Lenny The Cool Dawson

Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson is known to teammates and fans alike as “Lenny the Cool”. The nickname was earned by way of circumstance and demeanor. From the very beginning of and throughout his entire professional football career, Dawson experienced a series of personal, professional and even legal challenges which threatened his career, his health, and potentially his liberty. Each such challenge was met with the cool and calm efficiency that characterized the life of “Lenny the Cool” Dawson.

Dawson was a highly recognized and heavily recruited student athlete from Alliance, Ohio when he graduated High School in 1953. Though he had the opportunity to play football for Ohio State University, he chose to leave his home state and attend Purdue instead.  There were two factors that influenced his decision. Firstly, Ohio State was adopting the T Formation Offense which would be more run oriented and would rely less on Dawson’s passing skills. Secondly, he had formed a close relationship with the young Assistant from Purdue who had recruited him. 

When Len Dawson chose to play for Purdue, both a great Collegiate career ensued, as well as the beginning of a great relationship between the young quarterback and the Assistant Coach who lured him from his home state to become the Boilermakers signal caller. For in time; and especially in the 1960’s to mid ‘70s; Len Dawson and Hank Stram would be associated as close personal friends and as a highly successful coach and quarterback duo.

Yet the pathway to a successful and productive professional football career was no means a conventional route for Dawson in spite of a stellar record setting career at Purdue.  For though Dawson was selected fifth overall in the 1957 NFL Draft when the Pittsburgh Steelers selected him as their Number One Draft Pick, he actually spent the next five years sitting on the bench for the Steelers and eventually for the Cleveland Browns.  Ironically enough, Dawson had been chosen one selection ahead of the legendary Jim Brown in the ‘57 Draft, who had already established  himself as one of the greatest running backs ever by the time Dawson was warming the bench for the Browns in the early ‘60s.

Then, one day in 1962 he had lunch with Hank Stram, his friend and former Coach from his happier days at Purdue. As Dawson poured his heart out to Stram about his frustration over his gridiron inactivity, his former coach offered a proposal. Stram, who was by now the Head Coach of the Dallas Texans of the AFL, told the frustrated young Brown’s quarterback that if he was ever unemployed, that he might consider signing with the Texans. That meal and topic of their discussion basically amounted to another recruiting effort by the crafty Stram. And just as had been the case nine years earlier when Dawson was a teenage star athlete straight out of High School, the now exasperated bench warmer took Stram’s pitch to heart. 

So much so in fact that shortly after the visit with his former college coach, Dawson made the proactive request to be released by the Browns. The fact that Paul Brown so readily acquiesced to his reserve quarterback’s request by immediately granting his release is quite revealing as to how far the former collegiate star had fallen in terms of expectations within the Browns’ organization. And then the fact that the former collegiate star did not receive a call from a single other NFL team in the weeks following his release from the Browns reveals that at that point in his career Len Dawson was an unofficial bust in the view of the league itself. It being obvious that he would not be receiving any better offers, Dawson signed with the Dallas Texans on June 30, 1962.

When he arrived in Dallas, Len Dawson was received with high expectations from Stram and the Texans organization. Almost immediately Len Dawson disappointed those expectations. By all accounts, including his own, Dawson was horrible in the early days of training camp. Stram was simply aghast at how five years of inactivity had diminished the skills and the mechanics of the once great quarterback. The play of Dawson was so bad in the early days of camp that Stram was advised to release him and cut his losses. But his former coach believed in his skills, and he worked personally with Dawson on his mechanics and timing. Dawson himself would admit years later that his performance in the early days of camp was so bad that he honestly believed that any coach other than his old friend Hank Stram would have cut him. But under the personal eye of Stram’s on field instruction, he restored his timing and regained his mechanics. By the end of training camp Dawson had won the job as the starting quarterback for the Dallas Texans. And less than six months after he signed with the team, the Dallas Texans were AFL Western Division champions. Subsequently, on December 23, 1962 they squared off against the two time defending league champion Houston Oilers in the AFL Championship Game. 

As Len Dawson had seemingly been operating against the wind his entire professional career, it seemed only fitting that he and the Texans had to operate against the fierce winds of a blue norther during the 5th quarter of the AFL’s first sudden death overtime playoff game that late December afternoon in Houston’s Jeppeson Stadium. It must have seemed inconceivable to everyone on the Dallas sideline that they were in such dire straits after blowing a 17-0 halftime lead. As it was now, whichever team took the lead and broke the 17-17 tie entering overtime would instantly win the game and thereby earn the 1962 AFL Title. The odds of dethroning the George Blanda led two time defending AFL champion Houston Oilers seemed slim to none, when due to confused communication at the overtime coin toss, the Texans had to kick into the wind to open the 5th quarter of play.  But the Texans defense held strong throughout  the first quarter of overtime, and the momentum shifted in direct proportion to the changing of the field positions as the Texans opened up the 6th quarter with possession of the ball in Houston territory and the strong winds at their backs. 2:54 later when the football sailed through the uprights off the toe of Tommy Brooker’s successful 25 yard field goal conversion, the longest championship game in professional football history came to an end, and the Dallas Texans were the 1962 AFL Champions. 

