Kansas City Chiefs Legend Len Dawson Passes Away At 87-Years-Old

NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson became the Chiefs’ starting quarterback when the Dallas Texans relocated to Kansas City, and changed their name to the Chiefs in 1963. The right-handed player, who spent a total of 14 years with the team, helped them reach Super Bowl I in 1966. Today, the football world is in grief after the Kansas City Chiefs legend passed away.

According to TMZ, Len Dawson’s family announced the terrible news. Dawson was 87 years old at the time, but no cause of death was publicly noted. The Hall of Fame quarterback passed away with his wife, Linda, by his side, according to the statement from Dawson’s family.

He was a wonderful husband, father, brother and friend. Len was always grateful and many times overwhelmed by the countless bonds he made during his football and broadcast careers. He loved Kansas City and no matter where his travels took him, he could not wait to return home.

Dawson’s family thanked his physicians and nurses for their tremendous amount of love and compassion in a statement after it was announced that Dawson entered hospice care in Kansas City earlier this month. Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt also commented on his memory by saying, “the franchise has lost a true legend. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Linda and his family.”

After accruing 239 passing touchdowns and 28,711 passing yards during his career, Dawson eventually decided to retire in 1975. He later achieved great success as a football broadcaster. Dawson was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1987 as a player and in 2012 as a broadcaster. The legend will be greatly missed. RIP.