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Leonard Ray "Len" Dawson (born June 20, 1935 in Alliance, Ohio) is a former American football quarterback who played for three professional football teams, most notably the Kansas City Chiefs. Dawson played 19 seasons in both the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) with the Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cleveland Browns. Dawson played collegiate football for the Purdue Boilermakers football team from 1953 to 1956.

Early in his career, Dawson was a seldom-used backup with the Steelers and Browns. After signing as a free-agent with the Dallas Texans in 1962 and would lead the franchise to its first league championship with a victory in the 1962 AFL Championship Game. The Texans would later relocate to Kansas City, Missouri, where Dawson led the Kansas City Chiefs to two appearances in the Super Bowl in 1966 and 1969, respectively. Dawson would lead the AFL in passing in four different seasons and be selected to seven Pro Bowls.

Dawson was named the Most Valuable Player in the Chiefs' Super Bowl IV victory over the Minnesota Vikings. He retired from professional football in 1975 and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987. Dawson is currently the sports director and lead sports anchor for KMBC-TV in Kansas City and also provides color commentary for the Chiefs' radio broadcast network KCFX.

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.

An equally fulfilling relationship for Dawson had begun during his junior year at Alliance High School, when he started dating Jacqueline Puzder, a recent transplant from Cleveland, Ohio who was one grade behind him. Over the next two years, the two became closer, and after Puzder went to visit Dawson during his freshman year at Purdue, the two were secretly married. Two weeks prior to her graduation, she gave birth to the couple's first child.

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
Dawson was selected fifth overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1957 NFL Draft. He played three seasons with the Steelers, but appeared in only 19 games. He was traded to the Cleveland Browns on December 31, 1959 once the Steelers acquired quarterback Bobby Layne. After encountering similar problems in battling Browns' quarterback Milt Plum for the starting position, Dawson was released, having completed only 21 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns in his five seasons in the NFL.

Following the 1961 AFL season, the Dallas Texans traded their starting quarterback Cotton Davidson to the Oakland Raiders. In Davidson's absence, Dawson signed with the team on July 2, 1962 and immediately became starting quarterback. In Dallas, Dawson was rejoined with head coach Hank Stram who served as an assistant coach with Purdue where Dawson played college football. In his first season with the Texans, Dawson led the team to a double-overtime victory over the Houston Oilers in the AFL Championship Game. The victory brought the team's first league championship.

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 years later. For the 1963 season, the Texans relocated to Kansas City, Missouri and were rechristened the Kansas City Chiefs.

Dawson would become the franchise's most successful quarterback, playing in 182 regular season games (158 starts) for the Texans/Chiefs, and holds many franchise records. He was nicknamed "Lenny the Cool" for his calm composure on the field. Dawson completed 2,115 of 3,696 passes for 28,507 yards with 237 touchdowns and 92 interceptions, good for a 92.8 rating. He ranks first in team history in pass attempts, completions, passing yards and touchdowns. He led the Chiefs to 94 regular season wins and three AFL titles. Dawson led the Chiefs to an appearance in the first AFL-NFL Championship Game (later known as "Super Bowl I") against the Green Bay Packers. He was named MVP of Super Bowl IV when he directed Kansas City to a 23-7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Dawson was named to six AFL All-Star teams and one Pro Bowl squad, in addition to being named the AFL Player of the Year in 1962. Dawson was also named the NFL Man of the Year in 1973. Dawson threw a franchise record six touchdown passes against the Denver Broncos on November 1, 1964 in a 49–39 victory. In 1966, while still playing for the Chiefs, Dawson became the sports director and anhor for KMBC-TV, a local Kansas City ABC affiliate. As of 2009, Dawson is still KMBC's sports director. He would practice and play for the Chiefs during the day and later help anchor news broadcasts at night. After retiring in 1975, Dawson began hosting Inside the NFL on HBO and worked network broadcasts for NBC. He joined the Chiefs' radio broadcast team in 1984 and provide color commentary to game broadcasts.

A pinpoint passer, Dawson's mobility helped him flourish in Stram's "movable 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 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

After Professional Football
In 1987, Dawson was recognized for his play with the Chiefs with his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Dawson currently works on the Chiefs radio broadcast team, in addition to his duties as sports director for KMBC-TV in Kansas City. 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 2006, Dawson was interviewed for the NFL Network documentary America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions 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 and has two grown children. He and his family live in Kansas City.