SUPER BOWL LVIII
How did the Kansas City Chiefs get their name? Origin and meaning
The Chiefs’ legacy is one of respect and heritage that tries not to appropriate any culture. We take a deeper look at their identity and the man behind their name.
Contrary to popular belief, the Kansas City Chiefs did not get their name because of any affiliation or connection to any Native American Indian heritage. The Chiefs, the defending NFL champions, head into the Super Bowl for the second year running with the chance of becoming one of eight teams to have won back-to-back titles. The San Francisco 49ers will be attempting to stop them when both teams take to the field at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday.
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No to cultural appropriation
That seems a good enough reason to take a look at the story behind the name of the current champions and how and when they gained their name. As we’ve said, the Native American connection that the Average Joe may assume is the origin for the Kansas team’s name is not correct. Heritage or cultural appropriation is a big no-no for teams nowadays. Just look at the last team to be condemned about it, the Washington Commanders, who, before their name change, were named the Washington Redskins. NFL teams must be cautious not to offend an ethnicity or people when naming themselves.
What’s the story behind the Kansas City Chiefs’ name?
Harold Roe Bartle, the mayor of Kansas City in the early 1960s, was the man who inspired the naming of the Kansas City Chiefs. In 1963, Mayor Bartle, often known as “The Chief,” was key in luring Lamar Hunt’s American Football League team, the Dallas Texans, to Kansas City. Longtime Chiefs executive Jack Steadman suggested the moniker “Chiefs” as a tribute to Bartle’s endeavors. The team was renamed the Chiefs that same year.
Graphic provided by our friends at Sofascore.
From the Chiefs’ own official website, the organization claims to be very careful with respect to the heritage of Native Americans. As the franchise is keen to explain: “While the origin of the team’s name has no affiliation with American Indian culture, much of the club’s early promotional activities relied heavily on imagery and messaging depicting American Indians in a racially insensitive fashion. Over the course of the club’s 60-plus-year history, the Chiefs organization has worked to eliminate this offensive imagery and other forms of cultural appropriation in their promotional materials and game-day presentation.”
The Chiefs won three AFL championships in the 1960s (1962, 1966 and 1969), becoming the team with the most championships in the short-lived American Football League and their 10-season record of 92-50-5 was the best of any team in the league. They won their first of three Super Bowls when they defeated the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 in the IV edition in New Orleans in 1970.