toss Power Trap”. It is a redirecting toss to a running back out of the Wishbone formation, and scoring a 5-yard touchdown run off this play, Mike Garrett made the most of his opportunity.

Minnesota would score its only touchdown with 4:32 remaining in the 3rd quarter thanks to a 4-yard touchdown run by running back Dave Osborn. However, there was too much momentum on Kansas City’s side. With 1:22 remaining Otis Taylor caught a 46-yard touchdown pass from Len Dawson to seal the game. Thanks in part to Minnesota’s sloppy play by way of 5 turnovers, the Kansas City Chiefs would the World Championship Trophy, which would be renamed the Vince Lombardi Trophy the next season.

Representing the AFL Western Division in the AFL All-Star Game were 10 Chiefs, Len Dawson, Mike Livingston, Robert Holmes, Bobby Bell, defensive tackle Junious “Buck” Buchanan, offensive guard Ed Budde, defensive tackle Curley Culp, linebacker Willie Lanier, cornerback Jim Marsalis and offensive tackle Jim Tyrer.