FILE - Quarterback Len Dawson #16 of the Kansas City Chiefs on the sidelines during a mid circa 1970s NFL football game. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Len Dawson, the 87-year-old Hall of Fame quarterback who led the Kansas City Chiefs to their first Super Bowl title in 1970, has died, according to multiple reports, citing his family.Dawson’s family issued a statement to KMBC-TV, the Kansas City station where Dawson began his broadcasting career in 1966, confirming the news of his death. "With wife Linda at his side, it is with much sadness that we inform you of the passing of our beloved Len Dawson,‘ the statement read, according to the news outlet. "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," the statement added in part.
FOX 4 Kansas City also confirmed the news. Earlier this month, the family said Dawson had entered hospice care. The MVP of the Chiefs’ 23-7 Super Bowl victory over Minnesota in January 1970, Dawson was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987 and received the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award in 2012.The NFL was formed in 1920 when 10 football teams came together in Canton, Ohio, and started the American Professional Football Association (APFA), now known as the NFL.From Alliance, Ohio, Dawson starred at Purdue and was selected fifth overall by Pittsburgh in the 1957 NFL draft.
After seeing limited time in the NFL in three seasons with the Steelers and two with Cleveland, he joined the Dallas Texans in the American Football League in.