1963 Kansas City Chiefs season
Encyclopedia
The 1963
Kansas City Chiefs
season was the inaugural season of Kansas City’s new football franchise. Despite winning the 1962 AFL Championship the previous year, the Chiefs finished the year 5–7–2 and third in their division.
For the previous three seasons, the team was known as the Dallas Texans. Owner and founder Lamar Hunt
moved the team following the 1962 AFL Championship. Despite enormous success in Dallas, Texas
, the city could not sustain two professional football franchises (the other being the NFL's Dallas Cowboys
). The team was renamed the Kansas City Chiefs and moved into Municipal Stadium
alongside the Kansas City Athletics baseball team.
, Atlanta, Georgia
, Seattle, Washington and New Orleans, Louisiana
. Hunt wanted to find a city to which he could commute easily from Dallas, and when he was unable to secure Tulane Stadium
in New Orleans because the university
didn’t want its football program to compete with a pro team, he was persuaded by Mayor H. Roe Bartle to move to Kansas City, Missouri
.
The negotiations in Kansas City were conducted in secrecy. On several occasions Hunt and Jack Steadman
, the team’s general manager, were in Kansas City and met with businessmen. Bartle introduced Hunt as “Mr. Lamar” in all the meetings with other Kansas City businessmen. Steadman was introduced as “Jack X.”
Most impressive about this move was the support the team received from the community even before the team announced the move. Hunt made the move dependent upon the ability of Mayor Bartle and the Kansas City community to guarantee him 35,000 in season ticket sales. Hunt had arrived at this number because that was the Texans' average attendance at the Cotton Bowl
in Dallas. An ambitious campaign took shape to deliver on Bartle’s guarantee to Hunt of tripling the season-ticket base the Texans had enjoyed in Dallas. Kansas City’s mayor also promised to add 3,000 permanent seats to Municipal Stadium, as well as 11,000 temporary bleacher seats. Along with Bartle, a number of other prominent Kansas Citians stepped forward to aid in the efforts, putting together more than 1,000 workers to sell season tickets.
Bartle called to his office 20 business leaders and called upon them to form an association later known as "The Gold Coats", whose sole objective was to sell and take down payments on the 35,000 season tickets required. Not an easy task when one considers the move was still secret and "The Gold Coats" had to sell season tickets to people without knowing the team name, where it was coming from, who the owner was, which football league they played in, who the players or coaches were, when the team played its first game in Kansas City, or where it played. Hunt gave Bartle a 4 month deadline. Bartle and "The Gold Coats" made good in only 8 weeks. Later, Hunt admitted he was really only hoping for 20,000, for which he still would have moved the franchise. On May 22, Hunt announced he was moving the franchise to Kansas City, Missouri
.
Hunt, with a roster replete with players who had played college football in Texas, wanted to maintain a lineage to the team’s roots and wanted to call the club the Kansas City Texans. "The Lakers
stayed the Lakers when they moved from Minnesota to California," he reasoned. "But Jack Steadman convinced me that wasn’t too smart. It wouldn’t sell." The team was renamed the Chiefs—one of the most popular suggestions Hunt received in a name-the-team contest and began playing in Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium
in 1963. A name also considered at the time for the team was the Kansas City Mules.
The name, "Chiefs" is derived from Mayor Bartle, who 35 years prior, founded the Native American-based honor society known as The Tribe of Mic-O-Say
within the Boy Scouts of America
organization, which earned him the nickname, "The Chief."
