KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Purdue will honor alumnus Len Dawson with helmet stickers during Thursday’s season and Big Ten opener against Penn State at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Dawson, a Super Bowl-winning quarterback with the Kansas City Chiefs and 1987 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, died last Wednesday.
The Chiefs’ players honored Dawson with a “choir huddle” on the offense’s first snap, while fans and the team paid tribute throughout the preseason finale against Green Bay on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Kansas City will wear a No. 16 helmet sticker in Dawson’s honor this season.
Dawson, 87, was a three-year starter for the Boilermakers, who referred to him as “one of the (program’s) iconic greats and a pioneer of the Cradle of Quarterbacks” in the team’s game notes.
Dawson was the first Purdue football player enshrined in Canton, when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987.
A three-time All-Big Ten performer with the Boilermakers, Dawson, who played at Purdue from 1954-56, led the conference in passing yards and total offense each season during his college career.
He was a first-team All-American pick as a senior in 1956 and was inducted in the Purdue Hall of Fame in 1996.
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When he left Purdue, Dawson — the No. 5 pick in the 1957 NFL Draft by Pittsburgh — owned Purdue’s all-time records for passing yards (3,325) and passing touchdowns (29).
That’s also where he developed a relationship with offensive assistant coach Hank Stram, who breathed life into Dawson’s pro football career when he signed him with the Dallas Texans in 1962.
The Texans moved to Kansas City and became the Chiefs a year later.
Dawson led the Chiefs to two Super Bowl appearances, including a win against the favored Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV. He was chosen as the game’s MVP after going 12 of 17 for 142 yards with a touchdown and interception.
Dawson also was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his broadcasting career, including stints as the KMBC-TV sports director as well as a 25-year run on HBO’s “Inside the NFL” and 33 seasons on Chiefs radio broadcasts.
A memorial service for Dawson will take place Sept. 16 at Country Club Christian Church.
