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Purdue football pays tribute to late Boilermakers QB Len Dawson
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Former Purdue QB and Kansas City Chiefs broadcaster Len Dawson passed away on Wednesday at the age of 87. The Boilermakers made sure to highlight a few of his best moments from his collegiate career.
Dawson led the B1G in passing yards from 1954-1956. The ‘Purdue on BTN’ account on Twitter posted a video of 1 of his best plays from college. He threw a 96-yard touchdown pass to a receiver in the 1955 season.
Couple things about @BoilerFootball‘s late Len Dawson:
• He led @B1Gfootball in passing in 1954, 1955 & 1956
• He tossed a then-record 96-yard TD in 1955 ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/SyANMJoFt0— Purdue On BTN (@PurdueOnBTN) August 24, 2022
A year earlier, Dawson had a huge role in a major upset. Purdue beat No. 1 ranked Notre Dame in 1954 partly due to the his 4 touchdown passes in the game. The Fighting Irish came into that game with a 13-game win streak.
The late Len Dawson had many big days for @BoilerFootball.
One of the biggest came in the 1954 win at No. 1 Notre Dame.
Watch three of his four TD passes from the upset below. pic.twitter.com/lMtiPW1yce
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) August 24, 2022
After college, he played for the Kansas City Chiefs. Dawson would go on to set the Chiefs’ single-season passing touchdown record (30), which would get broken by Patrick Mahomes (50) in 2018.
Dawson represented everything it meant to be a Boilermaker.
Grant Bricker covers the B1G for Saturday Tradition. His previous stops include the Williamson Homepage and Nashville Post.