1963 Kansas City Chiefs season

NFL team season (moved from Dallas) December 2013 March 2026 Kansas City Chiefs 1963 5–7–2 3rd AFL Western Lamar Hunt Hank Stram Jack Steadman Municipal Stadium TE Fred ArbanasG Ed BuddeOT Jim TyrerDE Mel BranchLB Walt CoreyDB Dave GraysonDB Duane WoodS Johnny Robinson Did not qualify 1962 (Dal. Texans) Chiefs seasons The 1963 Kansas City Chiefs season was the 4th and inaugural season for the Kansas City Chiefs as a professional AFL franchise; Despite winning the AFL championship game the previous year, the Chiefs were 5–7–2 in 1963, third in the four-team Western division.Kansas City Chiefs History 1960s https://web.archive.org/web/20070421185300/http://www.kcchiefs.com/history/60s/ April 21, 2007 KCChiefs.com The Chiefs were winless for two months in the middle of the season and were eliminated from the postseason in mid-November after ten games.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UfxVAAAAIBAJ&pg=6002%2C3298118 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press Chargerw ship Bills as 38,592 watch November 18, 1963 2B They finished the season with three consecutive wins at home, with diminished attendance. Their 27–27 tie with the Buffalo Bills in September was the first tie in franchise history. For the previous three seasons, the team was known as the Dallas Texans and played at the Cotton Bowl. Owner and founder Lamar Hunt moved the team following the 1962 AFL Championship. Despite enormous success in Dallas, the city could not sustain two professional football franchisesKansas City Chiefs History 1960's https://web.archive.org/web/20070421185300/http://www.kcchiefs.com/history/60s/ April 21, 2007 KCChiefs.com (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. The Chiefs 59–7 victory over the Denver Broncos in week 1 set two franchise records that still stand as of the end of the 2021 season: points scored in a game (59) and largest margin of victory (52). Move to Kansas City Kansas City Chiefs After three seasons in 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, Atlanta, Seattle, and New Orleans. 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."http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/special_packages/lamar_hunt/16234939.htm dead Chiefs' founder Lamar Hunt dies Covitz Randy Pulliam Kent December 14, 2006 The Kansas City Star January 8, 2007 September 29, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20070108142433/http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/special_packages/lamar_hunt/16234939.htm 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 four-month deadline; Bartle and "The Gold Coats" made good in only eight 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.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lEEyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xuUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6998%2C4614002 Lawrence Daily Journal-World Kansas Associated Press Everything is set for Texans' change May 23, 1963 10 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 forty years earlier in 1923 and had 49,002 seats. The Chiefs shared Municipal Stadium with the Kansas City Athletics of Major League Baseball. The first appearance of the Chiefs in Municipal Stadium attracted just 5,721 fans for a 17–13 preseason victory over Buffalo on August 9.