KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Decades after the Kansas City Chiefs captured their first and only Super Bowl title, those who attended the game back in 1970 hope current fans can have a similar experience this Sunday.
After the Chiefs advanced to the championship game 50 years ago, Grant Jackson said he and his father were able to score special $15 tickets to the Super Bowl held in New Orleans.
“Through some connections he had, we were able to get some tickets,” said Jackson, who has gotten around in a wheelchair for most of his life. “The only area they had for the handicapped was on the field level.”
After flying down to New Orleans that day on Braniff International Airlines, Jackson said watching the Super Bowl just a few feet away from the field provided all sorts of memories.
“I remember seeing them hoist Hank Stram up after the game,” he said. “Being a 10-year-old kid, that’s probably the wildest and most fun thing I had ever done by that part of my life.”
Decades later, Jackson has a shrine in his basement with newspaper clippings, souvenirs and other items from Super Bowl IV.
“It brings up a lot of good memories I had with my dad,” he said on Wednesday. “To see and think we were actually there is really cool.”
Others who attended Super Bowl IV, including radio broadcaster Tom Hedrick, also still live in the metro.
On Wednesday, Hedrick told 41 Action News that he was notified he would be doing the Super Bowl radio broadcast just days before the big game.
“I thought, how in the world did I get this job?” he said, looking back on the assignment. “I was so focused on calling that game.”
After a storied career, Hedrick said he still looks back on Super Bowl IV as one of the top moments he witnessed.
“I think it’s the greatest win in Kansas City history,” he said. “I’ve done Final Fours, the World Series and nine Cotton Bowls. That Super Bowl day I will never forget.”
With the Chiefs once again returning to the Super Bowl decades later, Grant Jackson said he hoped other fans would be able to experience what he did 50 years ago.
“It’s going to be a great day,” he said.
