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Kansas City Chiefs

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The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL).

Originally called the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League. The team moved to Kansas City and became the Chiefs in 1963 after then-Kansas City mayor H. Roe Bartle guaranteed the team they would have increased ticket sales. The Chiefs then joined the NFL as part of the AFL-NFL Merger.

The Chiefs hold the distinction of being the second AFL team (after the New York Jets) to defeat an NFL club in an AFL-NFL World Championship Game when they defeated the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV.

Franchise history

AFL

In 1959 Lamar Hunt, son of oil tycoon H.L. Hunt, began discussions with other businessmen to establish an American football league that would rival the National Football League. The new league was called the American Football League, and Hunt established it after being denied ownership of an NFL franchise. Hunt established his AFL team in Dallas. The Dallas Texans, as they were known then, shared the Cotton Bowl with the NFL's cross-town competition, the Dallas Cowboys.

In one of the Texans' biggest games, they defeated the Houston Oilers in a dramatic 1962 AFL Championship that went into double overtime. Until the December 25, 1971, playoff game between the Chiefs and Dolphins, the game was the longest ever played at over 77 minutes.

After three seasons — including an AFL championship in 1962 — it was apparent that Dallas couldn't support two teams. Hunt investigated opportunities to move his team to several cities for the 1963 season, wanting to find a city to which he could commute easily from Dallas. He eventually turned to Kansas City, where Mayor H. Roe Bartle persuaded him to move to the Midwest.

Most impressive about this move was the support the team received from the community even before the team announced the move. Hunt made the move dependent upon the ability of Kansas City Mayor H. Roe Bartle and the Kansas City community to guarantee him 35,000 in season ticket sales. Hunt had arrived at this number because that was the Texans' average attendance at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

Hunt, with a roster replete with players who had played college football in Texas, wanted to maintain a lineage to the team’s roots and wanted to call the club the "Kansas City Texans". "The Lakers stayed the Lakers when they moved from Minnesota to California", he reasoned. "But Jack Steadman convinced me that wasn’t too smart. It wouldn’t sell." The team was renamed the Kansas City Chiefs—one of the most popular suggestions Hunt received in a name-the-team contest, along with "Kansas City Mules" — and began playing in Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium in 1963.

The name "Chiefs" is derived from Mayor Bartle, who 35 years prior, founded the Native American-based honor society known as The Tribe of Mic-O-Say within the Boy Scouts of America organization, which earned him the nickname, "The Chief."

The Texans/Chiefs franchise was the flagship team of the American Football League, with the most playoff appearances as an AFL team, six (tied with Oakland), the most American Football League Championships (3), and the most Super Bowl appearances, playing in the first Super Bowl, and in the last to be played between League champions. The Texans won the classic 1962 double-overtime AFL championship game against the Houston Oilers, 20-17, at the time the longest, and still one of the best professional football championship games ever played. The Chiefs dropped the first Super Bowl to the Packers, then pulverized the Vikings 23-7 in the final "true" AFL-NFL World Championship game after the AFL's last season in 1969. They had just one coach throughout their AFL history, Hall-of-Famer Hank Stram.

The Chiefs' first Kansas City home was at 22nd and Brooklyn, called Municipal Stadium, which opened in 1923 and had 49,002 seats. In 1972, the Chiefs moved into the new Arrowhead Stadium. Municipal Stadium, also formerly the home of the Kansas City Royals, the minor-league Kansas City Blues and, most successfully, the Negro Leagues' Kansas City Monarchs, was demolished in 1976 and is now a community garden. The Chiefs' first game at Arrowhead Stadium was against the St. Louis Cardinals (Chiefs 24, St. Louis Cardinals 14).

Arrowhead Stadium is half of the Truman Sports Complex, along with Kauffman Stadium (formerly Royals Stadium). Kansas City was viewed as taking an unnecessary risk at the time by building two stadiums instead of the popular multi-use stadiums being built in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and St. Louis. However, with demolition in 2005 of St. Louis's Busch Stadium, the Truman Sports Complex has now outlived all of the multi-use stadiums built in the same era. While many applaud the Kansas City decision makers for this decision, the move was not quite by design. When it became readily apparent the old Municipal Stadium was not adequate for the Chiefs, the decision was made to build a multi-use stadium for the Chiefs and Charlie Finley's Kansas City A's. Finley proved to be too difficult to work with, demanding a "baseball stadium that could also be used for football" or a baseball only stadium, instead of the other way around.

After much vitriol behind the scenes, Finley decided to move the team to Oakland. However, the discussion made Bartle and his advisors convinced that one stadium would be good but not great. Thus, the decision was made to build two separate stadiums after Finley left town. Coincidentally, Finley moved to Oakland's Alameda County Coliseum, a multi-use stadium in which the A's have played since moving there in 1967.

1963-1970

As the Chiefs, under coach Hank Stram and with quarterback Len Dawson at the helm, the team played in the first Super Bowl, losing 35-10 to Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers.

They earned revenge three years later, upsetting the over-rated Minnesota Vikings 23-7. The team's victory has been considered the "proof" that the American Football League's (Jets) win the previous year was "no fluke". With the Chiefs as enormous underdogs going into the game, they cemented a future merger for the AFL and NFL. The Chiefs dominated on all sides of the ball in Super Bowl IV, both defense and offense. They wore a Ten-Year AFL patch in contrast to the Vikings' "50-NFL" patch, and according to player comments, were greatly inspired by it. Ironically, the merged leagues did not retain the name and logo of the AFL.

With a high powered offense and blistering defense, Hank Stram's innovative play-calling would revolutionize the game. Stram would utilize audibles and line changes that would confuse opponents on the field, giving the Chiefs the advantage. The Chiefs would go on to win 43 games between 1966 and 1969. Five Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinees played for the Chiefs in the era: quarterback Len Dawson, linebackers Bobby Bell and Willie Lanier, defensive tackle Buck Buchanan and placekicker Jan Stenerud. Other notable players included wide receiver Otis Taylor, linebacker Jim Lynch, back-up quarterback Mike Livingston and running back Mike Garrett.

NFL

1990s

In 1989, Carl Peterson became the team's new president and general manager. Peterson hired Marty Schottenheimer as the team's coach. Schottenheimer led the team to six straight playoff appearances, three AFC West championships, nine winning seasons, and 76 consecutive soldout games at Arrowhead in the 1990s. Schottenheimer's impressive 101-58-1 regular season record (.634) made the Chiefs the winningest team (by percentage) of the 1990s. The Chiefs re-established a strong fan base, and Arrowhead Stadium quickly began to sell out every home game, a streak still alive nearly 20 years later.

The Chiefs' popularity rose in the 1990s with their "college football game atmosphere", a traditions still alive today. Much of the "college atmosphere" has arrived due to the popularity of local Big 12 college football games, often held at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs used a "Big 12" formula in rebuilding their team with players from the local universities throughout the nineties, such as Neil Smith and Will Shields, both from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The team also had superstars in the early 1990s such as Derrick Thomas, Christian "The Nigerian Nightmare" Okoye, Dale Carter, and Deron Cherry.

The Chiefs 1990 season was their first return to the playoffs in 5 years and marked the best team they had fielded since the 1970's, finishing 11-5. Led by Steve DeBerg, Christian Okoye, Barry Word, and a ferocious defense, the Chiefs won a wild card berth but subsequently lost to Miami 17-16 in the first round of the playoffs.

1991 saw much of the same faces and results, this time a 10-6 finish and another wild card berth and a trip to the playoffs. On the strength of their defense, the Chiefs defeated the Raiders in the first round of the playoffs 9-7 before losing to Buffalo in the divisional playoff round.

After acquiring veteran quarterback Dave Krieg for the 1992 season with similar results to the previous years (wild card berth, 17-0 loss to San Diego in round 1), the Chiefs traded for Joe Montana from the San Francisco 49ers prior to the 1993 season. Along with Marcus Allen from the Los Angeles Raiders, the Chiefs gained both a powerful passer and rusher to assist their powerful defense, advancing to the AFC Championship Game. The Chiefs lost the AFC Championship 30-13 to former coach Marv Levy and the Buffalo Bills.

