TKC EXCLUSIVE!!! EXPOSING THE KANSAS CITY CHIEFS GREAT LEN DAWSON LEGACY AMID BRIDGE NAMING TRIBUTE!!!

When we talk about the legacy of Kansas City Chiefs legendary QB Len Dawson, it's reasonable to say that most residents don't know the whole story of his NFL past.

VERY INFORMED TKC READERS think it's important to examine the entire story of Len Dawson's football career amid bridge tribute and other recent community dedication debate East of Troost.

To wit . . .

FACT: THE FORMER KANSAS CITY CHIEFS QB ENDURED A GREAT DEAL OF CONTROVERSY WHEN MEDIA LINKED HIM TO A MOB DUDE AND SPORT GAMBLING SUSPICION!!!

People tend to forget these controversies rather quickly and conveniently when it comes to naming taxpayer funded structures in honor of local celebs.

Accordingly . . .

Just a few weeks ago misguided newsies opposed naming East Patrol after slain civil rights leader Leon Jordan because of alleged "mob ties" but those same HYPOCRITES didn't make a peep, and in fact celebrated over the Len Dawson tribute.

Now . . .

WE ADMIRE LEN DAWSON JUST AS MUCH AS ANYBODY ELSE BUT GIVEN THE CONTROVERSY THAT WE'RE PUTTING IN CONTEXT RIGHT NOW . . . IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO ARGUE THAT A DOUBLE STANDARD DOESN'T EXIST WHEN CONSIDERING OBJECTIONS TO EAST PATROL DEDICATION!!!

On this Sunday football day . . . Here's a reminder of mainstream media news sources that examined the suspected affiliations of legendary Kansas City Chiefs QB Len Dawson.

Check it:

Chicago Tribute: "On the Tuesday afternoon before the January, 1970, championship in New Orleans, Dawson was hit by the radio version of a blindside tackle. The veteran quarterback was linked on NBC`s Huntley-Brinkley newscast with a known gambler who had been arrested while carrying $400,000 as well as Lenny`s telephone number."

Robert Grey Reynolds, Jr: The Mafia, Football Gambling and the Kansas City Chiefs' Len Dawson

SPORTS OF THE TIMES; What's Under the N.F.L. Rugs?

"Jack Danahy remembered that the Kansas City Chiefs were occasionally "taken off the board" by bookmakers in the late 1960's, creating rumors that challenged the integrity of the Chiefs' quarterback, Len Dawson, and one of their safeties, Johnny Robinson.

"The Chiefs were off the board," Jack Danahy said, "because the bookies considered them 'unpredictable.' When the rumors developed, Dawson and Robinson both volunteered during the 1968 season to take a polygraph test, and they both passed."

When the Chiefs were preparing for Super Bowl IV after the 1969 season, the NBC television network linked Len Dawson to a Detroit gambling investigation. Len Dawson was mentioned as having known a Detroit gambler, Don (Dice) Dawson, no relation.

"Len had known Dice Dawson, but so had 300 other athletes," Jack Danahy said. "Dice collected telephone numbers." The night the network broke the story, Jack Danahy interrogated Len Dawson at the Chiefs' hotel in New Orleans, where the Super Bowl was played that season.

"Len told me Dice Dawson had phoned him twice - once when Len's father died, and a second time when Len was in the hospital," Jack Danahy said. "Len even told me he wanted to take another polygraph test. I told him that wouldn't be necessary but that I would write out his statement for him to sign. And while I was writing it out he fell sound asleep.

"When I finished, I woke him up, and he signed it. I took it over to Pete Rozelle's hotel, and, after the commissioner read the statement, he asked me if I believed him. I said yes, and Pete asked me why. I told Pete in all my years with the F.B.I. before joining the N.F.L. that I'd been around spies, murderers, robbers, but none had ever fallen asleep on me before."

"After the Chiefs defeated Minnesota, 23-7, in Super Bowl IV, President Nixon phoned to congratulate Len Dawson."
##############

The fact is, these allegations against NFL Great Len Dawson are easily dismissed by some but an equally legendary Kansas City civil rights leader CLEARLY doesn't hold the same privilege and that doesn't sit well with many denizens of our blog community. 

You decide . . .