Frank Pitts obit

Former Chiefs Super Bowl Champion Dies

A 10-year veteran wide receiver who helped Kansas City win its first Super Bowl title passed away.

 

He was not on the list.

Frank Pitts Jr., a wide receiver on the Kansas City Chiefs' first Super Bowl-winning team, died Friday. He was 82.

Pitts played 10 seasons professionally for the Chiefs (1965-70), Cleveland Browns (1971-73) and Oakland Raiders (1974).

A native of Atlanta, Pitts played college football at Southern University. He was a fourth-round draft pick by the Chiefs in the American Football League draft.

The Chiefs won the AFL championship the following year, but Pitts did not became a starter until 1968.

That year, he started 10 of 13 games, catching 30 passes for 655 yards and six touchdowns. Pitts also hauled in five passes for 56 yards in his first playoff game, a 41-6 loss to the Raiders in the first round.

In 1969, the Chiefs won the AFL championship again; this time it earned them an invitation to Super Bowl IV and a date with the Minnesota Vikings.

Pitts caught three passes for 33 yards, and also carried the ball three times for 37 yards, in the Chiefs' 23-7 win. That proved to be the only Super Bowl championship of Pitts' career.

By 1970, Pitts' role in the Chiefs' offense was fading. He started 10 games, catching 11 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns.

Hank Stram told the play to Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson. "Listen, let's have a ... 9-0-8, 51 G-O reverse." As Dawson ran back to the huddle, Stram told everyone on the sidelines, "Here comes the reverse from Tight I, it could be wide open." Dawson took the snap, faked to Wendell Hayes on the left side of the line, then turned the ball to a sprinting Frank Pitts, who turned the corner and jetted down the right sideline for 20 yards. It was one of the biggest plays of the Chiefs' Super Bowl IV win over the Minnesota Vikings, and it set up Jan Stenerud's third field goal of the game.

Pitts ran the reverse again in the third quarter and picked up a critical first down. Otis Taylor scored on the next play.

In 74 games for Kansas City, Pitts caught 78 passes for 11 touchdowns and ran the ball 24 times for 238 yards and one touchdown.