The  Texans were proud to return to Dallas as Big D’s first professional sports championship team. Six months after Len Dawson had been an unemployed NFL bust, he was now the league’s Most Valuable Player and an AFL champion quarterback. The turnaround was a whirlwind experience. Dawson had only a few weeks to enjoy his personal and team achievements when he and his teammates were shocked with the news that the Texans were to be relocated to Kansas City. Team Owner Lamar Hunt was no longer able to compete financially with the NFL backed Cowboys, and in spite of having delivered Dallas their first ever professional sports championship, he had to abandon his home town to the NFL in order to seek a more readily accepting fan base in a more reasonable financial arrangement. And so in the summer of 1963 the Dallas Texans became the Kansas City Chiefs.

Although Dawson was productive from the outset, the first three seasons in Kansas City were difficult years for the team itself. Aside from the failure of the team during their early years in Kansas City to return to their championship status, the players themselves were overwhelmed by tragedy in 1963 and again in 1965. Two young Chiefs players; Stone Johnson and Mack Lee Hill, each passed away in tragic and unexpected circumstances. Johnson sustained a broken neck in one of the first preseason games ever for Kansas City, and passed away about a week later. Hill died quite unexpectedly in 1965 on the operating table while having an injured knee repaired. And so before the Chiefs played their first regular season game in 1963, they were dealing with the emotional trauma of the death of  a teammate and a friend in Stone Johnson; and then a mere two years later they were once again in mourning over the loss of another friend and teammate when Hill passed away. Clearly, the first three seasons In Kansas City were difficult years for each and every member of the team as they endured emotional hardships while in the process of adjusting to new surroundings as their venue for their gridiron endeavors.

1966 ushered in changes league wide when the announcement was made that a merger of the AFL and the NFL would be effective in 1970. Relative to the merger agreement, effective at the conclusion of the 1966 season there would be an annual championship game between the champions of each respective league. Although initially referred to as the NFL-AFL Championship Game, the merger agreement of the AFL and the NFL entailed the origin of the Super Bowl.

Dawson had by this time already established himself as one of the league’s most accurate passers, and 1966 proved to be one of his best seasons since the relocation to Kansas City.  As had been the case the previous season, Dawson led the league in passing efficiency, but he was also the league leader in touchdown passes for the first time since 1963. Most significantly, he guided the Chiefs to a 31-7 victory over the Buffalo Bills in the league championship game, thus delivering a second city their first professional football championship in a matter of four years. And in the most unlikely of scenarios, the NFL bust just five years earlier, had the opportunity to be the first quarterback to ever face the NFL in a league versus league championship game. 

The opportunity to square off against the best of the NFL produced a competitive first half. In fact, going into the locker room at halftime Dawson and the Chiefs trailed the NFL Champion Green Bay Packers by the close score of 14-10. But early in the second half the usually dependable and accurate Dawson tossed an ill-advised pass that was intercepted and returned 50 yards to the Chiefs 5 yard line. The game was never the same after that turnover, as the Packers scored 21 unanswered points from that play until the end of their 35-10 victory in the first ever NFL-AFL Championship Game. Although the Packers were more than likely truly the better team of the two, Dawson has historically taken responsibility for the loss based upon his inerrant throw that proved to be the turning point in the game. 

Consistent to his nature, Dawson rebounded from the Chiefs disappointing loss in the 1966 NFL-AFL Championship Game (later referred to as Super Bowl I), and proceeded to continue his run of six consecutive seasons of league leading efficiency through 1969.  Despite his steady productivity though, the Chiefs themselves were unable to return to the AFL Championship Game in either of the two seasons following their disheartening loss to the Packers. Going into the 1969 season however; hopes were high that this would be the year that the Chiefs might once again win the AFL Title and have another shot at playing the best of the NFL in the fourth Super Bowl. In spite of having to open the season with four consecutive road games due to scheduling conflicts with the KC Royals over the utility of Municipal Stadium, the Chiefs won their first two games, including a shutout over Boston in Week 2. Dawson however went down in the Boston shutout with a potentially season ending knee injury. When backup quarterback Jacky Lee broke his ankle in the third game, the prospects of post season triumphs seemed bleak as Kansas City entered Week 4 with a 2-1 record and a third string signal caller at the helm. 

After consulting several physicians, Dawson decided to forego surgery on his knee in lieu of alternative treatment, and was prepared to return to action five games later. Meanwhile, 3rd String quarterback Mike Livingston led the Chiefs to a five game winning streak. Dawson returned to action briefly in Week 8 in a 29-7 victory over Buffalo, and his initial post recovery start was the following week, when KC defeated the Chargers 27-3. Having played a full game after his recovery, Dawson was prepared to lead the Chiefs against the defending Super Bowl champion New York Jets when personal tragedy struck the physically recovering quarterback.

