What do you think?
Rate this book
The Team That History Forgot: The 1960s Kansas City Chiefs
The story of the Kansas City Chiefs in the American Football League era, following their move from Dallas to their appearance in the first Super Bowl in 1966.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2025
10 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 11, 2025
In the 1960’s, pro football had two leagues, the established National Football League (NFL) and the upstart American Football League (AFL). The NFL had a more conservative style of play while the AFL had much more wide-open offense and also paid its players higher salaries while engaging in a bidding war with the NFL. One AFL team stood out during the decade, the Kansas City Chiefs. This book by Rick Gosselin tells the story of the Chiefs, which was not necessarily all successful.
The team was owned by Lamar Hunt, the founder of the AFL and got its start in Dallas as the Dallas Texans. The same year the AFL started play, the NFL awarded a franchise to Dallas as well, the Cowboys. Neither team had much success at the gate, which was disheartening to Hunt, as his team had much better success on the field than their NFL counterparts. Hunt, who is portrayed in a brief biography in the book, then decided to move his team to Kansas City where they became the Chiefs.
Along with Hunt, the book portrays many players who made the Chiefs the most successful AFL team. This includes Len Dawson, Otis Taylor, Buck Buchanan and Bobby Bell. They also were more integrated along racial lines than most other teams and they played in two of the first four Super Bowls. These are also covered thoroughly in the book. Their second Super Bowl, a victory over the Minnesota Vikings, was especially gratifying to Hunt. The reason for this was that Minnesota was supposed to be one of the charter franchises in the AFL, but owner Max Winter instead accepted an offer to join the NFL as an expansion franchise in 1961. Hunt never forgot that.
In addition to these items, Gosselin does a commendable job of writing about the Chiefs’ exploits on the field aside from Super Bowls and gives the reader a brief history of the AFL, leading up to the merger with the NFL in 1970. The book ends with an exhibition game that year between the Chiefs and Cowboys, the first time the two teams who originally called Dallas home met. That ended with a Chiefs win and solidified their spot as one of the best professional football teams in the 1960’s.
I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
The team was owned by Lamar Hunt, the founder of the AFL and got its start in Dallas as the Dallas Texans. The same year the AFL started play, the NFL awarded a franchise to Dallas as well, the Cowboys. Neither team had much success at the gate, which was disheartening to Hunt, as his team had much better success on the field than their NFL counterparts. Hunt, who is portrayed in a brief biography in the book, then decided to move his team to Kansas City where they became the Chiefs.
Along with Hunt, the book portrays many players who made the Chiefs the most successful AFL team. This includes Len Dawson, Otis Taylor, Buck Buchanan and Bobby Bell. They also were more integrated along racial lines than most other teams and they played in two of the first four Super Bowls. These are also covered thoroughly in the book. Their second Super Bowl, a victory over the Minnesota Vikings, was especially gratifying to Hunt. The reason for this was that Minnesota was supposed to be one of the charter franchises in the AFL, but owner Max Winter instead accepted an offer to join the NFL as an expansion franchise in 1961. Hunt never forgot that.
In addition to these items, Gosselin does a commendable job of writing about the Chiefs’ exploits on the field aside from Super Bowls and gives the reader a brief history of the AFL, leading up to the merger with the NFL in 1970. The book ends with an exhibition game that year between the Chiefs and Cowboys, the first time the two teams who originally called Dallas home met. That ended with a Chiefs win and solidified their spot as one of the best professional football teams in the 1960’s.
I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
December 22, 2025
Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2025.
A history of the 1960s Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs. As a football junkie, I loved reading this book because it flowed well and I learned a lot of things that I didn't know.
The AFL gave black players opportunities that they normally wouldn't have. The Chiefs were the first team to hire a black scout, which helped them gain talent at HBCUs.
And, as Hank Stram predicted, Lamar Hunt's team was the winningest franchise in the history of the AFL.
A history of the 1960s Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs. As a football junkie, I loved reading this book because it flowed well and I learned a lot of things that I didn't know.
The AFL gave black players opportunities that they normally wouldn't have. The Chiefs were the first team to hire a black scout, which helped them gain talent at HBCUs.
And, as Hank Stram predicted, Lamar Hunt's team was the winningest franchise in the history of the AFL.
September 26, 2025
My thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Nebraska University Press for the opportunity to review an ARC of this new book. I attest my review is original and my own work.
The Team That History Forgot chronicles the birth of the former Dallas Texans football team, that eventually left Dallas to become the Kansas City Chiefs. What drove me to this book was the author, Rick Gosselin. Living in the DFW area, Rick Gosselin's reporting on the NFL and the Dallas Cowboys was a mainstay for the years he was with the Dallas Morning News. I enjoyed his columns and his weekly evaluation of the NFL teams as each season progressed. He retired from the DMN in 2019 and is still active online as a writer, and I was very pleased to see this new work authored by this writing legend.
Gosselin covered the Dallas Texans and details the early history of the franchise, its key players, the move to Kansas City, the Chiefs first Super Bowl against Green Bay, and the many colorful players and coaches--many in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
It is an easy read with lots of great stories and many photos of some of the stars of the early 1960s and 1970s. It is a nostalgic look at a franchise that continues to be a competitive force in the NFL some 60+ years later.
Chiefs fans and football fans will love this book. I give it five stars.
The Team That History Forgot chronicles the birth of the former Dallas Texans football team, that eventually left Dallas to become the Kansas City Chiefs. What drove me to this book was the author, Rick Gosselin. Living in the DFW area, Rick Gosselin's reporting on the NFL and the Dallas Cowboys was a mainstay for the years he was with the Dallas Morning News. I enjoyed his columns and his weekly evaluation of the NFL teams as each season progressed. He retired from the DMN in 2019 and is still active online as a writer, and I was very pleased to see this new work authored by this writing legend.
Gosselin covered the Dallas Texans and details the early history of the franchise, its key players, the move to Kansas City, the Chiefs first Super Bowl against Green Bay, and the many colorful players and coaches--many in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
It is an easy read with lots of great stories and many photos of some of the stars of the early 1960s and 1970s. It is a nostalgic look at a franchise that continues to be a competitive force in the NFL some 60+ years later.
Chiefs fans and football fans will love this book. I give it five stars.
October 21, 2025
Meticulously researched, Rick Gosselin‘s history of the early days of the upstart American Football League and the Kansas City Chiefs is an enjoyable visit to an important period of the National Football League. Not many people have the league sources to tap in to and the understanding of the nuances of the game to produce such a detailed look at professional football. It is a must read to understand how the NFL developed into the organization it is today.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews