He was chosen by the Steelers in the first round of the 1957 draft, but wound up riding the bench behind Earl Morrall as a rookie and then failed to beat out Bobby Layne for the starting job the following season. And by the end of his college career, he’d thrown for more than 3,000 yards in an era defined by ground-and-pound football. He was a three-sport athlete at Alliance High School, setting records in both football and basketball, but turned his focus to the gridiron with a scholarship to Purdue.ĭawson led the NCAA in passing efficiency as a sophomore while also playing defense and kicking. Sophisticated yet blue-collar to his core, Dawson was born June 20, 1935, the ninth of 11 children of James and Annie Dawson in the manufacturing town of Alliance, Ohio. “I said to him once, ‘Leonard, make sure that you never let them see you sweat.’ And he said, ‘Coach, quarterbacks don’t sweat. “He was always under control,” Stram recalled years later.
And it perfectly captured “Lenny the Cool.” The latter often was scrawled upon a seminal photo from halftime of the first Super Bowl: the exhausted quarterback, white uniform covered in grass stains, sitting on a folding chair with a cigarette in his mouth and a bottle of Fresca at his feet. He would go out of his way to make time for fans, whether it be a photograph or signature. “I could not have accomplished so much without my teammates and colleagues, and I’m grateful for each of them.”ĭawson remained a beloved figure in Kansas City, even as his health declined and he cut back on public appearances.
“I’ve been blessed for what I had the opportunity to do,” Dawson said told The Associated Press in 2017. Other memorials will be arranged according to the wishes of his family. The Chiefs intend to honor Dawson during their preseason finale against Green Bay on Thursday night, Hunt said, though the details were still to be decided. No cause was given, though Dawson had had prostate cancer and quadruple heart bypass surgery over the years. “His impact on the Kansas City Chiefs and everyone who has worked for the organization cannot be overstated.”ĭawson’s family announced his death Wednesday at the age of 87. “Len was my first sports hero and he remained someone I admired and respected his entire life,” Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said. He was a Hall of Fame quarterback who led the Kansas City Chiefs to their first Super Bowl championship, then a Hall of Fame broadcaster who brought football into the homes of millions on the iconic HBO show “Inside the NFL.” ( Source: nytimes.Whether it was in the huddle during the early days of the AFL or behind the microphone as the NFL grew into the behemoth it is today, Len Dawson carried himself with an unmistakable swagger and self-assurance that earned him the well-worn nickname “Lenny the Cool.” The summer’s extreme heat and devastating drought, coming on top of Russia’s weaponization of natural gas exports - in response to European Union sanctions for its war in Ukraine - have all combined to expose the vulnerabilities of Europe’s energy system in unexpected places and unanticipated ways. Hydropower reservoir supplies - responsible for 90 percent of Norway’s electricity as well as electricity exports to several of its neighbors - have sunk to the lowest point in 25 years, causing shortages that have driven up both prices and political tensions. But perhaps the drought’s most surprising impact can be found in Norway’s usually drenched south, where sheep have gotten stuck in exposed mud banks and salmon have lacked enough water to migrate upriver. Italy is drier than at any time since 1800, and the growers of its iconic rice used for risotto now risk losing their harvest. The Rhine in Germany is inches deep in parts, paralyzing essential commerce and stranding riverboat cruises. France has been scarred by vast wildfires, and its Loire Valley is so dry the river can be crossed in places on foot. It has been a summer of heat and drought across Europe, affecting nearly every part of the economy and even its normally cool regions, a phenomenon aggravated by man-made climate change.
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