Famous Cigarette Image of Len Dawson Taken During 1967 Super Bowl – Detail about his Net Worth & Cause of Death

The now-famous photo of Len Dawson smoking a cigarette is quickly becoming one of the most shared images on the internet following the news of the football icon’s passing. The photograph, which was taken in 1967, was kept hidden from the general public for many years until it was revealed in 2013.

Len Dawson was an American football player who retired after a professional career that spanned from 1957 until 1976.

During the majority of his career, which spanned 19 seasons in the National Football League, he was largely associated with the Kansas City Chiefs. After Len’s retirement from professional football, he pursued a career in broadcasting and began working as a broadcaster for KMBC-TV in Kansas. There, he served as the host of a nightly show for a number of years before finally stepping down in 2009. In his later years, Len only reported when the Kansas City Chiefs were playing or when he was asked to fill in for another reporter.

The legendary football player went away a short while ago at the age of 87. He is survived by his devoted wife, Linda Louise, as well as their two children. The specific reasons for Dawson’s passing are not known at this time; nevertheless, taking into account his age, internet users believe he passed away from natural causes.

Len Dawson
Len Dawson

Explanation of the Famous Cigarette Photo Taken by Len Dawson During the 1967 Super Bowl

In a picture that has recently gone popular on social media, former quarterback Len Dawson can be seen puffing away on a cigarette at the halftime of Super Bowl I in 1967. The game took place in 1967.

In the picture, Len is shown relaxing in a folding chair while drinking Fresca and smoking a cigarette. Below his legs, he has a bottle of the soda.

On January 15, 1967, photographer Bill Ray caught the image; however, due to the fact that Life magazine chose not to publish it, the image was kept secret for many years.

The original deal stated that the photograph could only be distributed into the public domain if Len’s team, the Kansas City Chiefs, were victorious over the Green Bay Packers. However, following the Chiefs’ defeat in the Super Bowl in 1967, Bill Ray’s personal gallery was the only place where the photograph could be found.

The photograph was eventually published in 2013 and may be viewed on Ray’s website at the present time. Due to the fact that it illustrates how lax the regulations used to be, it is considered to be one of the most iconic photos in the history of the NFL. In addition, it continues to have an enormous amount of popularity on the internet, despite the fact that a scenario like this could never be staged in the 21st century due to the stringent regulations that govern the industry.

During the break in play during the 1967 Super Bowl, Len Dawson was photographed smoking a cigarette.

What Was Len Dawson’s Net Worth When He Passed Away? : How Wealthy Was The NFL Legend?

According to CelebrityNetWorth’s estimates as of the year 2022, Len Dawson’s wealth is estimated to be somewhere in the neighbourhood of $10 million.

The former football player enjoyed a lengthy and successful career in sports broadcasting, which resulted in a satisfactory income for him.

During his time in the National Football League, Len played for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1957–1959), the Cleveland Browns (1960–1961), and the Kansas City Chiefs (1962–1963). (1962-1975). Dawson continued his career as a sportscaster for KMBC-TV in Kansas even after he had retired from playing football. KMBC-TV is situated in Kansas.

To return to the topic of Len’s wealth, he has provided his wife and children with an inheritance worth many millions of dollars. He was a devoted husband to Linda Louise and a loving father to his two children, Len Dawson Jr. and Lisa Anne Dawson. He was also a devoted friend to Linda Louise.

College Career

During the process of Dawson’s recruitment, he was presented with the option of attending either Ohio State University in Columbus or Purdue University in Indiana. In spite of the fact that he was hesitant to take over Woody Hayes’ split-T offence with the Buckeyes, the real reason he selected Purdue was because of the rapport he had established with assistant coach Hank Stram, which was the beginning of a friendship that would last for more than half a century.

In 1954, Dawson’s first year as the quarterback of the Boilermakers, he was the most efficient passer in the NCAA as a sophomore. In addition to playing defence and kicking for the team, he also led the NCAA in throw efficiency. After leading his team to a 31–0 victory over Missouri, in which he threw four touchdown passes behind a solid offensive line, he later staged a big upset victory over Notre Dame, who had entered the game on a 13-game winning run prior to the game.

Dawson passed for more than 3,000 yards in each of his three seasons (1954–1956) with the Boilermakers, and as a result, he led the Big Ten Conference in that statistic in each of those years. During the 1956 campaign, he was honoured with a spot on the third team of All-Americans. During the 1955 and 1956 seasons, he was a first-team All-Big Ten Quarterback selection.

Dawson underwent the initiation process to become a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity while he was a student at Purdue.

