A decade before NFL Films proclaimed the Dallas Cowboys “America’s Team,” Black America had its own team.
It was and forever will be the 1969 Kansas City Chiefs.
Led by maverick owner and American Football League founder Lamar Hunt, Kansas City had more African American players than any franchise in the AFL or NFL.
Behind the innovative mind of head coach Hank Stram, who saw talent and not skin color, the Chiefs dominated the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 in Super Bowl IV in New Orleans.
The 40-man roster that won the Super Bowl included 19 Black players — nearly 50%. At the time, that was virtually unheard of in the NFL and rare even in the AFL.
Here are the 19, along with the colleges they starred at before playing professional football:
Running backs: Mike Garrett (USC); Wendell Hayes (Humboldt State — now Cal Poly Humboldt); Robert Holmes (Southern University); Warren McVea (Houston).
Wide receivers: Frank Pitts (Southern University); Gloster Richardson (Jackson State University); Otis Taylor (Prairie View A&M).
Tight end: Curtis McClinton (Kansas).
Defensive linemen: Aaron Brown (Minnesota); Junious “Buck” Buchanan (Grambling); Curley Culp (Arizona State).
Linebackers: Bobby Bell (Minnesota); Willie Lanier (Morgan State).
Safeties: Caesar Belser (Arkansas AM&N — now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff); Jim Kearney (Prairie View).
Cornerbacks: Jim Marsalis (Tennessee A&I — now Tennessee State); Willie Mitchell (Tennessee A&I); Goldie Sellers (Grambling); Emmitt Thomas (Bishop College).
Of the 19 African American players, 12 attended historically Black colleges and universities — another staggering statistic.
Lanier and fellow linebacker Jim Lynch, drafted in 1967, became roommates and close friends during their time with the Chiefs.
Lanier recalled in “America’s Game: The Story of the 1969 Kansas City Chiefs” how the team bonded regardless of race.
“The lack of bias…was extremely impressive. Because the relationships were pure. It wasn’t something that was pushed,” Lanier said.
“The individuals understood that if there was going to be accomplishment at the highest level everyone had to understand that even though there were differences, there were similarities. That was how it happened to come together.”
Lynch explained in “America’s Game” that he was one of three white starters on defense in 1969.
“You have to remember the times. This was not the norm,” he said.
During a 1969 interview, Lynch said, “The Black-white relationships that we have are not parallel on any team and I am elated with it. These kinds of things build champions and keep you champions.”
Lanier and Lynch credited Stram with refusing to yield to racism that existed throughout NFL locker rooms in building a championship-caliber team.
“We don’t care what color [a player] is, what nationality he is, the only concern we have is bringing him in with the idea of competing. And if they earn a right to be a member of our 40-man squad they are going to be here,” Stram said in a 1969 interview aired on “America’s Game.”
With all the exploits of Patrick Mahomes and the modern-day Chiefs, the 1969 Chiefs and the Jan. 11, 1970, Super Bowl remain my favorites.
The Reid Roundup
Kansas City Chiefs greats Bobby Bell, Willie Lanier, “Buck” Buchanan, Emmitt Thomas and Curly Culp are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio…In an alarming omission, the late Otis Taylor has not been inducted. Taylor snagged six passes from Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson for 81 yards in Super Bowl IV, and his 46-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter sealed the Chiefs’ victory. Taylor is a finalist in this year’s voting, which will be announced Feb. 7…Chiefs wide receiver Frank Pitts ran three reverse plays against Minnesota for 37 yards in Super Bowl IV and had three receptions for 33 yards. Pitts, who died last week at 82, could have easily been the game’s MVP…Pitts wore No. 25, and 10-year-old Alvin A. Reid chose his number for his first Kirkwood Junior Football League jersey…Lloyd Wells, a news photographer turned Chiefs scout, traveled back roads during the 1960s to help the team sign many outstanding HBCU players…In 1965, Chiefs running back Mike Garrett of USC became just the second Black player to win the Heisman Trophy. Ernie Davis of Syracuse won in 1961.