Established as the Dallas Texans in 1960, the Kansas City Chiefs logo had a cowboy running with a gun in hand and a red Texas map in the background. It was designed by renowned cartoonist Bob Taylor.
Dallas Texans founder Lamar Hunt wanted the team’s color scheme to have orange, and Columbia blue, but instead chose gold and red after the Houston Oilers owner picked the orange and Columbia blue color scheme.
In 1963, Dallas Texans relocated to a new home in Kansas City, Missouri. At first, Hunt considered retaining the Dallas Texans name, but Jack Steadman, the team’s general manager, convinced him otherwise. The two settled on the name Kansas City Chiefs over other alternatives like the Stars, Mules, and Royals in tribute to Harold Roe Bartle, the then-mayor of Kansas, who was affectionately known as “The Chief” after having served as a Boy Scouts executive for many years.
In 1972, the Chiefs uniform stayed almost the same except for a new helmet emblem, which had an interlocking “KC” within a white arrowhead inside a thick black outline. Interestingly enough, Hunt was inspired by the ellipse-shaped design on the helmet of the 49ers.
When the Chiefs shifted to Kansas City, Bob Taylor was actually contracted to design a fresh logo that resembled his original creation for the Dallas Texans. However, instead of using a cowboy, his new design had a Native American running with a football while wielding a tomahawk, with Iowa, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Nebraska providing the background.
That KC logo was conspicuously displayed at the team’s practice field and headquarters, and Municipal Stadium. The team adopted the helmet logo as the main one when Arrowhead Stadium was opened in 1972.
There are multiple interlocking “KC” versions—especially regarding the shape of “C”—on team merchandise, helmets, and different publications. The Chiefs PR team didn’t explain the differences, but it’s believed that the open “C” was sketched by Hunt in 1963 when coming up with the logo.
The Chiefs Logo Evolution
1960
The first Cheifs logo introduced before the first season had a cowboy wielding a gun. There was a red map of Texas in the background. The wordmark “Texans,” splashed across the cowboy’s torso, reminded people that Dallas, Texas, was the team’s original name.
1963
When Chiefs adopted its present name, the Chiefs new logo was redesigned. Now a Native American was brandishing a tomahawk, with the background featuring a white map.
1970
The logo design stayed almost unchanged except for two faint changes.
1972
The Native American theme almost disappeared from the logo. Only the Arrowhead, where the interlocking K and C were placed, served as a reminder.
The Chiefs Logo Design Elements
Logo Symbol: The Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt came up with the team’s current logo. On his road trip back to Kansas City, he drew it on a napkin.
Logo Emblem: The Chiefs logo emblem drew inspiration from the San Francisco 49ers, which has an interlocking S and F inside an oval.
Logo Shape: Kansas City Chiefs has one of the most popular logos in the NFL. It’s gone through several changes throughout the decades, though. The oldest known variant of the Chiefs logo consisted of Texas in white and one yellow star that represented Dallas.
The present version of the Chiefs logo is made up of an arrowhead style featuring the K and C letters interlocked. Lamar Hunt was the one who originally came up with it. He reportedly drew it on a napkin on his way back to Kansas, inspired by the design of the 49ers logo, which had letters S and F interlocked inside an oval.
Logo Color: The Kansas City Chiefs logo colors are red, brown, black, and white colors. These colors symbolize the passion, fighting spirit, courage, determination, and integrity of the Chiefs.
Logo Font: The Chiefs logo font is custom and hand-drawn.
The History of the Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs, aka the Chiefs, are a hugely popular professional National Football League team. Based in Kansas City, the team was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 and named the Dallas Texans. After three years, they picked up and moved to Kansas City in 1963 and were rebranded as the Kansas City Chiefs, or simply the Chiefs.
The Chiefs has secured several championships and numerous awards throughout their iconic history. Currently, the team plays its home matches at Arrowhead Stadium.
Chiefs Origins
In 1959, 26-year-old Texan Lamar Hunt, frustrated by his futile attempts to get a professional football license in the NFL, took an alternative course of action that was to dramatically change professional American Football forever. That season, Hunt established the American Football League (AFL) and served as its first president when eight new teams started to play in 1960.
Hunt had established his team in 1960, named the Dallas Texas, which was based in his hometown in which he’d face a direct competitor in the form of the Dallas Cowboys, which was the newest expansion team in the NFL. Despite stiff competition from the well-known NFL, the Dallas Texans quickly became one of the strongest teams in the new league.
The Relocation to Kansas City
In their third campaign in 1962, they won the American Football League championship by defeating the Houston Oilers 20-17 in two overtimes that lasted 77 minutes and 54 seconds, the longest professional football match ever played by that time.
While the Texans performed well in Dallas, the founder decided that it’d be in the league’s best interests for the Texans to relocate to Kansas City. In 1963, the team moved to the new city and was rebranded as the Chiefs. It continued to fare well in the new location and won a second championship in 1966, becoming the first pro football team to fly AFL’s flag in the Super Bowl.
Third Championship (1969) and Lean Years (1970-1977)
In 1969, the Kansas City Chiefs won another AFL title and earned the right to represent the Super Bowl league. The football team had the best defense in the league, including future Hall of Fame players Buck Buchanan, Bobby Bell, and Willie Lanier.