Montana retired after the 1994 season and was replaced by Steve Bono, with Rich Gannon as backup. In 1995, the Chiefs went 13-3 and were the odds-on favorite to represent the AFC in Super Bowl XXX. However, on a cold night full of dropped passes and missed field goals, they lost 10-7 against the Indianapolis Colts in the 1996 playoffs. During that game, kicker Lin Elliot made himself infamous for missing multiple field goals.

In 1997, Schottenheimer chose to start newly acquired Elvis Grbac as quarterback to begin the season, with long time journeyman Rich Gannon serving as the primary backup. After a season opening loss to Denver, Grbac led the Chiefs to wins in 7 of their next 8 games before being injured in a home win against Pittsburgh. Gannon took over in the 4th quarter against the Steelers, and was dreadful in his next three starts filling in for Grbac (1 TD, 4 INTs, QB rating of 55.3), though the Chiefs did manage to win 2 of those 3 games (by a combined margin of 7 points). His next two starts, against a good 49ers team and an awful Oakland team, the Chiefs won both games -- by a combined score of 74-9. Gannon played well, throwing 4 touchdown passes and only 1 interception in those two games. However, despite a 29-7 win in the next game against San Diego, Gannon again played poorly, completing only 8 of 29 passes for 116 yards (61 QB rating). Grbac returned in the final week of the season, and in the snow and freezing rain of a dreadful Kansas City winter day, the Grbac was not on target but the Chiefs defense was, giving them the division title and a 13-3 record. With a healthy Grbac on board for their divisional playoff game against Denver, both defenses were stellar and Denver won a hotly contested contest 14-10.

The choice to play Grbac over Gannon still remains controversial in the minds of fans, though a clearer look at the numbers and performances of the two quarterbacks should make it a moot point (and it was Gannon's later performance at the beginning of the 1998 season and in Oakland that really caused this controversy). Grbac was the leader of the team and was brought in prior to the season to be the #1 starter. While Gannon did lead the Chiefs to a 5-1 record as a fill in, his numbers and play were strikingly similar to one Brodie Croyle, the Chiefs 2007 part time starting quarterback. The stats don't lie; the Chiefs did not go 5-1 because of Gannon; they went 5-1 IN SPITE of Gannon & because of their running game and ferocious defense.

The 1998 season started with a bang, with the Chiefs starting 4-1 under the quarterbacking of Rich Gannon (Grbac was injured in the opening game against Oakland). After a loss to New England, the Chiefs put Grbac back into the starting position (this is what fans remember as controversial) and promptly lost their next 5 games, ultimately finishing at 7-9 in 1998. Marty Schottenheimer took much of the blame for his failed attempts in the playoffs and conservative style of coaching ("Martyball"), and resigned following the 1998 season.

After Schottenheimer's resignation,Gunther Cunningham the defense coordinator was promoted to head coach. He coached the next two seasons. Though in 1999, Cunningham's Chiefs (at the time 9-6) lost to the Oakland Raiders in the final game of the season in overtime. This loss meant the Chiefs would miss the playoffs for the second season in a row. In 2000 the Chiefs finished 7-9. Fed up, the Chiefs did not resign quarterback Elvis Grbac and fired head coach Gunther Cunningham (Cunningham supposedly found out about his firing on the Internet).

2000s

After coaching the St. Louis Rams to the Super Bowl and retiring, Dick Vermeil was lured out of retirement and took over as head coach in 2001. Vermeil brought many elements of "The Greatest Show on Turf" from St. Louis to Kansas City's own offense, but much like the Schottenheimer era in the 1990s, the offense didn't win any playoff games.

The Chiefs went 13-3 in 2003 and their offense, considered by many as one of the most powerful of all time, helped make Kansas City again a favorite to win Super Bowl XXXIX. After starting 9-0, the Chiefs began to lose momentum by November, but they still managed to gain the number two seed in the 2004 playoffs. The mighty homefield advantage of Arrowhead Stadium and their high-powered offense wouldn't lead the Chiefs to glory and the Chiefs lost to the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Divisional playoffs 38-31 in an offensive shootout in which neither team punted, an NFL playoffs first.

