Buy That Chiefs Thing! The NFL draft phone used to call Neil Smith

On this edition of Buy That Chiefs Thing!, we’re highlighting a piece of draft-day lore if you’re a K.C. fan—the very phone used to call Neil Smith.

Welcome to a new series here at Arrowhead Addict. We think it will run every Wednesday but, let’s be honest, it will likely run whenever we want as often as we want. We go where the inspiration strikes around here. But for now, we’re pleased to introduce it either way. We like to call it: Buy That Chiefs Thing!

Our hope is, once per week, to highlight a single item available for Kansas City Chiefs fans to purchase from somewhere. It might be as ubiquitous as a t-shirt from Well-Known Retail Store or it might be an old box of Mike Cloud Starting Line-Up figures in some guy’s attic on Craigslist. Who knows?

This week, we wanted to start with a real treasure—one of the single most expensive Chiefs-related items available to the buying public on eBay. Our focus for this edition of Buy That Chiefs Thing! is none other than the actual draft day phone used by K.C. in the 1988 NFL Draft. Incredible!

Back in the good old days, when there were plenty of cords to keep us grounded and somebody tripping meant actually falling over, teams would use a single phone to call the players they were drafting. Not only was it a single handheld phone but it was set inside a Chiefs helmet! Check out the eBay listing.

Now, we know the cost might seem steep at nearly $1,300, but there are good reasons. Consider the following:

1. Neil Smith. Neil. Smith. This phone had Neil Smith on the other line. Wait, that means Neil didn’t use this phone. Wait…
2. Just know this phone wasn’t used in some pansy draft with only seven rounds. No! This phone was BUILT TO LAST. (Just know that we will never, ever steer you wrong here at Buy That Chiefs Thing!) This phone made the eighth call, the ninth call, the tenth call and even, the eleventh call! Why? Because NFL Drafts used to last 12 rounds in those days. Those were when drafts were really drafts instead of the baby versions we know today.
3. This draft phone didn’t just call Neil Smith. It also reached out to such future luminaries as tight end Alfredo Roberts or, better yet, wide receiver Azizuddin Abdur-Ra’oof.

Imagine plugging this into your current landline. You could make calls and pretend you’re Jim Schaaf. Or fast forward a year and use it to do your best Carl Peterson impersonation. Relive any of your favorite NFL Drafts! Make reenactment videos using legitimate stage props! The choices are endless.

Not only does the helmet come with a Certificate of Authenticity verifying its draftiness, but it also comes with free shipping and handling. Basically this eBay post is one giant list of reasons why you should buy this phone. It currently has five people watching it, which means someone will make the call. Pun intended!