A No. 1 draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1957, the former Purdue sharp-shooter struggled through five seasons as a seldom-used backup with the Steelers and the Cleveland Browns before finding his niche with the Dallas Texans of the American Football League in 1962.
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Dawson, who led the Kansas City Chiefs to a 23-7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings 40 years ago in New Orleans, will participate in the Vince Lombardi Trophy ceremony at the conclusion of Super Bowl XLIV. He will carry the trophy to a stage at midfield and hand it off to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell who presents it to the Super Bowl champions.
The presentation, which is accompanied by a musical score by NFL Films, will be televised live by CBS Sports as part of its Super Bowl coverage.
Dawson will continue the tradition of Super Bowl legends participating in the Lombardi Trophy ceremony, which began with Bart Starr’s participation in Super Bowl XL. Other participants include Coach Don Shula(Super Bowl XLI), Doug Williams (Super Bowl XLII) and Joe Namath (Super Bowl XLIII).
Inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1987, Dawson completed 12 of 17 passes, including a 46-yard touchdown pass to Otis Taylor, to claim the Super Bowl IV MVP trophy. Dawson is in his 25th season providing color commentary on the Chiefs Radio Network. The former Chiefs quarterback served 43 years as a sports anchor at KMBC-TV in Kansas City, and continues to work for the station as a sports analyst.
Viewed by more than 150 million people in the U.S. last year, the Super Bowl is annually the nation’s most-watched TV program. The game also will be broadcast in more than 230 countries and territories.
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