The Chiefs managed to finish the 2004 season with a 7-9 record. For their 2005 campaign, the Chiefs brought in several new players to boost a defense that had finished among the worst units the past three years. The year also saw Larry Johnson start at running back in place of an injured Priest Holmes. But despite winning ten games, the Chiefs became just the fourth team since 1990 to go 10-6 and not reach the playoffs.

2006-present

A tearful head coach Dick Vermeil announced his retirement before the final game of the 2005 season. Within two weeks, then-New York Jets head coach Herm Edwards had signed a new 4-year contract to coach the Chiefs. The 2006 Chiefs returned to the playoffs for the first time in three seasons, only to lose 23-8 in the Wild Card round against their playoff nemesis, the Indianapolis Colts.

Meanwhile, Chiefs owner and founder Lamar Hunt died on December 13, 2006 due to complications brought on by a ten-year battle with prostate cancer. Hunt was remembered throughout the remainder of the 2006 season all throughout the NFL with moments of silence and ceremonies in Kansas City.

The Chiefs' 2007 off-season began with uncertainty over the contract of Tony Gonzalez, and the long-term career of Trent Green in Kansas City. Backup quarterback Damon Huard was signed to a three-year contract in February and Green was not only asked to restructure his contract but offered in trades to other teams.

On June 5, the Chiefs agreed to trade Green to the Miami Dolphins for a conditional fifth round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, pending a physical from Green. The pick can be upgraded to a fourth-rounder if Green reaches certain predetermined playing time and performance levels.

The Chiefs' 2007 training camp was documented in the HBO/NFL Films documentary reality television series, Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Kansas City Chiefs The series premiered on August 8, 2007.

Five different running backs were used after Larry Johnson was injured in week 9 against Green Bay. The team also had no stability at quarterback with Croyle and Huard, while their offensive line depleted in the absence of their former Pro Bowl guard Will Shields.

The season ended with a nine game losing streak, the team's first since 1987 and a 4-12 record. It was the Chiefs' first season with twelve losses since 1978.

Head coach Herman Edwards continued to build upon the Chiefs' roster with young players, mostly on defense, and attempted stabilize a once record-setting offensive line. The Chiefs continue to rebuild a defense that may quietly creep its way back to respectability.

To honor their late owner Lamar Hunt, the Chiefs wore a special American Football League patch on their uniforms with the initials "LH" emblazoned inside the logo's football.

Season-by-season records

Logos and uniforms

When the Dallas Texans began playing in 1960, the team's logo consisted of the state of Texas in white with a yellow star marking the location of Dallas. Since moving to Kansas City in 1963, the team logo has been a white arrowhead bearing the initials "KC"

The Chiefs' uniform design has essentially remained the same throughout the club's entire history. It consists of a red helmet, and either red or white jerseys with the opposite color numbers and names trimmed in yellow. White pants were used with both jerseys until 1969, when red pants were used with the white jerseys.

Even though many NFL teams in recent years have worn their dark jerseys with their dark pants, the Chiefs have to yet to unveil an all-red combination. When the Chiefs wear their red uniforms, they always wear white pants. The Chiefs also have yet to wear an alternate jersey in a game, although gold jerseys with red numbers trimmed in white, and black jerseys with red numbers trimmed in gold, are commonly available for sale in Kansas City-area sporting goods stores. Since 2000, the Chiefs have always worn red pants with their white uniforms with a few exceptions. In 2006, the Chiefs wore an all white combination for their home opener against the Cincinnati Bengals in order to gain an advantage with the heat.

In 2007, the Kansas City Chiefs honored the late Lamar Hunt and the AFL with a special patch. The Chiefs' description of the patch states: "As part of a year-long tribute to Hunt in 2007, the Chiefs will wear a commemorative patch that prominently features the American Football League logo to serve as a reminder of Hunt's formation of the AFL and the lasting impact the American Football League has made on the game of Professional Football. The patch will be affixed to the left chest of both Kansas City's home and away jerseys, meaning this piece of woven symbolism will be worn over the heart of every Chiefs player." On January 31, 2008, Clark Hunt announced that henceforth the patch will be a permanent part of the Chiefs' uniform.