On Friday November 14th, two days before the game with the Jets, Len Dawson learned that his Father had passed away in his home town of Alliance, Ohio. After consulting with his family, Dawson opted to play the game on Sunday. After leading the Chiefs to a  34-16 victory over the Jets with a masterful 23 for 38, including three touchdown passes performance, the grieving Dawson returned home to Ohio to mourn with his family. The next week he was back in the lineup.

Dawson nursed his ailing knee throughout the remainder of the regular season, sitting out only one game in Week 13 versus Buffalo. When the season concluded with a disappointing 10-6 loss at Oakland to the Western Division Champion Raiders, the Chiefs were relegated to a Wild Card entry into the 1969 playoffs. The odds of winning the League title with consecutive road victories against each respective Division winner was an unlikely scenario, yet backed by one of the greatest single season Defensive units ever, Lenny the Cool and the Kansas City Chiefs were up to the task. After a 13-6 victory over the defending Super Bowl champion New York Jets at Shea Stadium in the Divisional Round on December 20th, the Chiefs celebrated the new decade by defeating their rival Raiders in Oakland on January 4th by the score of 17-7 to claim the 1969 AFL Title. The Kansas City Chiefs would thus be the last team to play in the AFL, and the only team ever to represent the league twice in the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl IV featured the Kansas City Chiefs versus the Minnesota Vikings in the final Championship Game between the AFL and the NFL. As per the mutual merger agreement of 1966, the two leagues would merge beginning with the 1970 season. There was a sense of league pride associated with this game which put pressure on both teams to prevail. NFL apologists were hopeful that the Vikings would win big in order to alleviate the painful effects of the outcome of the previous season’s Super Bowl when the AFL New York Jets had upset the highly favored Baltimore Colts 16-7. As the Vikings were an 18 point favorite by kickoff, those NFL apologists were counting on Minnesota to prove the Jets victory a fluke, and thereby resume a presumed stature of league superiority entering the merger. AFL fans meanwhile were equally as anxious for the Chiefs to prevail in order to affirm the credibility that the outcome of the previous Super Bowl had already established. Additionally, there was a sense of urgency to defeat the Vikings specifically, since the Minneapolis franchise was originally an AFL team whose ownership had sold out to the NFL after the original AFL Draft in November of 1959, thereby creating havoc which could have potentially ended the efforts of the new league to successfully originate. The pressure each team experienced in preparation for the fourth Super Bowl notwithstanding; there was no individual on either side more under the gun than Lenny the Cool.

About a week before the Super Bowl, the story circulated through the Press that Len Dawson had ties to an illegal gambling ring. The accusations related to the arrest of a known gambler whose last name by coincidence was Dawson. Though no relation to Lenny the Cool, the Chiefs’ quarterback acknowledged being acquaintanced with the gambler.  He also admitted that the two had spoken recently when the gambler Dawson called the quarterback Dawson to offer personal condolences regarding the recent passing of his father. But Lenny the Cool denied any involvement with the gambling affairs, nor was there any evidence of any such illicit activity. Other professional quarterbacks were likewise implicated and in turn cleared of any wrongdoing, but Dawson was the only quarterback who had to play that Sunday’s Super Bowl under the duress of a cloud of suspicion. The stress on Dawson was noted by teammates and Coach Stram, who acknowledged that their signal caller was even more quiet than usual.

A story in the New York Times the day prior to the game graphically related the grim reality of Dawson’s dilemma. Despite the fact that the Chiefs were 18 point underdogs to “the unbeatable” Vikings, a loss in the context of the allegations of illegal gambling would forever lead to suspicions that Dawson threw the game. Furthermore, the Times story accurately assessed that the least inefficiency by Dawson would raise questions as to his personal integrity. In essence, the least inerrant throw, and especially any untimely interceptions that might lead to a victory by the Vikings could potentially do irreparable damage to his reputation 

and even derail what had become by now a highly successful professional football career. In the context of the allegations that loomed over the entire week leading into the game itself, it no longer mattered that he was ailing from an injured knee or even that he was mourning the recent death of his father. As the Times article accurately asserted on the eve of the Super Bowl, the next day Len Dawson would be playing for his personal reputation and possibly for his very career. His performance the next day was the essence of the legacy of Lenny the Cool.

On January 11, 1970 Len Dawson executed his game plan nearly flawlessly and thereby engineered a decisive victory over the heavily favored Vikings. Dawson was 12 for 17 with only one interception, and the outcome of the game was never in any serious doubt. Kansas City’s 23-7 victory over the 18 point favored Minnesota Vikings sustained the credibility of both the AFL as a league and Len Dawson as a person.

Super Bowl IV was the apex of Dawson’s career. From 1962-1969 he threw more touchdowns than any other quarterback in either league, led the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs to an unprecedented three AFL Titles, and engineered a Super Bowl victory in the final game between teams from the AFL and the NFL. After the merger, Dawson went on to play six additional seasons in the dual conference NFL. He retired following the 1975 season after a 19 year professional football career, and was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1987.

Long live the memory of Lenny the Cool Dawson.

Long live the memory of the AFL.