The Chiefs' first Kansas City home was at 22nd and Brooklyn, called Municipal Stadium, which opened in 1923 and had 49,002 seats. The Chiefs shared Municipal Stadium with the Kansas City Royals
of Major League Baseball
. The first appearance of the Chiefs in Municipal Stadium attracted just 5,721 fans for a 17–13 preseason victory against Buffalo
on August 9.
to the Oakland Raiders
, which landed the number one overall selection in the AFL Draft
(which Kansas City used to select Buck Buchanan
. Ironically, the Raiders would later select Gene Upshaw
in 1967 for the express purpose of blocking Buchanan. The Chiefs tabbed offensive guard Ed Budde
from Michigan State
with their own number one selection, while stealing another future Hall of Fame inductee, Bobby Bell
from Minnesota
in the seventh round. Buchanan, Budde and Bell all became starters on their way to a combined 526 games with the team and all three of them played their entire careers with the Chiefs.
Rookie running back Stone Johnson
, who was a sprinter in the 1960 Summer Olympics
in Rome, suffered a fractured vertebra in his neck in a preseason game against Oakland on August 30 in Wichita, Kansas
. He died 10 days later on September 8 and his jersey number 33 was subsequently retired. The Chiefs finished their first season in Kansas City with a 5–7–2 record and failed to reappear in the AFL Championship game for a consecutive year.
1963 American Football League season
The 1963 American Football League season was the fourth regular season of the American Football League.The season ended when the San Diego Chargers defeated the Boston Patriots in the AFL Championship game.-Division Races:...
Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
season was the inaugural season of Kansas City’s new football franchise. Despite winning the 1962 AFL Championship the previous year, the Chiefs finished the year 5–7–2 and third in their division.
For the previous three seasons, the team was known as the Dallas Texans. Owner and founder Lamar Hunt
Lamar Hunt
Lamar Hunt was an American sportsman and promoter of American football, soccer, basketball, and ice hockey in the United States and an inductee into three sports' halls of fame. He was one of the founders of the American Football League and Major League Soccer , as well as MLS predecessor the...
moved the team following the 1962 AFL Championship. Despite enormous success in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, the city could not sustain two professional football franchises (the other being the NFL's Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
). The team was renamed the Kansas City Chiefs and moved into Municipal Stadium
Municipal Stadium (Kansas City)
Kansas City Municipal Stadium was a baseball and football stadium that formerly stood in Kansas City, Missouri. It hosted the minor league Kansas City Blues of the American Association from 1923 to 1954 and the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues during the same period...
alongside the Kansas City Athletics baseball team.
Goin' to Kansas City
After three seasons in Dallas, Texas—including an AFL championship in 1962—it was apparent that Dallas couldn’t support two teams. Hunt investigated opportunities to move his team to several cities for the 1963 season, including Miami, FloridaMiami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, Seattle, Washington and New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
. Hunt wanted to find a city to which he could commute easily from Dallas, and when he was unable to secure Tulane Stadium
Tulane Stadium
Tulane Stadium was an outdoor football stadium located in New Orleans, Louisiana from 1926 to 1980. Officially known as the Third Tulane Stadium, it replaced the "Second Tulane Stadium" where the Telephone Exchange Building is now located...
in New Orleans because the university
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
didn’t want its football program to compete with a pro team, he was persuaded by Mayor H. Roe Bartle to move to Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
.
The negotiations in Kansas City were conducted in secrecy. On several occasions Hunt and Jack Steadman
Jack Steadman
Jack W. Steadman is the former chairman, vice president, president and general manager for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League....
, the team’s general manager, were in Kansas City and met with businessmen. Bartle introduced Hunt as “Mr. Lamar” in all the meetings with other Kansas City businessmen. Steadman was introduced as “Jack X.”
Most impressive about this move was the support the team received from the community even before the team announced the move. Hunt made the move dependent upon the ability of Mayor Bartle and the Kansas City community to guarantee him 35,000 in season ticket sales. Hunt had arrived at this number because that was the Texans' average attendance at the Cotton Bowl
Cotton Bowl (stadium)
The Cotton Bowl is a stadium which opened in 1929 and became known as "The House That Doak Built" due to the immense crowds that former SMU running back Doak Walker drew to the stadium during his college career in the late 1940s. Originally known as Fair Park Stadium, it is located in Fair Park,...
in Dallas. An ambitious campaign took shape to deliver on Bartle’s guarantee to Hunt of tripling the season-ticket base the Texans had enjoyed in Dallas. Kansas City’s mayor also promised to add 3,000 permanent seats to Municipal Stadium, as well as 11,000 temporary bleacher seats. Along with Bartle, a number of other prominent Kansas Citians stepped forward to aid in the efforts, putting together more than 1,000 workers to sell season tickets.