Homefield reputation

As of the end of the 2006 NFL season, Arrowhead Stadium has a consecutive sell-out record of 141 games (17 seasons) dating back to the home opener in 1990. The Chiefs have a 102-34 home record at Arrowhead stadium since 1990, the best in the NFL.

Arrowhead has long held a reputation for being one of the loudest outdoor stadiums in the NFL due to the exuberance of the Chiefs' fans. Fan generated noise was once measured at 116 decibels by the Acoustical Design Group of Mission, KS. This contributes to the unique "atmosphere" of the stadium, for which Sports Illustrated gave the Chiefs' home field, Arrowhead Stadium, the title of being the "Toughest Place to Play" for opposing teams.

Arrowhead Stadium's tailgating environment is often compared to a "college football" atmosphere, with fans arriving hours before gametime and even staying in the parking lot hours after the game has ended. Many Chiefs fans are so devoted that some sit in the parking lot and listen to the game even while not possessing any tickets.

National anthem fly-by's have been a tradition throughout sports, but only the Kansas City Chiefs and Arrowhead Stadium have a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber perform this feat. This occurs at some Kansas City games (usually the season opener), as the aircraft are based at Whiteman Air Force Base near Knob Noster, Missouri (only about an hour away from the stadium).

Hospitality

At the end of the "Star Spangled Banner," fans intentionally yell "and the home of the CHIEFS!" where traditionally "the brave" is sung. This has led to some controversy, especially when Chiefs fans attend away games and continue the tradition. Only after the September 11, 2001 attacks did Chiefs fans refrain from doing so in honor of those who lost their lives, and continued to do so for the remainder of the 2001 season. The September 23 2001 home game versus the New York Giants—the first Kansas City regular season contest since the attacks—was one of the few known times in Chiefs history where the home crowd welcomed an opposing team onto the field without booing.

"The War Chant"

Fans' occasional use of "The War Chant", especially when playing the Washington Redskins has become a tradition and also a controversy among Native American activists who protest the chant.

Stadium music

The "TD Pack Band" leads the crowd from the southeast end-zone with live in-stadium music during Chiefs games since Arrowhead opened in 1973. It was led by Tony DiPardo who has written songs about the home team including "The Chiefs are on the Warpath" and "The Hank Stram Polka" for the man who presented Tony with a Super Bowl ring 30 years after the fact.

Tony (Mr. Music), now 95 years old, has been with the club since the beginning (1963) in old Municipal Stadium when his ensemble was named the "Zing Band." Tony was born on August 15, 1912 and grew up in an impoverished section of downtown St. Louis, Missouri.

Tony performed "Taps" on his trumpet at the Chiefs' final home game on December 31, 2006 vs the Jacksonville Jaguars in tribute to Lamar Hunt, owner and founder of the Chiefs.

Tony's daughter, Patti DiPardo-Livergood, has directed the TD Pack Band for the past 18 seasons, although Tony still plays his signature red lacquer trumpet in the band. Patti, an accomplished vocalist, sings the National Anthem at select Chiefs games throughout the season.

Throughout the years, kickoff has begun with in-stadium music from Mötley Crüe ("Wild Side" & "Kickstart My Heart"), Guns N' Roses (Welcome to the Jungle), AC/DC's "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) and also AC/DC's "Hells Bells", Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train", "Sirius" by Alan Parsons Project, "Start Me Up" by The Rolling Stones and Ram Jam's "Black Betty".

Other songs played during games include Prince's "Let's Go Crazy", Archie Eversole's "We Ready", Rush's "Tom Sawyer", AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long", Eminem's "Lose Yourself", Heart's "Barracuda", P.O.D.'s "Boom" and even "The War Chant" conjured by the fans. The main stage live band for The Kansas City Chiefs is The KC All Stars.

"We're gonna beat the hell outta you"

For numerous years up through the 2005 season, after every Chiefs touchdown, the crowd would chant "We're gonna beat the hell outta you...you...you, you, you, you", over Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll Part 2." The chant has been said to have originated from a similar chant (excluding profanity) from Wichita State University's fans at their now defunct football program's games.

