The original Dallas Texans may not be who you think they are.
All Chiefs fans know that, prior to moving to Kansas City, the Chiefs donned the moniker of the Texans and resided in the Big D of Dallas, Texas. The Dallas Texans, one of the original teams of the ragtag AFL, shared the Cotton Bowl as their hometown stadium with crosstown rivals, the NFL’s Cowboys, from 1960 to 1962.
As the Cowboys were bankrolled by the much more powerful league, Chiefs founder and owner, Lamar Hunt, decided the city could not sustain two professional football teams. As such, the team relocated to Kansas City, Mo., in 1963 and were renamed the Chiefs.
The rest is history. Right?
Well, as with most things, there is more to the story. The Dallas Texans were not the original Dallas Texans. It turns out that the original Dallas Texans actually played in the NFL. Alas, it was but for one season in 1952.
Stationed in Dallas, the team occupied two other homes in Hershey, Penn., and Akron, Ohio, in the same year.
That’s three homes in one year!
It is not without reason, however. The 1952 Dallas Texans are considered one of the worst teams in NFL history. They posted only a 1-11 record for the season, with their lone win coming against the George Halas-led Chicago Bears, of all teams. So sure was the legendary Coach Halas that the Bears would beat the hapless Texans that he opted to start only his second-stringers. A 27-23 Texans victory, however, let America know who the real turkey was at the Rubber Bowl in Akron on Thanksgiving Day of 1952.
Financially busted and unable to find a buyer, the 1952 NFL Texans folded. They are officially the last NFL team to permanently cease operations and not be included in the ancestry of any current franchise team.
