1981 Kansas City Chiefs season

1981 Kansas City Chiefs season
Head coach	Marv Levy
General manager	Jim Schaaf
Owner	Lamar Hunt
Home field	Arrowhead Stadium
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	3rd AFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	RB Joe Delaney DE Art Still CB Gary Green S Gary Barbaro K Nick Lowery

The 1981 Kansas City Chiefs season ended with a 9–7 record, but no playoff appearance.

Bill Kenney began the 1981 season as the club's starting quarterback and directed the Chiefs to a 6–2 start, including a 37–33 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium on Opening Day. Second-round draft choice, running back Joe Delaney electrified the club's offense by rushing for 1,121 yards, a team single-season record at the time. He was named the AFC's Rookie of the Year and became the first running back to represent the franchise in the Pro Bowl.^[1] Delaney registered a 193-yard performance in a 23–10 victory against the Oilers on November 15, the best single-game total ever amassed by a Kansas City rookie.^[1]

Owning an 8–4 record with four games remaining, the Chiefs were poised to make the playoffs for the first time in 10 years before hitting a three-game losing skid. Bill Kenney missed the club's final three contests due to injury as Steve Fuller temporarily reclaimed the starting QB position and guided the club to a 10–6 win at Minnesota, in the final contest played at Metropolitan Stadium. With the Chiefs winning the game, Vikings fans began dismembering the stadium as early as the second half—taking seats, pieces of the scoreboard and even chunks of sod as souvenirs.^[1] The victory assured the Chiefs of a 9–7 record, the club's first winning mark since 1973 as coach Marv Levy increased the club's victory total for a third consecutive year. Inspired by the Washington Redskins's "Hail to the Redskins," Levy penned a fight song for the Chiefs ("Give a Cheer for Kansas City"), but much like the team's wing T offense, the concept never really caught on.^[1]

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1981 NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1981 Kansas City Chiefs draft
1	14	Willie Scott	Tight end	South Carolina
2	41	Joe Delaney *	Running back	Northwestern State
3	70	Marvin Harvey	Tight end	Southern Mississippi
3	75	Roger Taylor	Offensive tackle	Oklahoma State
3	78	Lloyd Burruss *	Defensive back	Maryland
4	97	Ron Washington	Wide receiver	Arizona State
5	124	Todd Thomas	Center	North Dakota
6	153	Dock Luckie	Defensive tackle	Florida
7	180	Billy Jackson	Running back	Alabama
8	206	David Dorn	Wide receiver	Rutgers
9	237	Anthony Vereen	Defensive back	Southeastern Louisiana
10	262	Les Studdard	Center	Texas
11	289	Frank Case	Defensive end	Penn State
12	319	Bob Gagliano	Quarterback	Utah State
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[2]

Personnel

Staff

1981 Kansas City Chiefs staff

Front office

Founder – Lamar Hunt
President – Jack Steadman
Vice President and General Manager – Jim Schaaf
Director of Player Personnel – Les Miller
Assistant Director of Player Personnel – J. D. Helm

Head coaches

Head Coach – Marv Levy

Offensive coaches

Quarterbacks and Receivers – Kay Dalton
Offensive Backs – Bobby Ross
Tight Ends – Frank Gansz
Offensive Line – Tom Bresnahan

Defensive coaches

Defensive Coordinator – Rod Rust
Defensive Line – Don Lawrence
Linebackers – Ted Cottrell
Defensive Backs – Walt Corey

Special teams coaches

Kicking Teams – Frank Gansz

Strength and conditioning

Strength and Conditioning – Rick Abernethy

Roster

1981 Kansas City Chiefs roster

Quarterbacks

Running Backs

30 Curtis Bledsoe RB
37 Joe Delaney RB
21 Clark Gaines RB
48 James Hadnot FB
43 Billy Jackson RB
22 Ted McKnight RB
39 Rick Moser RB
40Mike A. Williams RB

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

85 Ed Beckman
84 Al Dixon
80 Bubba Garcia
83 Marvin Harvey
81 Willie Scott

Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

99 Mike Bell DE
95 Frank Case DE
75 Sylvester Hicks DE
91 Ken Kremer DE/NT
71 Dave Lindstrom DT
74 Dino Mangiero DT
61 Don Parrish NT
67 Art Still DE

