Originally called the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League. The team moved to Kansas City and became the Chiefs in 1963 after then-Kansas City mayor H. Roe Bartle promised the team they would have more ticket sales. The Chiefs then joined the NFL as part of the AFL-NFL Merger. The Chiefs hold the distinction of being the second AFL team (after the New York Jets) to beat an NFL club in an AFL-NFL World Championship Game when they beat the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV.
The term "chief" is sometimes considered to be insulting to Native Americans. There has been no serious effort to change the team's nickname.[source?] They have used an arrowhead as their symbol for a long time. They also named their home field Arrowhead Stadium.
↑"Chiefs History"(PDF). 2023 Kansas City Chiefs Media Guide. NFL Enterprises, LLC. Archived(PDF) from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
↑"Chiefs Uniform History"(PDF). 2023 Kansas City Chiefs Media Guide(PDF). NFL Enterprises, LLC. Archived(PDF) from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023. At one of the initial organizational meetings of the American Football League in late '59 – before the teams even had any players or coaches – the AFL owners choose their team colors. Lamar Hunt desires Columbia Blue and Orange for his Dallas Texans franchise. But before Hunt or any other owner can make a selection, Houston's Bud Adams claims Columbia Blue for his Oilers franchise. Hunt reverts to Red and Gold for the Texans, which remains the primary color scheme for the Chiefs to this day.