Bartle called to his office 20 business leaders and called upon them to form an association later known as "The Gold Coats", whose sole objective was to sell and take down payments on the 35,000 season tickets required. Not an easy task when one considers the move was still secret and "The Gold Coats" had to sell season tickets to people without knowing the team name, where it was coming from, who the owner was, which football league they played in, who the players or coaches were, when the team played its first game in Kansas City, or where it played. Hunt gave Bartle a 4 month deadline. Bartle and "The Gold Coats" made good in only 8 weeks. Later, Hunt admitted he was really only hoping for 20,000, for which he still would have moved the franchise. On May 22, Hunt announced he was moving the franchise to Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
.
Hunt, with a roster replete with players who had played college football in Texas, wanted to maintain a lineage to the team’s roots and wanted to call the club the Kansas City Texans. "The Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
stayed the Lakers when they moved from Minnesota to California," he reasoned. "But Jack Steadman convinced me that wasn’t too smart. It wouldn’t sell." The team was renamed the Chiefs—one of the most popular suggestions Hunt received in a name-the-team contest and began playing in Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium
Municipal Stadium (Kansas City)
Kansas City Municipal Stadium was a baseball and football stadium that formerly stood in Kansas City, Missouri. It hosted the minor league Kansas City Blues of the American Association from 1923 to 1954 and the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues during the same period...
in 1963. A name also considered at the time for the team was the Kansas City Mules.
The name, "Chiefs" is derived from Mayor Bartle, who 35 years prior, founded the Native American-based honor society known as The Tribe of Mic-O-Say
Tribe of Mic-O-Say
The Tribe of Mic-O-Say is an honor society used by two of the 303 local councils of the Boy Scouts of America, The Heart of America Council and The Pony Express Council; it is not a program of the National Council of the BSA...
within the Boy Scouts of America
Scouting in Missouri
Scouting in Missouri has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.-Early history :According to William D...
organization, which earned him the nickname, "The Chief."
The Chiefs' first Kansas City home was at 22nd and Brooklyn, called Municipal Stadium, which opened in 1923 and had 49,002 seats. The Chiefs shared Municipal Stadium with the Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
. The first appearance of the Chiefs in Municipal Stadium attracted just 5,721 fans for a 17–13 preseason victory against Buffalo
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
on August 9.
Season background
The Chiefs' inaugural season in Kansas City began with owner Lamar Hunt’s trade of quarterback Cotton DavidsonCotton Davidson
Francis Marion Davidson , known by his nickname "Cotton" Davidson, was an American collegiate and Professional Football quarterback...
to the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, which landed the number one overall selection in the AFL Draft
AFL Draft
The AFL Draft is the annual draft of new unsigned players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League.-History:...
(which Kansas City used to select Buck Buchanan
Buck Buchanan
Junious "Buck" Buchanan was an American collegiate and professional Football defensive tackle. He played for the Kansas City Chiefs in the American Football League and in the National Football League ....
. Ironically, the Raiders would later select Gene Upshaw
Gene Upshaw
Eugene Thurman Upshaw, Jr. was an American football player for the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League and later the NFL, later the executive director of the National Football League Players' Association...
in 1967 for the express purpose of blocking Buchanan. The Chiefs tabbed offensive guard Ed Budde
Ed Budde
Edward Leon Budde , a product of Denby High School in Detroit, Michigan and later Michigan State University, was the number one draft pick of the American Football League's Kansas City Chiefs in 1963....
from Michigan State
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
with their own number one selection, while stealing another future Hall of Fame inductee, Bobby Bell
Bobby Bell
Bobby Lee Bell, Sr is a former professional American football linebacker/defensive end. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame, and was a member of the Chiefs' team that won Super Bowl IV against the Minnesota Vikings.- High school career :He excelled in...
from Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
in the seventh round. Buchanan, Budde and Bell all became starters on their way to a combined 526 games with the team and all three of them played their entire careers with the Chiefs.