Len Dawson
Len Dawson

Professional Career-

Pittsburgh Steelers

However, despite being selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 1957 NFL Draft, Dawson was unable to make a significant contribution to the team’s success. Following the conclusion of his first season with the team, his position on the Steelers became even more precarious when, early in the 1958 campaign, the team added future Hall of Famer Bobby Layne.

Cleveland Browns

On December 31, 1959, Dawson was included in a deal that sent him to the Cleveland Browns. Dawson was only able to complete 21 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns during the course of his five seasons playing in the NFL before he was released. This was after he experienced similar difficulties while competing against Browns quarterback Milt Plum.

Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs

On June 30, 1962, Dawson signed a contract to play for the Dallas Texans of the American Football League. The move brought him back together with Stram, who at the time was beginning his third year as the head coach of the Texans.

In 1962, The Sporting News named Dawson the Most Valuable Player of the American Football League (AFL). Dawson also led the league in touchdowns and yards per attempt. In addition, he piloted Dallas to its first of three league championships, which came in the form of a thrilling double-overtime victory over the Oilers, who were the defending champions at the time. During their victory by a score of 20–17, Dawson directed a ball-control offence and threw a touchdown pass to halfback Abner Haynes that covered 28 yards.

In 1963, the team relocated to Kansas City, where they were given their new name, the Chiefs.

Dawson was a mobile quarterback who possessed excellent accuracy who thrived in the “moving pocket” offence run by Stram. He would go on to win four AFL passing titles and was chosen as a league All-Star six times, finishing his career as the highest-rated career passer in the history of the league, which ran for a total of ten years. Between the years 1962 and 1969, Dawson was the only quarterback in the history of professional football to throw more touchdown passes (182). [18] Dawson guided the Kansas City Chiefs to an 11–2–1 record in 1966, including a 31–7 victory over the Buffalo Bills in the American Football League Championship Game. As a result, Dawson’s team was selected to represent the American Football League (AFL) in Super Bowl I, which was the first championship game between the AFL and their rivals in the NFL. Dawson had a decent performance, completing 16 of 27 passes for 210 yards and one touchdown while also throwing an interception. The game was won comfortably by the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers, 35–10. Dawson was honoured as a member of the Sporting News 1966 AFL All-League team for his outstanding play in the league.

Dawson’s season with Kansas City in 1969 would be the most memorable of his career, despite the fact that he had thrown for more than 2,000 yards in each of the previous seven seasons. This was due to the remarkable comeback he made from a knee injury that he had sustained in the season’s second game. After missing the first five games of the season, Dawson returned to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to road playoff victory over the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders. Initially, it was expected that the injury would terminate the season. Then, as the year came to a close, he rounded it off by winning the Most Valuable Player award in Super Bowl IV, which was the final game ever played by an American Football League team. During the game, Dawson led the Chiefs to victory over the much fancied Minnesota Vikings of the NFL by completing 12 of 17 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 11 yards. He also had one interception. The performance was especially noteworthy in light of the fact that Dawson had been wrongly implicated in a gambling controversy in the days preceding up to the game by a different gentleman named Donald Dawson, who was not connected to Dawson in any way.

In the late stages of the fourth quarter of their game against the Oakland Raiders on November 1, 1970, the Chiefs held a 17–14 lead. When the Chiefs were facing third and long, Dawson made a run that appeared to clinch the game for the Chiefs. However, as Dawson was lying on the ground, he was speared by the defensive end for the Raiders, Ben Davidson. Davidson dove into Dawson with his helmet, which prompted the Chiefs’ receiver, Otis Taylor, to attack Davidson. Dawson eventually got up and finished the game. [21] Following a fight that involved the entire bench, offsetting penalties were called, which, according to the rules that were in place at the time, rendered the first down invalid. The Chiefs were forced to punt, and with eight seconds remaining in regulation, George Blanda kicked a field goal for the Raiders, tying the game. Not only did Taylor’s retribution against Davidson prevent the Chiefs from winning the game, but it also helped Oakland win the AFC West with an 8-4-2 record, while Kansas City concluded the season with a record of 7-5-2 and was eliminated from playoff contention. [22]

Retirement

In May 1976, only a few months before he turned 41, Dawson made the announcement that he would be retiring.
[1] Dawson’s professional football career came to an end in 1975 with him having completed 2,136 of 3,741 throws for a total of 28,711 yards, 239 touchdowns, and 181 interceptions. Along with that, he finished his career with 1,293 yards rushing and nine touchdowns on the ground. [13]

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