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How did the Chiefs look during the last total solar eclipse?

By Britt Zank

IN SPACE - MAY 20: In this handout provided by NASA, sun spots are seen as the moon moves into a full eclipse position after reaching annularity during the first annular eclipse seen in the U.S. since 1994 on May 20, 2012. Differing from a total solar eclipse, the moon in an annular eclipse appears too small to cover the sun completely, leaving a ring of fire effect around the moon. The eclipse is casting a shallow path crossing the West from west Texas to Oregon then arcing across the northern Pacific Ocean to Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by JAXA/NASA/Hinode via Getty Images)
IN SPACE - MAY 20: In this handout provided by NASA, sun spots are seen as the moon moves into a full eclipse position after reaching annularity during the first annular eclipse seen in the U.S. since 1994 on May 20, 2012. Differing from a total solar eclipse, the moon in an annular eclipse appears too small to cover the sun completely, leaving a ring of fire effect around the moon. The eclipse is casting a shallow path crossing the West from west Texas to Oregon then arcing across the northern Pacific Ocean to Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by JAXA/NASA/Hinode via Getty Images) /
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How did the Kansas City Chiefs look the last time we had a total solar eclipse? Well, not so great, to be honest.

Unless you’ve lived under a rock for the last few months, you know that there will be a total solar eclipse on Monday. This is the first total solar eclipse visible in the United States since 1979, which got me thinking about what the Kansas City Chiefs were up to at that time.

Being that I was only born in 1982, I had to do some research to see what the NFL and the Chiefs looked like in 1979. Marv Levy was in his second season as the Chiefs head coach and Jim Schaaf was in his third year as general manager. Jack Steadman had been moved to team president and Lamar Hunt was in his prime as the 55 year old leader of the organization.

In the 1979 NFL draft the Chiefs did something familiar to the 2017 Chiefs as they drafted a quarterback in the first round. This time it was Steve Fuller from Clemson University with the 22nd pick. Like Fuller, the rest of the draft, which was 12 rounds back then, was forgettable. Fellow first round pick Mike Bell was the only player who had any type of extended career with the Chiefs as he played until 1991.

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The regular season kicked off at home against the Baltimore Colts. (Yes, for those young kids reading this, the Colts use to play in Baltimore.) The opening day attendance of 50,442 (66% Arrowhead capacity) saw the Chiefs beat the Colts in a 14-0 defensive battle. This win did not say a lot about the season though as the Colts finished 5-11 in 1979, good enough for second worst in the AFC. The Chiefs followed the easy win up with back-to-back losses to the Cleveland Browns and Houston Oilers. Once again for the younger people, the original Houston team was called the Oilers before they moved to Tennessee and become the Titans in 1997.

This 1-2 start was enough for Marv to make a change at quarterback, replacing Mike Livingston with the rookie Fuller. This is interesting to the 2017 season as another first round quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, has Chiefs fans wondering when he will take over as starter. Fuller’s promotion was the right move as the Chiefs went on a three-game winning streak after he took the field. They beat the Oakland Raiders at home and won back-to-back road games against the Seattle Seahawks and Cincinnati Bengals. All three of those teams finished the year above .500, so they were quality wins.

The success was short-lived however as the Chiefs proceeded to lose the next five games, four of which were to playoff teams. They finished the season off going 3-2 in their final five games to end the year at 7-9 and out of the playoffs. Despite finishing below .500 and in last place in the division, 1979 was an improved year. The Chiefs were coming off two seasons which the team had a 6-24 record. A team with a rookie quarterback who improved had to have fans looking forward to the future. Unfortunately, that future did not go as planned as both Fuller and Marv would leave after the 1982 season and the Chiefs would only make one playoff appearance during the 1980s.

The true lasting memory of the 1979 Chiefs is that it was the final year as a Chief for Pro Football Hall of Fame kicker Jan Stenerud. He would kick six more seasons before retiring in 1985 on his way to his hall of fame induction in 1991. Meanwhile, the rest of the NFL had a pretty average season for the 1970s as the Pittsburgh Steelers won the last of their four Super Bowls in the decade.

The eclipse was not a good luck charm for the Chiefs in 1979, although as bad as they’d been, good luck could only do so much. For those who are looking for superstitious signs of luck, it is worth noting that the only NFL city who was near the path of totality in 1979 was Seattle. The Seahawks finished 9-7 that year but missed the playoffs. So if history is any indication, the eclipse isn’t a sign for anything in the NFL.

Related Story: The case to keep Patrick Mahomes benched in 2017

For someone as superstitious as my wife tells me I am, this is disappointing. I was hoping for some real odd combinations of facts that would lead to some great predictions for this season. But alas, at best it means we have a good chance of seeing our rookie quarterback start this year and it could be the end of the New England Patriots dynasty. But those are stretches. So football fans put the superstitions aside and go out and enjoy the dark, it won’t happen again until 2024.

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