A walkthrough of the Kansas City Chiefs' retired numbers is mostly self-explanatory. Some names need nothing more: Derrick Thomas, Len Dawson, Bobby Bell, Buck Buchanan. But one number on the list belongs to a player who never took a regular-season snap, and the story behind it remains one of the most heartbreaking in Chiefs history. In our journey to document the franchise’s best stories and players behind each number, we’ve arrived at a unicorn at No. 33.
The complete history of Chiefs players to wear No. 33
The Horrific Tragedy: Stone Johnson
Long before he arrived at Chiefs training camp, Stone Johnson was one of the fastest men on the planet. The Dallas native tied the world record in the 200 meters with a time of 20.5 seconds in the semifinals of the 1960 U.S. Olympic Trials, then made the American team to head to Rome that summer. There, he finished fifth in the 200-meter final and ran on a 400-meter relay team that crossed the line first, only to be disqualified for an illegal baton exchange.
Johnson’s speed was his primary selling point, but he was a legitimate NFL prospect, too, having starred at Grambling under head coach Eddie Robinson. The AFL's Redshirt Draft allowed teams to claim the future rights of college players who still had remaining NCAA eligibility, which brought Johnson to the Chiefs—back when they were the Dallas Texans—in 1962.Â
In those days, AFL teams would stage preseason exhibitions to help grow the product of a burgeoning competitor to the NFL. The former Texans had one game left that summer in 1963 in Wichita against the Houston Oilers before the team officially began to play in K.C. as the newly renamed Chiefs. Instead of watching a routine tune-up before the regular season, fans bore witness to one of the most tragic moments in franchise history.
As a blocker on a return unit, Johnson reportedly "dipped his head before contact," per former teammate Chris Burford, and lay still on the 18-yard line after the play was over. Johnson told running back Abner Haynes, "I can't move my legs. My career's over. I was just getting started. Oh my God."
Johnson was taken out on a stretcher to a local hospital in Wichita, where he underwent emergency surgery for a neck fracture and spinal cord injury. Initially, Johnson was paralyzed below the neck, but 10 days after the play, Johnson was pronounced dead in that same hospital. Len Dawson said it best: "What happened to Stone was tremendously tragic. He was just getting started."
The Punter Who Got Away: Curley Johnson
Before Curley Johnson would go on to establish all kinds of punting records for the New York Titans-turned-Jets that still stand today, he was a Swiss army knife of sorts for the Dallas Texans in 1960, their first season as a franchise. Johnson only had 3 punts for 110 yards in '60, with a bigger impact made on a few offensive touches (217 yards from scrimmage, 2 touchdowns). In '61, however, he would assert himself as the Jets' punter for an eight-year in which he racked up 534 punts for over 22K yards. He was an AFL All-Star in '65.
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