Rookie running back Stone Johnson
Stone Johnson
Stone Johnson was an Olympic sprinting athlete and American football kick returner/running back for the Kansas City Chiefs....
, who was a sprinter in the 1960 Summer Olympics
1960 Summer Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...
in Rome, suffered a fractured vertebra in his neck in a preseason game against Oakland on August 30 in Wichita, Kansas
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
. He died 10 days later on September 8 and his jersey number 33 was subsequently retired. The Chiefs finished their first season in Kansas City with a 5–7–2 record and failed to reappear in the AFL Championship game for a consecutive year.
Regular season
Coming off the longest game (at that point) in football history against the Houston Oilers in the AFL Championship, the Chiefs could not find the same swagger in their new home in Kansas City for their inaugural season. The Chiefs finished with a 5–7–2 record by the end of the year.Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Game site | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 7 | Denver Broncos Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 59–7 | Bears Stadium Mile High Stadium Mile High Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, that stood in Denver, Colorado, from 1948 until 2001.It hosted the Denver Broncos, of the AFL and the NFL, from 1960-2000, the Colorado Rockies, of the National League, of the MLB, from 1993-1994, the Colorado Rapids, of MLS, from 1996-2001, the... |
|
| Week 2 — Bye | |||||
| 3 | September 22 | Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
TIE 27–27 | War Memorial Stadium War Memorial Stadium (Buffalo) War Memorial Stadium is the name of a stadium that formerly stood in Buffalo, New York. The stadium was on a rectangular block near the downtown area. Its main entrance was at Jefferson Avenue to the east and Best Street to the south... |
|
| 4 | September 29 | San Diego Chargers San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 24–10 | Balboa Stadium Balboa Stadium Balboa Stadium is a football and soccer stadium located in San Diego, California. The original stadium was built in 1914 as part of the many buildings erected for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition located in Balboa Park. Originally called City Stadium, and designed by the Quayle Brothers... |
|
| 5 | October 6 | Houston Oilers | W 28–7 | Municipal Stadium Municipal Stadium (Kansas City) Kansas City Municipal Stadium was a baseball and football stadium that formerly stood in Kansas City, Missouri. It hosted the minor league Kansas City Blues of the American Association from 1923 to 1954 and the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues during the same period... |
|
| 6 | October 13 | Buffalo Bills | L 26–35 | Municipal Stadium | |
| 7 | October 20 | San Diego Chargers | L 17–38 | Municipal Stadium | |
| 8 | October 27 | Houston Oilers | L 7–28 | Jeppesen Stadium | |
| 9 | November 3 | Oakland Raiders Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 7–10 | Frank Youell Field Frank Youell Field Frank Youell Field was a football stadium that stood in Oakland, California. It was the home of the Oakland Raiders from 1962 to 1965.The stadium, which was essentially a temporary home until the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum was completed, sat 22,000 and cost $400,000 to build. The facility was... |
|
| 10 | November 8 | Oakland Raiders | L 7–22 | Municipal Stadium | |
| 11 | November 17 | Boston Patriots | TIE 24–24 | Fenway Park Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"... |
|
| Week 12 — Bye | |||||
| 13 | December 1 | New York Jets New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 0–17 | Shea Stadium Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008... |
|
| 14 | December 8 | Denver Broncos | W 52–21 | Municipal Stadium | |
| 15 | December 14 | Boston Patriots | W 35–3 | Municipal Stadium | |
| 16 | December 22 | New York Jets | W 48–0 | Municipal Stadium | |