ONE
In 1959, Lamar Hunt was desperate to own a professional football team. Unable to buy an NFL team and move it to Texas, Hunt decided to start his own league (the AFL) and found his own franchise - the Dallas Texans. Under head coach Hank Stram, the Dallas Texans won the AFL championship in 1962. The following year, due to competition from the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, Hunt moved the Texans to Kansas City - where a fan contest was held to choose the franchise’s new name. As a result of said contest, the Kansas City Chiefs were born.
Lamar Hunt, Owner 1960-2006
TWO
Lamar Hunt’s influence on the development of the NFL is irrefutable - with various rules that are present in today’s game, such as the two-point conversion and names on the back of jerseys, stemming from Hunt’s AFL. Ahead of the 1966 season, the NFL decided that a merger with the AFL was the best move, with the winners of each league meeting in the ‘AFL-NFL World Championship Game’ every year. Lamar Hunt began referring to the Championship Game as the ‘Super Bowl’ - as it became known thereafter. From the 1984 season onwards, the winner of the AFC Championship Game receives the “Lamar Hunt Trophy” - named in honour of Hunt. However, Hunt never got to see the Kansas City Chiefs lift the trophy, as he died in 2006 - 13 years before the Chiefs’ first AFC Championship.
Lamar Hunt Trophy
THREE
As the two leagues merged, Kansas City quickly established themselves as the AFL’s best team - reaching Super Bowl I in 1967, where they lost to the Green Bay Packers. However, with a team that featured future Hall of Famers such as quarterback Len Dawson and linebacker Bobby Bell, the Chiefs made their way back to the Super Bowl three years later. In Super Bowl IV, as the Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings 23-7, head coach Hank Stram was recorded for NFL Films - a key fixture in the NFL progressing from sport to spectacle.
Len Dawson, Quarterback 1962-1975
FOUR
Following their success at Super Bowl IV, the Chiefs were only able to reach the playoffs twice between 1970 and 1990. One of those two postseason trips came in 1971 when the Chiefs played in the longest game in NFL history - with over 82 minutes of game time in a Divisional Round matchup for the ages. Hank Stram was fired after the 1974 season, and in the 14 years following Stram’s departure, Kansas City had just two seasons with winning records.
Marty Schottenheimer, Head Coach 1989-1998
FIVE
When Marty Schottenheimer arrived as the Chiefs’ new head coach in 1989, he soon drafted linebacker Derrick Thomas, who would become one of the franchise’s greatest-ever defenders. The pair led Kansas City to six-straight playoff appearances, starting in the 1990 season - with the Chiefs finally winning their first playoff game since Super Bowl IV in 1991. Thomas terrorised opposing quarterbacks in all six seasons - even setting an NFL record for sacks in a single game in 1990, when he sacked Seattle Seahawks quarterback Dave Krieg seven times in the Chiefs’ 17-16 loss.
Derrick Thomas, Linebacker 1989-1999
SIX
1993 saw something of a Kansas City Chiefs revival. The team traded for legendary 49ers quarterback and four-time Super Bowl champion, Joe Montana - before signing former league and Super Bowl XVIII MVP Marcus Allen at running back. Unfortunately for Kansas City, Montana was injured in the AFC Championship Game and the Chiefs missed out on advancing to Super Bowl XXVIII. In 1997, Kansas City drafted Tony Gonzalez in the first round of the NFL Draft. Despite becoming one of the greatest tight ends to ever play the game, Gonzalez couldn’t save the Chiefs from the postseason disappointment that eventually resulted in Schottenheimer’s resignation after the 1998 season.
Tony Gonzalez, Tight End 1997-2008
SEVEN
In the years following Marty Schottenheimer’s reign as head coach - known as the ‘Martyball’ era - the Chiefs went through five coaches in 14 years, making the playoffs just three times. Players like Tony Gonzalez and running backs Larry Johnson and Jamaal Charles did provide excitement for Kansas City fans during this period of time. However, in 2009 Gonzalez was traded, and the careers of both Johnson and Charles were cut short by injuries soon after. Rock bottom came when the Chiefs finished the 2012 season with a 2-14 record - resulting in former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid taking over ahead of the 2013 season.
Andy Reid, Head Coach 2013-Present
EIGHT
With Reid in charge, the team became competitive almost instantly - drafting tight end Travis Kelce and trading for San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Alex Smith. Reid overcame early postseason struggles to give Kansas City their first playoff win since the 1993 season - defeating the Houston Texans in the 2015 Wild Card round. In the 2017 NFL Draft the Chiefs traded up and selected Patrick Mahomes with the 10th overall pick. Mahomes spent his rookie season learning the ropes from Alex Smith before taking over as QB1 in 2018. In his first season as the starter, Mahomes was named NFL MVP and brought the Chiefs to within just one game of Super Bowl LII.
Patrick Mahomes, Quarterback 2017-Present
NINE
With Mahomes now solidified as the face of the NFL, the Chiefs quickly became the most dominant force in the league. Over the next five seasons, the Chiefs reached four Super Bowls - winning Super Bowls LIV, LVII and LVIII. In the midst of the Chiefs dynasty taking shape, Mahomes was handed the largest contract in NFL history in 2020 - a 10-year extension worth up to $503 million. In 2024, at only 28 years of age, Mahomes has already put together a Hall of Fame-calibre career - with a CV boasting three Super Bowl rings, three Super Bowl MVPs and two NFL MVPs. With the young signal caller going from strength to strength, and arguably the greatest play caller of all time at head coach, can the Chiefs become the first team in NFL history to three-peat at Super Bowl LIX?
Super Bowl LVII - Patrick Mahomes
BEFORE YOU GO
The Chiefs have been owned by the Hunt family since Lamar Hunt died in 2006.
Kansas City has played at Arrowhead Stadium since 1972, where the fans became record-breakers - setting the Guinness World Record for the loudest crowd roar at a sports stadium, reaching 142.2 decibels against the New England Patriots in 2014.
The team has a famous super-fan. Actor Paul Rudd has always been vocal about his love for Kansas City - even presenting Patrick Mahomes with his 2018 NFL MVP trophy.