Linebackers

57 Jerry Blanton ILB
56 Phil Cancik LB
52 Tom Howard LB
51 Charles Jackson OLB
55 Dave Klug LB
54 Frank Manumaleuga LB
63 John Olenchalk LB/LS
53 Whitney Paul OLB
50 Cal Peterson LB
59 Gary Spani ILB

Defensive Backs

26 Gary Barbaro FS
34 Lloyd Burruss SS
42 M.L. Carter CB
20 Deron Cherry S
41 Herb Christopher S
46 Paul Dombroski CB
24 Gary Green CB
44 Eric Harris CB
31 Will Lewis CB

Special Teams

Reserve List

35 Horace Belton RB (IR)
-- James Black DE (IR)
-- David Cunningham RB (IR)
-- Jeff Davis TE (IR)
-- Lance Madison WR (IR)
-- Les Studdard G (IR)
-- George Stewart G (IR)
-- Ron Washington WR (IR)

Complete team roster
Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 6, 1981	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 37–33	53,305
2	September 13, 1981	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 19–10	50,555
3	September 20, 1981	San Diego Chargers	L 42–31	63,866
4	September 27, 1981	at Seattle Seahawks	W 20–14	59,255
5	October 4, 1981	at New England Patriots	L 33–17	55,931
6	October 11, 1981	Oakland Raiders	W 27–0	76,543
7	October 18, 1981	Denver Broncos	W 28–14	74,672
8	October 25, 1981	at Oakland Raiders	W 28–17	42,914
9	November 1, 1981	at San Diego Chargers	L 22–20	51,307
10	November 8, 1981	Chicago Bears	L 16–13	60,605
11	November 15, 1981	Houston Oilers	W 23–10	73,984
12	November 22, 1981	Seattle Seahawks	W 40–13	49,002
13	November 26, 1981	at Detroit Lions	L 27–10	76,735
14	December 6, 1981	at Denver Broncos	L 16–13	74,744
15	December 13, 1981	Miami Dolphins	L 17–7	57,407
16	December 20, 1981	at Minnesota Vikings	W 10–6	41,110

Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
San Diego Chargers⁽³⁾	10	6	0	.625	6–2	8–4	478	390	W2
Denver Broncos	10	6	0	.625	5–3	7–5	321	289	L1
Kansas City Chiefs	9	7	0	.563	5–3	7–5	343	290	W1
Oakland Raiders	7	9	0	.438	2–6	5–7	273	343	L2
Seattle Seahawks	6	10	0	.375	2–6	6–8	322	388	W1

References

1 2 3 4 Kansas City Chiefs History 1980's
↑ "1981 Kansas City Chiefs draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 4, 2014.

Kansas City Chiefs

Founded in 1960 Formerly the Dallas Texans (1960–1962) Based and headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri

Franchise	Franchise History Seasons Players First-round picks Coaches Logos and uniforms Awards Records Starting quarterbacks (list)

Stadiums	Cotton Bowl Municipal Stadium Arrowhead Stadium

Personnel	Owner: Clark Hunt President: Mark Donovan General Manager: John Dorsey Head Coach: Andy Reid Co-Offensive Coordinator: Brad Childress Co-Offensive Coordinator: Matt Nagy Defensive Coordinator: Bob Sutton Special Teams Coach: Dave Toub

Culture	Lamar Hunt H. Roe Bartle Warpaint K. C. Wolf Marty Ball Cheerleaders

Rivalries	Denver Broncos Oakland Raiders San Diego Chargers St. Louis Cardinals/Rams

Playoff appearances (18)	1962 1966 1968 1969 1971 1986 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1997 2003 2006 2010 2013 2015

Division championships (8)	1962 1966 1971 1993 1995 1997 2003 2010

League championships (2^†)	1962 1969 (IV) ^† does not include 1966 or 1969 AFL championships

Retired numbers	3 16 18 28 33 36 58 63 78 86

Media	Television: KCTV WDAF-TV KSHB-TV Radio: KCFX Personalities: Dave Armstrong Len Dawson Kendall Gammon Bob Gretz Bill Grigsby Kevin Harlan Mitch Holthus Roger Twibell

Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1970–present) Conference: American Football Conference Division: West Division

Former league affiliation	League: American Football League (1960–1969)

Seasons (56)	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Championship seasons in bold

Dallas Texans–Kansas City Chiefs seasons

Dallas Texans 1960 1961 1962 Kansas City 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Bold indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl victory

1981 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Baltimore	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Buffalo	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	Los Angeles
Miami	Houston	Oakland	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	St. Louis	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets		Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay

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