Since the Texans are playing a team that was once called the Texans, I figured I wrote about it prior to the Week 6 matchup. But I didn't! So here it goes…
The Chiefs started in the AFL in Dallas as the Texans in 1960. Owner Lamar Hunt had the squad sharing the Cotton Bowl with the upstart Dallas Cowboys of the NFL.
The Texans/Chiefs were a top draw in the AFL but still had trouble getting attention over the Cowboys because the NFL was already embedded in American sports.
The last game they played as the Texans was against the Oilers in a championship that Dallas won in overtime. Hunt decided to move the team and got offers from Atlanta and Miami, but Kansas City put in the best bid.
The Chiefs aren't the only former Texans franchise in the NFL. The Colts (really?!) used to be another version of the Dallas Texans in the NFL in the early 50s. They were eventually transformed (long story involving playing as sort of a barnstorming team) into the Baltimore Colts.
If you really want to impress your friends, tell them that there was another Houston Texans, once upon a time. In the 70s league, the WFL, there was a short-lived Texans franchise that never made it. In fact, the whole league never made it.
There is a Houston Texans ambassador who played for the franchise. Don Trull, an All-American and College Football Hall of Famer at Baylor, threw 31 passes for the franchise.
Now that you're caught up on former Texans history, the current version is readying for a huge divisional playoff game with a chance to make franchise history on Sunday. Keep it here for all the coverage.
