SPORT, March 1970
This past season was one Len Dawson will never forget, a season when he was buffeted both physically and emotionally like few athletes before him. It took immense courage and talent for Dawson to survive, yet survive he did—magnificently. He guided the Kansas City Chiefs, a 13-point underdog, to victory in the 1970 Super Bowl over the Minnesota Vikings. And he won for himself SPORT’s Super Bowl Award—a Dodge Challenger—as the MVP. Dawson’s trials began in September when his knee was damaged in a game against the Patriots. He shunned an operation and sat out five games. Soon after he returned his father passed away. Then, a couple of weeks later, he reinjured the knee and missed still another game. By the end of the regular season Kansas City was runner-up to Oakland in the Western Division. To qualify for the Super Bowl, the Chiefs first had to beat the Jets in New York and then the Raiders in Oakland. Amazingly, they did both.
But Dawson’s biggest ordeal was yet to come. Just as the Chiefs were settling down to the business at hand in New Orleans—working to gain revenge for their 35-10 loss in the first Super Bowl three years earlier—Dawson’s name was being mentioned in a gambling probe out of Detroit. Dawson was guilty of absolutely nothing, but the timing of the rumors could have taken its toll of a less composed man.
The only apparent effect on Dawson was to make him an unbeatable quarterback. He led the Chiefs’ multiple offense to four scoring drives in the first half against Minnesota—three of them ending in Jan Stenerud field goals and the fourth a five-yard run by Mike Garrett. When the Vikings closed the deficit to 16-7 early in the third quarter, Dawson put the game out of reach with a 46-yard touchdown pass to Otis Taylor. In all, the always accurate Dawson completed 12 of 17 passes and KC was a 23-7 winner. For Len Dawson, revenge, vindication and a new Dodge Challenger were all his.