January 11, 1970: The Redemption of the Kansas City Chiefs

Len Dawson (16) and his offense

January 11, 1970: Super Bowl IV is played at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans. In spite of the New York Jets' win the season before, the American Football League Champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, already losers of Super Bowl I, are 13-point underdogs to the Minnesota Vikings, who won the National Football League Championship.

The Vikings did have future Hall-of-Famers in offensive linemen Mick Tinglehoff and Ron Yary, and defensive players known as "the Purple People Eaters": Alan Page, Carl Eller and Paul Krause. Also, head coach Bud Grant and general manager Jim Finks. Joe Kapp was then the quarterback: Hall-of-Famer Fran Tarkenton had been their quarterback, and would be again, but, at the time, he was the starting quarterback for the New York Giants.

The Chiefs, with Hall-of-Famers Len Dawson, Emmitt Thomas, Buck Buchanan, Curley Culp, Willie Lanier, Bobby Bell, Johnny Robinson and Jan Stenerud, plus coach Hank Stram and owner/AFL founder Lamar Hunt, weren’t having it. They proved beyond any doubt that the AFL was as good as the NFL, winning 23-7. This was the last game played before the AFL-NFL merger was complete. 

Hank Stram

The Vikings won the NFL or NFC Championship in the 1969, 1973, 1975 and 1976 seasons, but lost Super Bowls IV, VIII, IX and XI. Since then, they've lost the NFC Championship Game for the seasons of 1977, 1987, 1998, 2000, 2009 and 2017. Their Super Bowl record remains 0-4.

It took the Chiefs a while to get back to the Super Bowl, too. They reached the AFC Championship Game in the seasons of 1993 and 2018. On February 2, 2020, 50 years and 22 days after their last title, they won Super Bowl LIV, beating the San Francisco 49ers.

UPDATE: After losing Super Bowl LV to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they won Super Bowl LVII, beating the Philadelphia Eagles; and Super Bowl LVIII, beating the 49ers again. They lost Super Bowl LIX to the Eagles.

The Chiefs have a Hall of Honor. From before their 1st Super Bowl win, they have inducted running backs Abner Haynes and Mack Lee Hill, receiver Chris Burford, linebacker Sherrill Headrick. Although they honored running back Stone Johnson with the retirement of his number when he died of an in-game injury during a preseason game, they have not inducted him into their Hall of Honor.

From their Super Bowl IV win: Founding owner Lamar Hunt, general manager Jack Steadman, head coach Lamar Hunt, quarterback Len Dawson; running backs Curtis McClinton, Mike Garrett and Ed Podolak; receiver Otis Taylor, tight end Fred Arbanas, centers E.J. Holub and Jack Rudnay, guard Ed Budde, offensive tackles Jim Tyrer and Dave Hill; defensive tackles Buck Buchanan, and Jerry Mays and Curley Culp; linebackers Bobby Bell, Willie Lanier and Jim Lynch; cornerback Emmitt Thomas, safety Johnny Robinson and punter Jerrel Wilson.

Hunt, Stram, Dawson, McClinton, Garrett, Taylor, Podolak, Budde, Arbanas, Bell, Lanier, Robinson, Thomas and Stenerud have been elected to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

From the 1970s and the 1980s, they have inducted running backs Joe DeLaney and Christian Okoye, receiver Carlos Carson, defensive end Art Still and defensive tackle Bill Maas.

From the 1990s, they have inducted head coach Marty Schottenheimer, running back Tony Richardson, center Tim Grunhard, guard Will Shields, offensive tackle John Alt, defesnive end Neil Smith and linebacker Derrick Thomas. Although he was the only quarterback between the 1969 and 2018 seasons to lead the Chiefs to an AFC Championship Game, doing so in 1993, Joe Montana only played 2 seasons for them, and so has not been inducted into the Hall of Honor.

From the 2000s, they have inducted tight end Tony Gonzalez, receiver Dante Hall, guard Brian Waters and running back Priest Holmes. From the 2010s, they have inducted linebacker Tamba Hall. They have not yet inducted any figures from their 2020s quasi-dynasty.

Still, Maas, Cherry, Spani, Lowery, Okoye, Smith, Shields, Schottenheimer, Holmes, Grunhard and Hall have been elected to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. So have 1980s quarterback Bill Kenney and 1990s running back Marcus Allen.

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January 11, 1970 was a Sunday. Baseball was in the off-season. Already, the Super Bowl was getting so much hype that neither the National nor the American Basketball Association was willing to play more than 1 game on the day. In the NBA game, the Phoenix Suns beat the Cincinnati Royals, 125-118 at the Cincinnati Gardens. Connie Hawkins scored 39 points for the Suns. In the ABA game, the Los Angeles Stars beat the Miami Floridians, 103-98 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

And there were 3 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Oakland Seals, 6-3 at the Boston Garden.

* And the Chicago Black Hawks beat the Los Angeles Kings, 3-1 at the Chicago Stadium.