Beginning with the 2006 season, the Chiefs organization has opted to honor the NFL's request that this song no longer be played at games following Glitter's conviction in Vietnam of child molestation.

After a vote was taken for the new touchdown song, Chiefs fans chose "Boom" by P.O.D. as the song to replace Glitter's song. "Red" by Sammy Hagar came in second in voting, and "Elevation" by U2 finished third. Though to satisfy fans not willing to lose a tradition, in the first game of the 2006 NFL season, a cover rendition of "Rock and Roll Part 2" performed by the Tube Tops 2000 was played, complete with the "We're gonna..." chant. The song has been played at every home game since.

Culture and gameday traditions

The Chiefs Radio Network

Since the 1989 season, KCFX, a.k.a "101 The FOX", has broadcast Chiefs games from the site of the games under the moniker of "The Chiefs Radio Network." Mitch Holthus acts as play-by-play announcer as Super Bowl IV MVP Len Dawson acts as color commentator. Bob Gretz gives updates from the field, as well as pre-game and post-game commentary. Legendary Chiefs broadcaster Bill Grigsby adds memories and perspective on game day. Mitch Holthus replaced Kevin Harlan, who had left the Chiefs Radio Network in 1994.

The Chiefs Radio Network has extended its broadcast rights to Chiefs game through the 2009 season. The current relationship between 101 the Fox and the Kansas City Chiefs represents the longest standing relationship in the NFL with an FM station. The Chiefs Radio Network extends throughout the six-state region of Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, with 61 affiliate stations.

Chiefs Radio play-by-play announcers

Years Announcer
1960-62 Charlie Jones
1963 Merle Harmon
1964-70 Tom Hedrick
1971-73 Dick Carlson
1974-75 Ray Scott
1976 Al Wisk
1977 Tom Hopkins
1978-84 Wayne Larrivee
1985-93 Kevin Harlan
1994-present Mitch Holthus

Mascots

The mascot during the team's glory years at Municipal Stadium and until 1989 was the beautiful pinto horse named Warpaint. During its heyday, the first Warpaint (born 1955) was ridden bareback by rider Bob Johnson who wore full Indian headdress. Warpaint circled the field at the beginning of the game and then did a victory "dance" at each touchdown. The Chiefs are reportedly considering bringing Warpaint back in the near future.

In 1989 Warpaint was replaced by K. C. Wolf which is a man dressed in a wolf costume. K. C. Wolf was inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame (MHOF) in 2006. He is nicknamed the 'Grand Daddy" of NFL mascots and he has averaged 350-400 appearances per year for the past 14 years. K. C. Wolf has been portrayed by Dan Meers since the mascot's inception.

On September 23, 2007 K. C. Wolf aided security guards in taking down a fan who had come on the field. He followed with a display of bodybuilding poses (muscle flexing). This came two minutes into the fourth quarter, just before the game winning touchdown reception by WR Dwayne Bowe to give the Chiefs their first win of the season, 13-10 over the Minnesota Vikings.

Training Camp

Since 1991 the Chiefs have conducted summer training camp at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in River Falls, Wisconsin.

When the team was in Dallas, they held summer practice at Southern Methodist University, Lamar Hunt's alma mater. From 1966 to 1971, the Chiefs practiced in downtown Kansas City for training camp, and from 1972 to 1991 the Chiefs held camp at William Jewell College in Clay County, Missouri—where Lamar Hunt had extensive business dealings including Worlds of Fun, Oceans of Fun and SubTropolis.

Team records and statistics

The following are team and league records. They may have been surpassed between the time of making the record and the current date. Records are listed in chronological order.

