Super Bowl LIX: 10 things to know about Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs have reached the Super Bowl in five of the past six seasons and could make history on Sunday as the first team to win the NFL’s marquee game in three consecutive appearances.

This year’s game is a rematch of Super Bowl LVII, when Kansas City defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes rallied the Chiefs from a 10-point halftime deficit to give Kansas City its third Vince Lombardi Trophy. Last season, the Chiefs edged the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in only the second overtime game in Super Bowl history, giving Kansas City its third title in five seasons.

The Chiefs have had a storied history in pro football and are no strangers to dynasties: The franchise was a charter member of the American Football League and won three league titles during the 1960s. They were the AFL’s representative in the first Super Bowl, played in January 1967 against the Green Bay Packers. Kansas City also lost the longest game in NFL history on Christmas Day 1971, falling in the first round of the playoffs to the Miami Dolphins in a game that took 82 minutes, 40 seconds to decide.

Here are 10 things to know about the Chiefs franchise, past and present.

Beginnings

The team now known as the Chiefs was founded Aug. 14, 1959, as the Dallas Texans. Their first season was in 1960, and the franchise moved to Kansas City and changed its name to the Chiefs in 1963. The franchise won AFL titles in 1962, 1966 and 1969.

The 1962 AFL championship game was particularly memorable, as the Texans outlasted the two-time champion Houston Oilers 20-17 in a double-overtime game on Dec. 23, 1962. Until the 1971 Christmas Day playoff, it was the longest game in pro football history. It remains the longest championship game in AFL/NFL history. Tommy Brooker ended the game with a 25-yard field goal after the two teams had battled for 77 minutes, 54 seconds.

Fun fact: Winning coach Hank Stram was interviewed by Jack Buck, who was broadcasting for ABC that day. The two would work together on CBS Radio broadcasts on “Monday Night Football” from 1978 to 1984 and again from 1987 to 1995.

Smokin’

It is unlikely you’ll see this in an NFL locker room anymore. The Chiefs played in the first Super Bowl -- then known as the AFL-NFL World Championship Game -- and trailed by only 14-10 at the half. At halftime, a cameraman caught quarterback Len Dawson smoking a cigarette and drinking a Fresca.

However, the Chiefs got smoked in the second half at the Los Angeles Coliseum, as the Green Bay Packers scored three touchdowns to win 35-10.

Favorite receivers

Dawson and Mahomes have been blessed with go-to receivers during their careers. For Dawson, his favorite target was Otis Taylor. The wide receiver caught 374 passes from Dawson for 6,733 yards and 57 touchdowns in 115 regular-season games and added 27 more catches in the seven postseason games for 481 yards and two touchdowns.

Since becoming the Chiefs’ starting quarterback in 2018, the chemistry between Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce has been magical. In 111 regular-season games, Kelce has caught 699 passes from Mahomes for 8,251 yards and 55 touchdowns.

They are even more potent in the postseason.

According to Pro-Football-Reference.com, Kelce has caught 151 passes from Mahomes for 1,745 yards and 19 touchdowns in 20 playoff games.

Kelce is now the Chiefs’ all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, having passed Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez in all three categories.

65 Toss Power Trap

During Super Bowl IV, NFL Films put a microphone on Kansas City coach Hank Stram, which turned out to be a brilliant move. Pacing, strutting and cajoling on the sidelines, the loquacious Stram was the perfect narrator as the Chiefs scored a big upset against the heavily favored Minnesota Vikings. His call of “65 Toss Power Trap,” which resulted in a 5-yard touchdown run, is still an NFL Films classic. The play was a fake toss sweep, handed off to running back Mike Garrett, who burst into the end zone to give the Chiefs a 16-0 lead.

“Was that there, boys?” Stram exulted. “I tell ya that thing was there, yes sir boys!”

The Chiefs went on to win, 23-7, in the final game between the AFL and NFL.

