Warpaint (mascot)

Last updated

Warpaint was a mascot for the Kansas City Chiefs National Football League (NFL) team. Three individual pinto horses have been used for Warpaint. It is associated with the team's glory days at Municipal Stadium, having won two American Football League (AFL) championships. Warpaint led the team's victory parade after winning Super Bowl IV. After the original Warpaint's retirement in 1989, the team used K. C. Wolf as its lone mascot from 1989 to 2009. In the celebration of the AFL's 50th anniversary, the Chiefs resumed the tradition of Warpaint for the 2009 season, introducing the new horse at the home-opener against the Oakland Raiders. Warpaint was retired again in 2021 amid the nationwide Native American mascot controversy and the team's new policy to eliminate some Native American imagery. [1]

Contents

History

Originally, the horse was ridden bareback by Bob Johnson, who wore a headdress as a pastiche of ceremonial American Indian regalia. [2] Warpaint circled the field at the beginning of each game and after each touchdown. In a 1975 game against the Oakland Raiders, the Chiefs won 42–10, prompting Warpaint to circle the field for each of the team's six touchdowns. [2] Raiders head coach John Madden, following the loss, quipped that "We couldn't beat the Chiefs, but we damn near killed their horse". [2] After Bob Johnson retired, he was replaced in the 1978–79 season by Pete Runyan and Cheryl McDaniel, both local experienced riders who in a symbol of gender equality took turns riding Warpaint after passing a bareback riding audition.

The first Warpaint was foaled in 1955, and the second in 1968. The second Warpaint died in 2005 at the age of 37 at Benjamin Stables in Kansas City where it is now buried. The horse made an appearance at a 1997 Chiefs game where it received a standing ovation from a sold-out crowd. [3]

On September 20, 2009, a new Warpaint was unveiled at Arrowhead Stadium at the home opener against the Oakland Raiders. The horse was ridden by Susie, a Chiefs cheerleader, in contrast to the original headdress-clad rider. [4] Due to a positive response from fans, Warpaint and Susie appeared at all home games, including at pregame events. Warpaint appeared at the Chiefs Training Camp for days with special events for fans. [5]

On July 26, 2021, the team eliminated some Native American imagery amid the nationwide Native American mascot controversy, and the Chiefs announced Warpaint's retirement again. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

Daryle Pasquale Lamonica was an American professional football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Raiders. He spent his first four seasons mostly as a backup for the Buffalo Bills, who selected him in the 24th round of the 1963 AFL Draft. Lamonica played his next eight seasons as the primary starter of the Raiders, including after they joined the NFL through the AFL–NFL merger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Len Dawson</span> American football player (1935–2022)

Leonard Ray Dawson was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs franchise. After playing college football at Purdue, Dawson began his professional career with the NFL in 1957, spending three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and two with the Cleveland Browns. He left the NFL in 1962 to sign with the AFL's Chiefs, where he spent the last 14 seasons of his career, and rejoined the NFL after the AFL–NFL merger.

For its first nine seasons, 1960 through 1968, the American Football League determined its champion via a single playoff game between the winners of its two divisions.

The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, and Los Angeles Chargers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osceola and Renegade</span> Mascots of the Florida State University Seminoles

Osceola and Renegade are the official symbols of the Florida State University Seminoles. Osceola, representing the historical Seminole leader Osceola, and his Appaloosa horse Renegade introduce home football games by riding to midfield with a burning spear and planting it in the turf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K. C. Wolf</span> Mascot for the NFLs Kansas City Chiefs

K. C. Wolf is the official mascot of the National Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs. He was first introduced in 1989 as a successor to Warpaint, a horse ridden by a man wearing a full Indian chief headdress, from the mid-1980s. K. C. Wolf was named after the team’s “Wolfpack,” a group of boisterous fans who sat in temporary bleachers at Municipal Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1969 Kansas City Chiefs season</span> 10th season in franchise history; first Super Bowl win

The 1969 Kansas City Chiefs season was the team's tenth, their seventh in Kansas City, and the final season of the American Football League (AFL). It resulted in an 11–3 regular season record and three postseason road victories, including a 23–7 victory in Super Bowl IV over the NFL's heavily favored Minnesota Vikings.

The 1967 Oakland Raiders season was the team's eighth in Oakland. Under the command of second-year head coach John Rauch, the Raiders went 13–1 (.929), an American Football League (AFL) record, and captured their first Western Division title, four games ahead of runner-up Kansas City, the defending league champion.

The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football franchise that began play in 1960 as the Dallas Texans. The team was a charter member of the American Football League (AFL), and now play in the National Football League (NFL). The team is not related to the earlier Dallas Texans NFL team that played for only one season in 1952.

The 1995 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 26th in the National Football League (NFL), their 33rd in Kansas City and their 36th overall. The team improved on their 9–7 record from 1994 and finished the regular season with a 13–3 record and the AFC West division championship. However, the Chiefs suffered a devastating loss in the divisional round of the 1995–96 AFC playoffs when placekicker Lin Elliott missed three crucial field goals, allowing the Indianapolis Colts to win 10–7. Due to the retirement of Joe Montana, the Chiefs made a change at the quarterback position, by starting Steve Bono, who started two games in 1994 while Montana was injured.

The Kansas City Chiefs, a professional American football franchise from the National Football League, are known for their unique "KC" arrowhead logo and red and white uniforms—both almost unchanged since the franchise's relocation in 1963. From 1960 to 1962, the team was known as the Dallas Texans and had very similar team logos and uniforms.

The Chiefs–Raiders rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders. The rivalry between the Chiefs and Raiders is considered to be one of the NFL's most bitter rivalries. Since the American Football League (AFL) was established in 1960, the Chiefs and Raiders have shared the same division, first being the AFL Western Conference, and since the AFL–NFL merger in 1970, the AFC West.

Otis Taylor was an American professional football wide receiver who played in the American Football League (AFL). He played college football for the Prairie View A&M Panthers and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth round of the 1965 AFL Draft. He was also selected in the 15th round of the 1965 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, but he chose to play in the AFL for the Chiefs where he would spend his entire career.

The 1972 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's third season in the National Football League, tenth as the Kansas City Chiefs, and thirteenth overall. The Chiefs moved into the new Arrowhead Stadium and ended with an 8–6 record, runner-up in the AFC West, but missed the playoffs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kansas City Chiefs</span> National Football League franchise in Kansas City, Missouri

The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.

The 2009 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 40th in the National Football League (NFL), their 50th overall, and their first under head coach Todd Haley and general manager Scott Pioli. The Chiefs attempted to improve on their 2–14 record from 2008 with the third overall selection in the 2009 NFL Draft. In 2009, the Chiefs also honored the induction of Derrick Thomas, the team's former linebacker from 1989 to 1999, into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Thomas' jersey number 58 was officially retired by the franchise after having been unissued since Thomas' death in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Oakland Raiders season</span> 50th season in franchise history

The 2009 Oakland Raiders season was the 50th season for the original American Football League (AFL) team, and its 40th in the National Football League (NFL). On September 6, 2009, The Raiders traded a 2011 draft pick to the New England Patriots for 5× Pro Bowl Defensive Lineman Richard Seymour. With their loss to Dallas on November 26, 2009, The Raiders sealed their seventh consecutive losing season. After beating the Pittsburgh Steelers on December 6, 2009, the Raiders moved to 4–0 when playing Pittsburgh the year they won the Super Bowl, or are the defending Champions, winning in 1974, 1980, 2006, and now 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Kansas City Chiefs season</span> NFL team season

The 2013 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 44th in the National Football League (NFL), their 54th overall and their first under the head coach/general manager tandem of Andy Reid and John Dorsey. After their 26–16 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3, which was also coach Andy Reid's first visit to Philadelphia since the Eagles fired him the season prior, the Chiefs vastly improved on their 2–14 record from 2012 just three weeks into the season. However, despite starting 9–0, the Chiefs would struggle in the second half of the season, losing 5 out of their last 7 games. Despite that, they would still make the playoffs. After defeating the New York Giants 31–7 in Week 4, the Chiefs became the first team in NFL history to win two or fewer games in the previous season, and win the first four games the next. On October 13, 2013, against the Oakland Raiders, Chiefs fans broke the Guinness World Record for loudest crowd roar at an outdoor stadium with 137.5 decibels. Seattle Seahawks fans later reclaimed the record on December 2, 2013, with a roar of 137.6 decibels. After the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Denver Broncos in Week 7, the Chiefs were the final undefeated team in the NFL. They were the first team in NFL history to earn the number one draft pick and be the last undefeated team in consecutive years.

The Kansas City Chiefs is one of the professional sports teams involved in the controversy regarding the use of Native American names and imagery, but received less attention than other teams until 2013 when fan behavior at games, including stereotypical headdresses, face paint, performing a "war chant" and tomahawk chop became more publicly known. Protests by change advocates intensified following the name changes of the Washington Commanders and Cleveland Guardians. In addition, the Chiefs have been highly visible due to their participation in the Super Bowl in 2019, 2020, and 2022. Native American groups once again demonstrated outside the stadium hosting Super Bowl LVII. Rhonda LeValdo, co-founder of Kansas City’s Not In Our Honor Coalition, has described the tomahawk chop as synchronized racism.

References

  1. 1 2 "Kansas City Chiefs aren't changing name. But they're putting Warpaint out to pasture". KansasCity.com.
  2. 1 2 3 Chiefs cheerleaders and mascots Accessed 15 March 2008, archived 10 Feb 2012.
  3. ↑ Veterinary Medical Review University of Missouri-Columbia Fall/Winter 1999 (pdf)
  4. ↑ "Warpaint Returns to Arrowhead Stadium". 21 September 2009.
  5. ↑ "Warpaint". Kansas City Chiefs. Retrieved 2013-12-10.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.