In the Super Bowl final, the Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings to claim its first Super Bowl title. This proved to be the last game ever played by an AFL team, as the American Football League merged with the NFL in 1970. In 1971, the Chiefs appeared in another playoff but then declined, posting record losses in 9 out of 14 seasons from 1972 to 1985 and missing the postseason game throughout that period.
Arrowhead Stadium Move (1972)
Since 1972, Arrowhead Stadium has hosted the Chiefs home games. With a capacity of just over 77,000, it’s the 4th largest sports ground in the NFL. Arrowhead underwent a renovation that cost $375 million, which was completed in the middle of 2010. The renovation brought with it new luxury boxes, improved amenities, and wider concourses.
The stadium makeover was funded by $125 million from Hunt’s family and $250 million from the taxpayer. In 1972, the stadium was built for $53, and by 2009, the average ticket price was $81. The stadium’s concession provider is Centerplate, and Coca Cola, Sprint Nextel, and Anheuser-Busch are the key corporate sponsors.
From the Chiefs first home game in 1991 to the middle of 2009, the team had 155 successive sellout games. That streak came to an end versus the Cleveland Browns in the last home match of the 2009 NFL season, leading to the first blackout of local TV in more than 19 years.
Arrowhead is considered one of the finest stadiums globally and has long been one of the loudest and toughest outdoor stadiums for opponents to play in. Its fans generate all of the noise, which once reached 116 decibels of sound.
To put this into perspective, the take-off of a plane can cause 106 decibels of sound on the ground. In 2005, Sports Illustrated named the Chiefs home ground as the “toughest arena” for opposing teams to play in. The tailgate party atmosphere outside the ground on matchdays has been likened to that of a college football team.
Arrowhead Stadium boasts regular fly-overs from a stealth bomber from the Whiteman Airforce Base nearby. Since the NFL season of 1994, Arrowhead has boasted a natural grass turf. From 1972-1993, it had a synthetic AstroTurf surface.
Perennial Playoff Contenders (1989-1998)
In 1989, the Kansas City Chiefs hired Marty Schottenheimer as head coach and signed linebacker Derrick Thomas. The new head coach guided the Chiefs to a playoff spot in his second campaign with the team. In 1993, captained by Joe Montana, Kansas City qualified for the American Football Conference championship game and were defeated by the Buffalo Bills. In 1995, the Chiefs won a record 13 games in the NFL but were beaten by the Indianapolis Colts in the first playoff contest. The Chiefs shared the league’s best record in 1997 but again lost their first playoff match against Denver Broncos.
Western Division Crown (2003)
After five years without a postseason, the Chiefs—with a free-scoring offense led by Priest Holmes and a tight defense led by Tony Gonzalez—won 13 games again and a division title in 2003. Once more, an excellent regular season was ruined by playoff heartbreak as the Chiefs again lost to the Colts at home.
The team then went through a series of average seasons, including another postseason spot and first-round defeat in 2006, followed by an abrupt decline that led to a franchise-worst record of 2-14 in 2008. A new coaching and front office team was hired, which helped the team return to the playoffs following the 2010 season.
However, that turnaround was temporary, and the Chiefs had another change of head coach late in their disappointing season of 2011.
The New Head Coach Andy Reid Arrived (2013-Present)
The Chiefs swiftly improved in 2013 under new head coach Andy Reid, winning 11 matches and securing a playoff spot. Then the team lost its first playoff match, extending its barren postseason record to 20 years. After the 2015 season, the Chiefs finally snapped its losing streak by beating Houston, Texas. In the next stage of the playoffs, they were knocked out by titleholders, the New England Patriots.
In 2016, Kansas City won 12 matches—its best season in over ten years—to secure a division crown, but once again lost in their first playoff match. In 2017, the team again captured a division crown, only to lose their opening postseason match.
In 2018, inspired by star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City boasted the NFL’s most explosive offense and posted a 12-4 record—the joint best in the league. The team won its first postseason game but lost a sensational AFC championship match to the New England Patriots in overtime.
Injuries held back Mahomes in 2019, resulting in the team’s performance tailing off that season. However, the Chiefs still won 12 matches, and for a second year, running hosted the AFC competition. This time, Mahomes inspired the Chiefs to success, sending the team to their first appearance in the Super Bowl for 50 years. They went on to beat the 49ers 31-20 and secure the title.
Summing Up Chiefs Logo & History
The Kansas City Chiefs also referred to as the Chiefs, is a professional football team in the United States that’s headquartered in Kansas City, MO. It belongs to the AFC’s Western Division in the NFL. The Cheifs Logo is recognized by millions of sports fans across the globe and has a lot of history designed into the logo.
Founded in 1960 by Lamar Hunt, the team was originally called the Dallas, Texas. It was one of the first professional football teams in the American Football League. In 1963, the Dallas Texans moved to Kansas City and adopted their current name, the Kansas City Chiefs.
In 1970, the AFL merged with the NFL, and the Chiefs joined the NFL. According to Forbes, the Kansas City Chiefs is worth just shy of $1 billion.