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PUcyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xOUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=7039%2C3035093 Lawrence Daily Journal-World Kansas Associated Press Chief gridmen in home debut August 9, 1963 11 Season background The Chiefs' inaugural season in Kansas City began with owner Lamar Hunt's trade of quarterback Cotton Davidson 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 Houston on August 31 in Wichita, Kansas. He died 8 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. Personnel Roster 1963 Kansas City Chiefs roster Quarterbacks 16 Len Dawson QB 12 Eddie Wilson QB / P Running Backs 30 Jack Spikes P/FB 23 Bert Coan HB 32 Curtis McClinton FB 26 Frank Jackson HB Wide Receivers / Flankers 28 Abner Haynes WR / RB / KR 85 Dick Johnson WR/FL 42 Johnny Robinson HB / WR / DB Tight Ends 84 Fred Arbanas TE 88 Chris Burford WR / E Offensive Linemen 79 Charley Diamond T/G 63 Marvin Terrell G 77 Jim Tyrer G 71 Ed Budde LG 66 Bill Diamond G 61 Dennis Biodrowski G 65 Jon Gilliam C 60 Al Reynolds RG 64 Curt Merz RG 73 Dave Hill RT Defensive Linemen 78 Bobby Bell LDE 75 Jerry Mays DE 86 Buck Buchanan LDT 72 Paul Rochester DT 70 Curt Farrier DT 87 Mel Branch RDE Linebackers 56 Walt Corey RLB 69 Sherrill Headrick MLB 35 Smokey Stover LLB 55 E.J. Holub LLB 69 Sherrill Headrick MLB Defensive Backs 48 Duane Wood LCB 25 Charley Warner LCB 20 Bobby Hunt SS 45 Dave Grayson RCB 14 Bobby Ply DB Special Teams 51 Tommy Brooker K / LB 44 Jerrel Wilson P Rookies in italics https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/kan/1963_roster.htm 1963 Kansas City Chiefs Roster & Players Pro-Football-Reference.com Preseason The Chiefs lost their exhibition opener in San Diego before reeling off three straight wins, then fell to the Oilers in Wichita in the preseason finale. Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 August 3, 1963 at San Diego Chargers L 14–26 0–1 Balboa Stadium Not reported 2 August 9, 1963 at Buffalo Bills W 17–13 1–1 Municipal Stadium 5,721 3 August 17, 1963 at Oakland Raiders W 35–21 2–1 University of Washington Husky Stadium (Seattle, WA) 13,000 4 August 23, 1963 Denver Broncos W 30–16 3–1 Municipal Stadium 6,865 5 August 31, 1963 Houston Oilers L 17–23 3–2 University of Wichita Veterans Field (Wichita, KS) 11,000 Regular season Coming off the longest game (at that point) in football history against the Houston Oilers in the AFL championship game, hopes were high for a repeat title.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6TsaAAAAIBAJ&pg=5906%2C5044086 Milwaukee Journal Associated Press Kansas City Chiefs hope to win again August 30, 1963 14, part 2 September 2025 InternetArchiveBot The Chiefs could not find the same swagger in their new home in Kansas City for their inaugural season. They finished at 5–7–2, which included three wins to finish the season. Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 7, 1963 at Denver Broncos W 59–7 1–0 Bears Stadium 21,115 Recap 2Bye 3 September 22 at Buffalo Bills T 27–27 1–0–1 War Memorial Stadium 33,487 Recap 4 September 29 at San Diego Chargers L 10–24 1–1–1 Balboa Stadium 22,654 Recap 5 October 6 Houston Oilers W 28–7 2–1–1 Municipal Stadium 27,801 Recap 6 October 13 Buffalo Bills L 26–35 2–2–1 Municipal Stadium 25,519 Recap 7 October 20 San Diego Chargers L 17–38 2–3–1 Municipal Stadium 30,107 Recap 8 October 27 at Houston Oilers L 7–28 2–4–1 Jeppesen Stadium 26,331 Recap 9 November 3 at Oakland Raiders L 7–10 2–5–1 Frank Youell Field 18,919 Recap 10 November 8, 1963 Oakland Raiders L 7–22 2–6–1 Municipal Stadium 24,897 Recap 11 November 17 at Boston Patriots T 24–24 2–6–2 Fenway Park 17,270 Recap 12 November 24Scheduled AFL games postponed to December 22AFL 1963 Schedule Oakland Tribune May 24, 1963 – Newspapers.com 13 December 1 at New York Jets L 0–17 2–7–2 Polo Grounds 18,824 Recap 14 December 8 Denver Broncos W 52–21 3–7–2 Municipal Stadium 17,443 Recap 15 December 14, 1963 Boston Patriots W 35–3 4–7–2 Municipal Stadium 12,598 Recap 16 December 22 New York Jets W 48–0 5–7–2 Municipal Stadium 12,202 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings References 2 External links 1963 Kansas City Chiefs at Pro-Football-Reference.com 1963 Kansas City Chiefs at ProFootballArchives.com 1963 Kansas City Chiefs at jt-sw.com 1963 Kansas City Chiefs season Kansas City Chiefs Kansas