League records

Franchise records

  • 1987: Gary Spani records his team-record 999th career tackle and retires in the off-season.
  • 1990: Derrick Thomas sets team record with 20.0 sacks in a season.
  • November 11, 1990: Derrick Thomas established an NFL single-game record with 7.0 sacks in an inspiring Veterans Day performance vs. Seattle. The game was won by the Seahawks 17-16, after a last-second 25-yard TD pass to WR Paul Skansi by future Chiefs QB Dave Krieg. Kreig barely slipped out of Thomas' arms for what would have been the record breaking eighth sack.
  • 1995: Chiefs make team record sixth consecutive playoff berth.
  • 1996: Chiefs have first 4-0 start.
  • 2001: Priest Holmes sets the team single-season rushing record with 1,555 yards.
  • 2002: Team sets franchise record for most offensive yards with 6,000.
  • 2002: Priest Holmes sets the team single-season rushing record with 1,615 yards.
  • 2002: Mike Maslowski sets the team single-season tackles record with 162 tackles (109 solo).
  • November 9, 2003: the Chiefs beat the Cleveland Browns (41-20), winning their ninth straight game which sets a new franchise record for consecutive victories.
  • 2003: Priest Holmes surpasses Otis Taylor for most career touchdowns by a Chief.
  • November 28, 2004: Dante Hall sets team record with 213 kickoff returns.
  • December 5, 2004: Will Shields extends team record of consecutive starts to 187 (actual consecutive games also a team record of 188).
  • December 5, 2004: Trent Green extends team record of consecutive quarterback starts to 60.
  • October 21, 2005: Priest Holmes surpasses Christian Okoye's previous record of 1246 career carries as a Chief.
  • January 1, 2006: Tony Gonzalez sets a new record of 84 consecutive games with at least one reception, surpassing Stephone Paige (83 games in 1985–91).
  • January 1, 2006: After only his ninth game start in the season, Larry Johnson surpasses Priest Holmes's single-season rushing record with 1,750 yards and scores a career-high three touchdowns in one game. This is also his ninth straight 100-yard game (including two 200-yard performances) to tie him for third-longest streak in NFL history with Walter Payton, Fred Taylor and Deuce McAllister. (During the 2006 season Johnson surpasses this record with 1,789 yards in 16 games.)
  • November 5, 2006: Tony Gonzalez Most receiving touchdowns in team history as he catches # 58 & # 59 surpassing the previous record holder, Otis Taylor.
  • December 2, 2007: Dustin Colquitt punts a Chiefs record 81 yard punt against the Oakland Raiders.

Players of note

Current roster

Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinees

Retired numbers

Chiefs Hall of Fame

External Link: Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame 1970s
1970 Lamar Hunt, team Founder and Owner
1971 #36 Mack Lee Hill, Running Back
1972 #75 Jerry Mays, Defensive Tackle
1973 #84 Fred Arbanas, Tight End
1974 #42 Johnny Robinson, Safety
1975 #88 Chris Burford, Receiver
1976 #55 E.J. Holub, Center/Linebacker
1977 #77 Jim Tyrer, Offensive Tackle
1978 #21 Mike Garrett, Running Back
1979 #16 Len Dawson, Quarterback 1980s
1980 #78 Bobby Bell, Linebacker
1981 #86 Buck Buchanan, Defensive Tackle
1982 #89 Otis Taylor, Wide Receiver
1983 No induction
1984 #71 Ed Budde, Guard
1985 #63 Willie Lanier, Linebacker
1986 #18 Emmitt Thomas, Cornerback
1987 Hank Stram, Coach
1988 #44 Jerrel Wilson, Punter
1989 #14 Ed Podolak, Running Back |- 1990s
1990 #51 Jim Lynch, Linebacker
1991 #28 Abner Haynes, Running Back
1992 #3 Jan Stenerud, Kicker
1993 #69 Sherrill Headrick, Linebacker
1994 #58 Jack Rudnay, Center
1995 #32 Curtis McClinton, Running Back
1996 #20 Deron Cherry, Safety
1997 #73 Dave Hill, Tackle
1998 #67 Art Still, Defensive End
1999 #34 Lloyd Burruss, Cornerback 2000s
2000 #35 Christian Okoye, Running Back
2001 #58 Derrick Thomas, Linebacker
2002 #76 John Alt, Offensive Tackle
2003 #59 Gary Spani, Linebacker
2004 #37 Joe Delaney, Running Back
2005 Jack Steadman, team Vice Chairman, led building of Arrowhead and Kauffman Stadiums
2006 #90 Neil Smith, Defensive End
2007 #29 Albert Lewis, Cornerback
2008 #61 Curley Culp, Defensive Tackle

Current staff

Notes and references

See also

External links

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