Remembering D.T.’s Record Day

Could it possibly be 18 years ago?

It just doesn’t seem like it could be that many Chiefs seasons since Derrick Thomas chiseled his name into the NFL record books.

On November 11, 1990 at Arrowhead Stadium, Thomas set a new league record with seven sacks of Seattle quarterback Dave Krieg.

The performance broke the previous record of six sacks set by San Francisco’s Fred Dean 25 years ago (November 13, 1983) against New Orleans.

It’s a record that has not been broken since. Last year, New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora had six sacks against Philadelphia. Thomas himself had six sacks in 1998 against Oakland, also at Arrowhead.

There have been a lot of passes thrown since that Veteran’s Day almost two decades ago. There have been a lot of pass rushers that have come through the pro football pipeline. The fact that none has been able to duplicate Thomas’ record is testimony to how remarkable an afternoon that day was for the second-year outside linebacker out of Alabama.

The Chiefs were 5-3 at that point in the ‘90 season. The week before the Chiefs had beaten the Los Angeles Raiders 9-7 at Arrowhead.

It was a clear Indian summer afternoon, with temperatures at kickoff hitting 63 degrees. A crowd o f 71,285 fans were in the house for this battle between AFC West rivals. Just three weeks earlier the Chiefs were beaten by the Seahawks in Seattle, so they were seeking redemption.

Thomas’ record setting day began midway through the first quarter. Here’s how the sacks came:

- No. 1: Midway through the first quarter, on a third and 20 from the Seattle 28-yard line, Krieg was sacked for a five-yard loss.

- No. 2: Late in the first quarter, on a third and 10 play from the Seattle 15-yard line, Thomas took down Krieg for a 14-yard loss.

- No. 3: Late in the third quarter, on a third and 17 situation from the Seattle eight-yard line, Thomas sacked Krieg, knocking the ball loose. It was recovered in the end zone by DT Dan Saleaumua for a Chiefs touchdown.

- No. 4: Early in the fourth quarter, on a second and 10 play from the Kansas City 38-yard line, Thomas took Krieg down for a loss of 10 yards.

- No. 5: With 3:49 to play in the fourth quarter, on a first and 10 from the Seattle 35-yard line, Krieg was taken down by Thomas for a seven-yard loss.

- No. 6: Three plays later, on a first and 10 from the Chiefs 43-yard line, Thomas got Krieg again for minus-10 yards.

- No. 7: The record setter came on the next play, a second and 20 situation with Thomas dragging Krieg to the ground for the seventh time. On this play it was a six-yard loss.

In what should have been one of the most memorable moments of his life, D.T.’s afternoon was spoiled about 90 seconds after that record sack. Taking over at the Seattle 34-yard line with 48 seconds to play, Krieg completed passes of 16 and 25 yards. That set up the Seahawks with a first and 10 at the Chiefs 25-yard line. After an incompletion on first down, Krieg dropped back to pass again with the clock ticking off the game’s final seconds. Thomas came flying in from Krieg’s left side and grabbed at his waist as he threw the ball towards the end zone. That’s where WR Paul Skanski jumped up and pulled down the ball as the clock showed 0:00. Skanski’s touchdown and Norm Johnson’s PAT kick gave Seattle a 17-16 victory.

The outcome of that game tore at Thomas’ heart. Eight years later, when he had six sacks in a victory against the Raiders, Thomas still felt the pain. “At least we won this time,” D.T. said then. “I still can’t believe we didn’t win that game (in ‘90).”

The First Game

It was the first game in franchise history.

Saturday evening, September 10, 1960, the Los Angeles Coliseum

The Dallas Texans traveled to Los Angeles to play the Chargers in the first weekend of play in what was the infant American Football League.

Outcome: Chargers 21, Texans 20.

Here was the lead paragraph from a story about the game the next day in the Dallas Times-Herald:

Los Angeles: The Dallas Texans who had mutilated six exhibition opponents with some marvelous pass thievery, paid a dear price here Saturday night. The Los Angeles Chargers overcame a devastating first half whipping, fired for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and edged Dallas 21-20 in the first American Football League game for both teams.

Actually, Ben Agajanian’s extra point was the margin. Jack Spikes missed the first of three tries for Dallas. But the real tale rested in some spectacular passing by Jack Kemp, a refugee from National League wars and some ironic pass interference penalties against the Texans who had intercepted 18 tosses before they flew west.

Psycho Is Gone

Some think he may have been the toughest football player who ever put on the pads.

The men who played with him wouldn’t argue.

“Oh, he was something,” Len Dawson said of his former teammate on the Texans-Chiefs LB Sherrill Headrick. “There were so many times you thought there was no way he was going to be able to overcome an injury, but there he was, the next play, back on the field.”

After a long fight with cancer, Headrick passed away on Wednesday at the age of 71.

As a linebacker over eight years with the Texans-Chiefs and a single season with the expansion Cincinnati Bengals, nothing seemed to be able to stop Headrick. He played with a broken neck, infected gums, hemorrhoids, and a fractured thumb. Sprains and strains were nothing to the Texas native. The only way he came off the field is if there was a bone sticking out.

That happened several times. Once, he had trainer Wayne Rudy tape the finger to a tongue depressor and he missed only a play. Another time, he popped the bone back into place and went back on the field.

That’s how he earned the nickname “Psycho.”

But for those that didn’t see him play, don’t think he was all craziness. He played in 108 games for the Texans-Chiefs and had 14 interceptions and three career TDs. He earned multiple berths in the AFL All-Star Game. San Diego coach Sid Gillman once called him “the best middle linebacker in football.”

The Story of Stone Johnson

It was 45 years ago on this day that the brand new Kansas City Chiefs suffered the first tragedy of its very young existence.

While blocking on a first-quarter kickoff return in a Chiefs pre-season game against the Houston Oilers in Wichita, wide receiver Stone Johnson injured his neck. Unable to move anyof his limbs, Johnson was carried off the field on a stretcher.  Taken by ambulance to St. Francis Hospital in Wichita it was determined that he suffered a compression fracture of his fifth cervical vertebrae. He underwent surgery that night.  His condition seemed to stabilize.

Eight days after the surgery, Stone Johnson passed away, his parents at his bedside in Wichita. He was just 23 years old.

How Stone Johnson went from the 1960 Summer Olympics to becoming part of the Chiefs that summer long ago is a story that is part of the history of the American Football League. The new league was constantly searching for athletic talent and one place where the AFL dipped their bucket many times was among the black colleges of the South. In that era the NFL was integrated but there were unspoken quotas with most teams on how many black players could be on a team’s roster. Many players from small black colleges in the South never even received tryouts with the established league.

First Game In Chiefs History

It all got started for the Chiefs franchise on this day, 48 years ago.

The date was July 31, 1960.  The place was Kezar Stadium in San Francisco. The Dallas Texans opponent that day was the Oakland Raiders.

The Texans won that first game in franchise history, 20-13.