Famous players

The Chiefs have retired 10 uniform numbers: Jan Stenerud (3), Len Dawson (16), Emmitt Thomas (18), Abner Haynes (28), Stone Johnson (33), Mack Lee Hill (36), Derrick Thomas (58), Willie Lanier (63), Bobby Bell (78) and Buck Buchanan (86). Bell, Buchanan, Dawson, Lanier, Stenerud and Stram are all members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. So is the team’s owner, Lamar Hunt, who helped found the AFL and was the first member of the Chiefs organization to be inducted in 1972.

There are 48 members in the Chiefs’ Hall of Honor and 25 franchise members who have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Eleven members are in both halls.

Christmas classic -- the NFL’s longest game

The Chiefs played the longest game in NFL history, hosting the Miami Dolphins in an AFC divisional playoff game on Dec. 25, 1971. It took 82 minutes, 40 seconds to complete, but Miami’s Garo Yepremian kicked a game-winning 37-yard field goal to give the Dolphins a 27-24 victory after 7:40 of the second overtime period. It was the final game played at Municipal Stadium. The loss overshadowed the performance of Kansas City’s Ed Podolak, who scored two touchdowns, rushed for 85 yards, caught eight passes for 110 yards and had 155 return yards on special teams. The two teams met the following season to christen Arrowhead Stadium, and Miami won 20-10.

Crazy eights

Last season, the Chiefs became the eighth team to win back-to-back Super Bowls. They joined an elite group: Green Bay Packers, 1966-67 seasons; Miami Dolphins, 1972-73; Pittsburgh Steelers, 1974-75 and 1978-79; San Francisco 49ers, 1988-89; Dallas Cowboys, 1992-93; Denver Broncos, 1997-98; and New England Patriots, 2003-04.

Gaudy numbers

The Chiefs are the first team in NFL history to play in five Super Bowls over a six-year span. Kansas City joined the 1971-73 Dolphins, 1991-93 Buffalo Bills and the 2016-18 New England Patriots to play in at least three consecutive Super Bowls, CBS Sports reported.

Kansas City is also the first back-to-back champion to return to the Super Bowl. The 1976 Steelers, 1990 49ers and 1994 Cowboys reached the conference championship round before seeing their dreams of a three-peat come to an end.

Mahomes is just the third starting quarterback to reach five Super Bowls, joining Tom Brady and John Elway. Mahomes and Andy Reid are just the second quarterback-coach duo to reach five Super Bowls, joining Brady and Bill Belichick.

17 and counting

When the Chiefs edged Buffalo 32-29 in this season’s AFC Championship Game, Mahomes earned his 17th playoff victory. That moved him into second place all-time. Mahomes still has work to do to become the all-time winningest quarterback in the postseason. Tom Brady is No. 1 with 35 wins.

Super Bowl results

Hunt was the founder of the franchise, and he is credited with coming up with the name “Super Bowl” for the NFL’s championship game. Hunt said he likely got the name from the toy his children were playing, called the Super Ball, The Sporting News reported.

Hunt wrote a letter to NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle in 1966, saying, “I have kiddingly called it the ‘Super Bowl,’ which obviously can be improved upon.”

His legacy endures. The winner of the AFC Championship Game receives the Lamar Hunt Trophy.

Here is how the Chiefs have fared in their five previous Super Bowls. The season in which they competed is in parentheses, but the game was played in January or February of the next calendar year.

• Super Bowl I (1966): Originally called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game: Lost to Green Bay Packers 35-10.
• Super Bowl IV (1969): Defeated Minnesota Vikings 23-7
• Super Bowl LIV (2019): Defeated San Francisco 49ers 31-20.
• Super Bowl LV (2020): Lost to Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-9.
• Super Bowl LVII (2022): Defeated Philadelphia Eagles 38-35.
• Super Bowl LVIII (2023): Defeated San Francisco 49ers 25-22 (OT).

© 2025 Cox Media Group