Chiefstory: Buck Buchanan

(Long-time reader and one of our favorite commenters, Matthew Shearon aka Cinco Ocho, will be contributing guest posts on the legends of Chiefs history periodically. This “Chiefstory” series starts with none other than big No. 86, Buck Buchanan. Enjoy! – Adam)

Junious “Buck” Buchanan was born on September 10th, 1940. Buck played defensive tackle Kansas City Chiefs in the AFL and then the NFL. Buck attended A.H. Parker High School in Birmingham Alabama, where he excelled in both football and basketball. Buck was 6-foot-7 inches and 287 pounds, which was huge for a football player back then. A.A. writer Merlin gave me a bit of a reference by saying “I’m guessing here, but a modern-day equivalent would be a 6-foot-10, 350-pound guy who could run”.

Buck attended Grambling State University where he was NAIA All-American. At Grambling, he remarkably ran a 4.9 40 and a 10.2 100. With that speed he had sideline-to-sideline range. His coach at Grambling, Eddie Robinson, called him “the finest lineman I have ever seen”. Buck played tackle on both offense and defense at Grambling.

Buck was selected No. 1 overall in the 1963 AFL Draft by the Chiefs. He was the first player from a black college to be chosen in the first round, let alone the first pick overall. Hank Stram said “We picked Buck because of his size, speed, and he had a great, great attitude. He gave the Chiefs the big player and big personality we needed.”

“I thought the opportunities would be better in the AFL”, explained Buck when asked why he signed with the Chiefs before entertaining an offer from the rival NFL. Buchanan had the physical size plus the athletic instincts to do his job very well. That job was to inflict fear and pain on opposing offenses. He was very effective at intimidating opposing quarterbacks. One season (1967) he batted down 16 passes. Seriously, defensive tackle, some cornerbacks don’t do that in a season! That’s what happens when you’re an animal.

Buck played in 182 career games, including a string of 166 straight. He dabbled briefly at defensive end as a rookie, but soon found a home at right defensive tackle. In his second year he was named to the AFL All-Star game. He played in six AFL All-Star games and two Pro Bowls in his career. Buck, Curly Culp, Aaron Brown, and Jerry Mays formed a fearsom front four for the Chiefs. That unit was key in their win over the Vikings in Super Bowl IV. The Chiefs’ defense held the Vikings to 67 total yards in that game. In1968 Buchanan and the Chiefs’ D held opponents to a league-low 170 points. In his career he had three interceptions for 37 yards, with a return long of 17 yards. He recovered three fumbles and also claimed a safety. Buck recorded the first ever Super Bowl sack, bringing down Bart Star in the endzone in the first Big Game.

Buck’s No. 86 jersey was retired by the Chiefs, and he was inducted to the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 1981. He was an AFL All-Time Team second team selection, and was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1987 and then the Pro Football Hall of Fame a few years later in 1990.  Two years later he died before it was his time, his life claimed by lung cancer at the age of 51. He was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996. Basically, this guy received just about every honor a player possibly could after retiring.

“A big guy will be strong, and he might be quick, but he is rarely fast. Or sometimes he’s strong and fast but not quick. But Buck had it all, big, strong, fast, and quick. Plus he had a great attitude.” – Coach Hank Stram

“Buck revolutionized the game. Guys that size usually played on the outside. Buck was the first tall guy to play on the inside. When a tall guy with his type of speed is rushing, he takes a couple of steps and then — BOOM! — he would be on the quarterback.” – John Madden

“I was big, but Buck was bigger and stronger and turned me every which way but loose. When you played Buck, you couldn’t sleep the night before the game. You don’t imagine a guy 6ft 8in 300 lbs being so quick. You’d go to hit him, and it was like hitting a ghost.” – Gene Upshaw

Big thank you to the Best Brothers for all they do for us fellow Chiefs fans, and a big thanks to Merlin for getting me interested in Kansas City Chiefs history!