Len Dawson Leonard Ray " Len " Dawson ( born June 20 , 1935 ) is a former American collegiate and Professional Football quarterback who attended Purdue University and went on to play for three professional teams , most notably the Dallas Texans / Kansas City Chiefs . Dawson led the Chiefs to three American Football League Championships , and a victory in Super Bowl IV ( at the time , it was labeled the AFL - NFL World Championship game ) , for which he won the game ' s MVP award . Dawson retired from professional football in 1975 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987 . He is sports director at KMBC - TV in Kansas City and color analyst for the Chiefs Radio Network . High school . Dawson attended Alliance High School , in Alliance , Ohio . College career . During the recruiting process , Dawson had to choose between Ohio State University and Purdue . While he was reluctant to take over Woody Hayes ' split - T offense with the Buckeyes , the true reason for his selection of Purdue stemmed from the chemistry he had established with a Boilermaker assistant coach , Hank Stram , beginning a friendship that would last for more than a half century . During three seasons with the Boilermakers , Dawson threw for over 3 , 000 yards , leading the Big Ten Conference in that category during each campaign . During his college career , Dawson became a member of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity . As a sophomore in 1954 , Dawson put together an outstanding first season as the NCAA ' s leader in pass efficiency , while also playing defense and serving as the Boilermaker kicker . Blessed with a strong offensive line , he threw four touchdown passes in a 31 - 0 victory over the University of Missouri , then later engineered a huge upset of the University of Notre Dame . The Fighting Irish had entered the contest in the midst of a 13 - game winning streak . Professional career . Despite his status as a first round draft pick , Dawson was unable to make an impact with the Pittsburgh Steelers . Following his rookie campaign , his status in the Steel City became even more tenuous when the Steelers acquired future Hall of Famer Bobby Layne . Failing to dislodge the colorful signal caller , Dawson was then traded to the Cleveland Browns on December 31 , 1959 . After encountering similar problems in battling Browns ' quarterback Milt Plum , Dawson was released , having completed only 21 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns in his five seasons of NFL play . However , he soon found his calling when he signed with the American Football League ' s Dallas Texans on June 30 , 1962 . The move reunited him with Stram , who was beginning his third year as the Texans ' head coach . In that first season , 1962 , Dawson led the league in touchdowns and yards per attempt , and was The Sporting News ' selection as the AFL MVP , and was selected by his peers as a Sporting News 1966 AFL All - League player . He also led them that year to the first of three league titles in a thrilling double - overtime victory over the two - time defending champion Houston Oilers . Dawson ran a ball - control offense in the 20 - 17 win , and tossed a 28 - yard touchdown pass to halfback Abner Haynes . Then the team moved to Kansas City and were renamed The Chiefs in 1963 . A pinpoint passer , Dawson ' s mobility helped him flourish in Stram ' s " moving pocket " offense . He would win four AFL passing titles and was selected as a league All - Star six times , ending the 10 - year run of the league as its highest - rated career passer . From 1962 to 1969 , Dawson threw more touchdown passes ( 182 ) than any other professional football quarterback during that time . In 1966 , Dawson led the Chiefs to a , 11 - 2 - 1 record and a 31 - 7 win over the Buffalo Bills in the AFL championship game , earning his team the honor of representing the AFL in Super Bowl I , the first championship game between the AFL and their NFL rivals . The NFL champion Green Bay Packers won easily , 35 - 10 , but Dawson had a fairly good performance in the game , completing 16 of 27 passes for 210 yards and a touchdown , with 1 interception . While he threw for more than 2 , 000 yards in each of the previous seven campaigns , Dawson ' s 1969 season with Kansas City would be his most memorable by making a dramatic comeback from a knee injury suffered in the season ' s second game . The injury was first feared as season - ending , but after missing five games , Dawson went on to lead the Chiefs to road playoff victories over both the defending champion New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders , and was the Sporting News selection as the 1966 All - AFL quarterback . He then capped his year with MVP accolades in Super Bowl IV , the last game ever played by an American Football League team . In the game , Dawson paced the Chiefs to a win over the NFL ' s heavily - favored Minnesota Vikings by completing 12 of 17 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown , with 1 interception , and rushing for 11 yards . The performance was especially notable given the fact that he had been linked to a gambling investigation ( by an unrelated gentleman who was named Donald Dawson ) in the days leading up to the game . With the league ' s absorption into the National Football League in 1970 , Dawson earned one final honor from the league as a member of the second team All - time All - AFL Team . He is also a member of the Chiefs ' Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame . He would earn Pro Bowl honors following the 1971 NFL season , then ended his career in 1975 , having completed 2 , 136 of 3 , 741 passes for 28 , 711 yards and 239 touchdowns , with 181 interceptions . He also gained 1 , 293 rushing yards and 9 touchdowns on the ground On November 1 , 1970 , the Chiefs led the Oakland Raiders 17 - 14 late in the fourth quarter . Facing third and long , a run by Dawson apparently sealed victory for the Chiefs , but as Dawson lay on the ground , he was speared by Raiders ’ defensive end Ben Davidson , who dove into Dawson with his helmet , provoking Chiefs ’ receiver Otis Taylor to attack Davidson . After a bench - clearing brawl , offsetting penalties were called , nullifying the first down under the rules in effect at that time . The Chiefs were obliged to punt , and the Raiders tied the game on a George Blanda field goal with eight seconds to play . Taylor ’ s retaliation against Davidson not only cost the Chiefs a win , but Oakland won the AFC West with a season record of 8 - 4 - 2 , while Kansas City finished 7 - 5 - 2 and out of the playoffs . After professional football . In 1987 , Dawson was recognized for his play with the Chiefs with his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame . In 1966 , while still playing for the Chiefs , Dawson became sports director at KMBC - TV in Kansas City . On March 16 , 2009 , Dawson announced he would step down from anchoring on a nightly basis . He will still report for KMBC during the Chiefs football season and will fill in when other anchors are on leave . Since 1985 , Dawson has also been color analyst for the Chiefs radio broadcast team . From 1977 to 2001 , he served as the host of HBO ' s " Inside the NFL " , and also worked as an analyst for NBC ' s AFC coverage from 1977 - 1982 . In 1991 , Dawson was diagnosed with prostate cancer . In 1985 , Dawson began serving as a color commentator for the Chiefs Radio Network . He currently works with Mitch Holthus and former Chiefs player Kendall Gammon . In 2006 , Dawson was interviewed for the NFL Network documentary " " chronicling the 1969 Kansas City Chiefs season . In 2008 , Dawson teamed with Depend to encourage men to visit their doctors and be screened for prostate cancer . Dawson is married to his second wife Linda , Dawson was married to his first wife Jackie from 1953 until her death in 1978 and has two grown children ( Lisa Anne and Len , Jr . ) from this marriage . He and his family live in Kansas City . In 2010 , Dawson presented the New Orleans Saints and another Purdue quarterback , Drew Brees , with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after their victory in Super Bowl XLIV . Dawson is a seventh son of a seventh son . < ref name = " son / prostate " > < / ref > In 2012 , Dawson was honored with the Pete Rozelle Radio - Television Award for his longtime contributions as a sports broadcaster .