The professional football team, Kansas City Chiefs, played their first league season in 1960. The Chiefs have been owned by the Hunt family ever since their establishment in August 1959. Initially, the team was named Dallas Texans before relocating to Kansas City in 1963, which brought the name Kansas City Chiefs. The franchise was only the second team from AFL to beat an NFL team in a championship game.
The Kansas City Chiefs have had significant success during league history. Before the merger, they won three AFL championships in less than a decade. Chiefs have also made nine consecutive playoff appearances since the 2015 season while winning the Super Bowl thrice (2019,2022,2023) during that time.
The Evolution of Kansas City Chiefs Logo
1960-1962 “Original Logo”
The very first logo for the Kansas City Chiefs (Dallas Texans at the time) franchise was created in 1960. Bob Taylor, a cartoonist, designed this logo during their reign as Dallas Texans. Taylor drew a cowboy with a gun in his hand along with the map of Texas in the background. The Cowboy is dressed in a white t-shirt with ‘Texans’ written on it and has golden pants and a hat on him.
1963-1971
Lamar Hunt relocated his team to Kansas City resulting in a change in his franchise name. He then altered the logo in 1963. This new logo was designed by the same artist (Bob Taylor). The new logo was designed by taking inspiration from the previous one. It also featured a map of Missouri with a Native American man on it. The logo featured a loincloth on the man with the Kansas City initials on it.
1972-Current
The Kansas City Chiefs' current logo was designed by their owner Lamar Hunt at the time. He designed this logo on a road trip back to Kansas City, according to CreativeBloq. The logo is designed by taking the initials of Kansas City taken into consideration. The alphabets ‘K’ & ‘C’ are aligned with each other to fit neatly inside an arrowhead. This also draws inspiration from Arrowhead Stadium which has been their home ground since 1972.
The font on the team logo still has a hint of Hunts’ handwritten letters. As simple as the logo is, it was first used on helmets before getting promoted as an emblem.
Kansas City Chiefs Anniversary Emblem
60th Anniversary Logo
The Kansas City Chiefs celebrated their 60th anniversary in 2019. The franchise designed a logo which was used on many platforms along with their merchandise shop.
Arrowhead Stadium 50th Anniversary Logo
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of their home grounds the Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City Chiefs hosted a festival. A logo honouring their ground was created to depict the completion of 50 years since they started playing there in 1973.
Kansas City Chiefs Vietnam War 50th Anniversary Logo
Kansas City Chiefs (Source: X/@kansascitychiefs)
In honour of the 50th anniversary of US troops returning from the Vietnam War, the Kansas City Chiefs wore a special patch. The patch features a big "50" in the middle surrounded by a "leaf" camouflage pattern that was used by service members in combat in the latter stages of the Vietnam War.
Kansas City Chiefs Helmet History
1960-1962
The Kansas City Chiefs’ initial design of their helmets was associated with their logo. On the side of their helmets you could see a Missouri map paying homage to their state. This helmet stayed for around three years, before the current logo took over from the designs.
1963-1972
Before the red & white themed helmets, Kansas City Chiefs repped plain red helmets for a decade. This was the first time we were seeing Lamar Hunts’ arrowhead logo which came out on helmets starting 1963.
1973-Current
The design for the Kansas City Chiefs helmet hasn’t changed for over 50 years now. Although there have been some alterations to the colour, the logo remains the same. It is designed by adding the franchise logo on the side of the helmet with their vintage red and white theme.
Throwback Helmet
Kansas City Chiefs brought back their vintage helmets as a throwback in 2009. They were seen wearing these helmets throughout the season while you can still get them on official stores.
Kansas City Chiefs Uniform History
1960-1968
Before relocating to Kansas, the previously-named Dallas Texans franchise has stuck to the same colour theme. The squad wore a red jersey with white bottoms for home games while an All-White uniform was designed for the matches on road.
1969-Present
Improvisation of bringing in the red colour bottoms to the away game fixtures was introduced in 1968. We can still see the squad wearing red bottoms on some occasions.
1990-Present
While the team was seen in white jerseys with red pants for a decade or so, they brought back All-White uniforms as a third addition to the kit room in 1990. Since then, Kansas City Chiefs have had three uniforms under colour combinations of red and white.
FAQ's On Kansas City Chiefs Logo History
A. The Kansas City Chiefs logo was designed by Lamar Hunt, their owner.
A. Kansas City Chiefs relocated from Dallas, Texas to Kansas City, Missouri in 1963.
A. Arrowhead Stadium was built in 1972 while the squad played at the municipal stadium prior to that.
A. The Kansas City Chiefs adopted the wolf as their mascot to honour a group of passionate and loud fans known as the “wolf pack.”
