Purdue "Golden Boy" QB Len Dawson has passed away

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Dawson's impact on Purdue football unmatched

Former Purdue quarterback Len Dawson has passed away.

Dawson, who had entered hospice care recently, was 87.

Dawson helped establish Purdue's reputation of the "Cradle of Quarterbacks" before becoming a Pro Football Hall of Fame signal-caller who led the Kansas City Chiefs to the Super Bowl IV title and earned game MVP honors. Dawson also took the Chiefs to Super Bowl I in a 19-year pro football tenure that was followed by a lengthy broadcasting career.

Dawson earned the monikor "Lenny the Cool" while in Kansas City, where he became the face of the Chiefs franchise and an icon in the community. Dawson still owns the Chiefs' career marks for passing yards, touchdowns and wins.

The ninth of 11 children, Dawson matriculated to Purdue from Alliance, Ohio, playing from 1953-56 for Stu Holcomb. He earned the nickname "The Golden Boy." That sparked the creation of "The Golden Girl," who leads the Purdue All-American Marching Band to this day.

Dawson made national news in 1954 when as a sophomore he led the Boilermakers to a 27-14 upset in South Bend of No. 1 Notre Dame, which was riding a 13-game winning streak. That same season, Dawson led the nation in passing.

Dawson threw for over 3,000 yards at Purdue and was an All-Big Ten selection in 1955 and 1956 before being a first-round pick of the Steelers. He played in Pittsburgh from 1957-59 and in Cleveland from 1960-61 before joining the AFL's Dallas Texans (who became the Chiefs) in 1962. That's where his career sky-rocketed playing for fellow Boilermaker Hank Stram, who also coached Dawson as an assistant at Purdue.

"I went to Purdue University for two reasons: One, it's a great university and secondly, their offense threw the football," Dawson said years ago.

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