Remembering “A fine gentleman and a great football player”

Remembering “A fine gentleman and a great football player” – the Kansas City Chiefs organization has existed for over sixty years. That’s a long time, friends.  Six decades and heck, it’s longer than I’ve been alive. Much has happened in sixty years for the organization: triumphs, tragedies, and monotony. The Chief’s have had all these, although I figure many long-suffering Chiefs fans would count monotony, chief among them.

The Chiefs have had their fair share of tragedies, from the untimely death of fan favorite Derrick Thomas… to the tragic drowning of hero Joe Delaney… many tears have been shed in Chiefs Kingdom over the years. Another much lesser-known tragedy, is the death of Mack Lee Hill.

Many younger Chiefs fans know only of the Chiefs Rookie of the Year award, aptly named the Mack Lee award. Yet, they don’t know the story behind the award. To be honest, neither did I. However, I do now. Hang tight, ArrowheadOne readers, soon, you shall too.

Mack Lee Hill

Mack Lee Hill was not one of the big names fought over and drafted by the NFL or AFL in those heady days of the 60s. He was overlooked and not surprisingly so, either. At 5-11, 225 lbs. Hill, hailed from the small town of Quincy, Florida, 25 miles northwest of the state capital, Tallahassee. When our hero was born in 1940, his home town population was slightly under 4,000. Of the notable people from Quincy, Florida: Mack Lee Hill has not been among them. Fret not, Chiefs Kingdom, we rectified that.

No, Mack Lee was undrafted. A small-town graduate of Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA, Mack Lee sauntered into Municipal Stadium, signing for a mere $300 with the understanding that he would only be paid if he made the Chiefs lineup. Hill not only made the lineup, the sturdy and speedy RB nicknamed “The Truck” made an immediate impact for the Chiefs his first and second years as a member of the Red and Gold.

In almost two seasons, Mack Lee played in 27 games, scored 54 points with nine TDs, rushed for 1,203 yards, and caught for 403 more yards, but his second season was cut short due to his injury and subsequent death. While those numbers may seem pedestrian by today’s standards, I assure you, back then, they were anything but. Mack Lee’s efforts garnered him AFL All-Pro honors his sophomore year in 1965.

The fateful day that led to his death was a late-season game against the Buffalo Bills on December 12, 1965. Hill tore a ligament in his right knee after catching a pass in the third quarter. He then underwent a season-ending surgery two days later at Kansas City’s Menorah Medical Center. While still on the operating table, Hill’s temperature spiked suddenly to 108°F. This spike triggered severe convulsions, and, Mack Lee died an hour and a half after surgery from a, “sudden and massive embolism.”

Hill was only twenty-five years old. He left behind one son.

Chiefs Kingdom, the AFL, and football fans nationwide were devastated by Hill’s death. Perhaps no one was so affected as the grief-stricken Chiefs head coach, Hank Stram.

Said an emotionally-shattered Stram of his cherished RB,

“Mack Lee Hill was a fine gentleman and a great football player. He was probably one of the most unselfish players I have ever coached. He was completely dedicated to the team. Football was his life.”

The organization honors hm yearly with the Mack Lee Hill Award given to the Chiefs Rookie of the Year. Hill is also enshrined in the Chiefs Ring of Honor/Hall of Fame and his #36 jersey number is retired, never to be donned by a Chiefs player ever again.

I shamefacedly admit that I own but one KC Chiefs jersey.  It’s a Jamaal Charles jersey that my son bought me years ago. A month after he bought me the jersey, the Chiefs traded Charles to the Broncos. My kids are now barred from buying me Chiefs jerseys.

Anyway… Jamaal’s jersey is now lost. I think it’s stuck behind a dresser drawer that does not open all of the way due to the headboard of the bed that Mrs. Rose positioned. One day, I’ll get the wherewithal to move the bed and get my jersey. Today ain’t that day.

No, I’ll get my own Chiefs jerseys. The three I want (and will eventually get) are Mack Lee Hill’s (#36), Joe Delaney’s (#37), and Derrick Thomas’ (#58). I won’t wear these jerseys to represent the Chiefs, mind you. Rather, I will proudly don these jerseys because these Chiefs, my Chiefs, your Chiefs, our Chiefs, represent me.

Here is a list of the Mack Lee Hill Award Winners over the years:

Stay safe Chiefs Kingdom and ArrowheadOne readers. Life is fleeting and you matter to many more than you know and in numbers greater than you can fathom.

Michael Travis Rose — ArrowheadOne

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