1965 Kansas City Chiefs season

The 1965 Kansas City Chiefs season was the sixth season for the Kansas City Chiefs as a professional AFL franchise and the third in Kansas City; they finished with a 7–5–2 record (their first winning season in Kansas City), third in the Western division.

1965 Kansas City Chiefs season
Owner	Lamar Hunt
General manager	Jack Steadman
Head coach	Hank Stram
Home stadium	Municipal Stadium
Results
Record	7–5–2
Division place	3rd AFL Western
Playoffs	Did not qualify
AFL All-Stars	QB Len Dawson WR Frank Jackson OT Jim Tyrer FB Curtis McClinton DE Jerry Mays DE Buck Buchanan LB Sherrill Headrick LB E. J. Holub LB Bobby Bell S Johnny Robinson
← 1964 Chiefs seasons 1966 →

For the 1965 season, the Chiefs were caught in the middle of the AFL and NFL's bidding wars for college talent. Kansas City made running back Gale Sayers from the University of Kansas their first-round draft pick (sixth overall),^[1] but Sayers signed with the Chicago Bears, who had selected him fourth overall in the NFL's draft.^[2]

The Chiefs lost running back Mack Lee Hill late in the year when he suffered torn ligaments in his right knee in the next-to-last regular-season game at Buffalo on December 12. Following what was expected to be a routine surgery two days later at Menorah Hospital in Kansas City, Hill died from what was termed "a sudden and massive embolism."^[3] Hunt called Hill's death "the worst shock possible." Five days after Hill's unexpected death, the mourning Chiefs defeated the Denver Broncos to finish with a 7–5–2 record.^[2][4]

Roster

1965 Kansas City Chiefs roster
Quarterbacks 16 Len Dawson QB 10 Pete Beathard Running Backs 30 Jack Spikes P/FB 23 Bert Coan HB 32 Curtis McClinton FB 36 Mack Lee Hill FB 26 Frank Jackson HB Wide Receivers / Flankers 89 Otis Taylor WR / PR / KR 26 Frank Pitts WR / FL / HB 28 Abner Haynes WR / RB / KR 80 Reggie Carolan WR / FL 42 Johnny Robinson HB / WR / DB Tight Ends 84 Fred Arbanas TE 88 Chris Burford WR / E		Offensive Linemen 77 Jim Tyrer LG 79 Jerry Cornelison T/G 71 Ed Budde LG 60 Al Reynolds RG 61 Dennis Biodrowski G 65 Jon Gilliam C 64 Curt Merz RG 73 Dave Hill RT Defensive Linemen 85 Chuck Hurston DE 76 Hatch Rosdahl DE 82 Ed Lothamer DE 75 Jerry Mays DE 86 Buck Buchanan LDT 79 Al Dotson DT 70 Curt Farrier DT 87 Mel Branch RDE		Linebackers 78 Bobby Bell OLB / DE 56 Walt Corey RLB 69 Sherrill Headrick MLB 35 Smokey Stover LLB 55 E.J. Holub LLB 69 Sherrill Headrick MLB 50 Ronnie Caveness LB Defensive Backs 24 Fred Williamson LCB 38 Solomon Brannan CB 20 Bobby Hunt SS 45 Dave Grayson RCB 22 Willie Mitchell DB 14 Bobby Ply LB / DB Special Teams 51 Tommy Brooker K / LB 44 Jerrel Wilson P Rookies in italics

^[5]

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	August 7	at Denver Broncos	W 30–24	1–0	Bears Stadium	17,707	Recap
2	August 15	San Diego Chargers	L 10–31	1–1	Municipal Stadium	13,132	Recap
3	August 22	at Oakland Raiders	L 6–23	1–2	Frank Youell Field	13,592	Recap
4	August 28	vs. Buffalo Bills	W 18–16	2–2	Veterans Field (Wichita, KS)	15,157	Recap
5	September 4	Boston Patriots	W 34–7	3–2	Municipal Stadium	15,157	Recap

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 12	at Oakland Raiders	L 10–37	0–1	Frank Youell Field	18,659	Recap
2	September 18	at New York Jets	W 14–10	1–1	Shea Stadium	53,658	Recap
3	September 26	at San Diego Chargers	T 10–10	1–1–1	Balboa Stadium	28,126	Recap
4	October 3	Boston Patriots	W 27–17	2–1–1	Municipal Stadium	26,773	Recap
5	October 10	at Denver Broncos	W 31–23	3–1–1	Bears Stadium	31,001	Recap
6	October 17	Buffalo Bills	L 7–23	3–2–1	Municipal Stadium	26,941	Recap
7	October 24	at Houston Oilers	L 36–38	3–3–1	Rice Stadium	34,670	Recap
8	October 31	Oakland Raiders	W 14–7	4–3–1	Municipal Stadium	18,354	Recap
9	November 7	New York Jets	L 10–13	4–4–1	Municipal Stadium	25,523	Recap
10	November 14	San Diego Chargers	W 31–7	5–4–1	Municipal Stadium	21,968	Recap
11	November 21	at Boston Patriots	T 10–10	5–4–2	Fenway Park	13,056	Recap
12	November 28	Houston Oilers	W 52–21	6–4–2	Municipal Stadium	16,459	Recap
13	Bye
14	December 12	at Buffalo Bills	L 25–34	6–5–2	War Memorial Stadium	40,298	Recap
15	December 19	Denver Broncos	W 45–35	7–5–2	Municipal Stadium	14,421	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Source: Pro Football Reference^[6]

Standings

AFL Western Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
San Diego Chargers	9	2	3	.818	4–1–1	340	227	W3
Oakland Raiders	8	5	1	.615	3–3	298	239	L1
Kansas City Chiefs	7	5	2	.583	4–1–1	322	285	W1
Denver Broncos	4	10	0	.286	0–6	303	392	L4

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings in the AFL.