They called him "The Riddler," but there was no riddle to why Frank Pitts was so important to the success of the Kansas City Chiefs in the magical championship season that was 1969.
Time can be brief in an NFL player's career, maybe a few moments in the limelight and then, before you know it, you're gone. But Pitts made the most of his six years with the Chiefs, and especially one in which a rare championship was at stake.
Pitts passed away recently in Louisiana at the age of 82.
He had an infectious laugh and was nicknamed "The Riddler" by his teammates after the character on the "Batman" series running on television at the time.
His biggest moment came in what was becoming arguably the nation's most dominant sport and its biggest game: the Super Bowl. In the first quarter of Super Bowl IV in New Orleans, and the Chiefs on their own 33-yard line in a 3rd-and-3 situation, quarterback Len Dawson hit Pitts with a pass that produced 20 yards, and four plays later, Jan Stenerud made it 3-0 with a 48-yard field goal. Pitts grabbed another Dawson pass for 20 more yards as the second quarter wound down.
But coach Hank Stram, ever one to mix things up, utilized Pitts on three end-around plays, and the receiver ran for 37 yards and caught three passes as the Chiefs stunned the Vikings 23-7 in the Super Bowl IV win. Kansas City had never run that reverse all season.
Stram had noticed in reviewing game film that Minnesota's defensive ends Carl Eller and Jim Marshall liked to pinch inside, leaving their flanks unprotected. Running the reverse from the slot in long-yardage situations, Dawson threw short passes to Pitts right away, and that helped confuse the Vikings before fellow-wideout Otis Taylor broke the game open with a touchdown in the second half.
Even though few people today may think of Pitts when they recall the great plays from the franchise's first Super Bowl title, it was Pitts who baffled the Minnesota defense most of the game. Said Pitts years later, "Hank had it in his head I was probably one of the quickest ones that could get from one corner to the other corner running that reverse."
Hardly an unknown talent, Pitts was taken by Kansas City in the fourth round of the 1965 AFL college draft and by the Chicago Bears in the 16th round of the NFL draft out of Southern University, a historic Black college and one the Chiefs had been recruiting from since 1960.
Originally featured on special teams, Pitts appeared in the 1966 AFL championship win over Buffalo and again in Super Bowl I. Pitts and fellow-wideout Noland Smith became featured receivers when injuries depleted the team's receiving corps in 1968.
In the stretch drive in what would lead to Super Bowl IV, Pitts caught 23 passes for 543 yards and five touchdowns.
In the famous Chiefs "choir huddle" photo that has been published so many times since the early days of the franchise, Pitts is pictured in the first row, far left, bent over listening to quarterback Len Dawson.
In 1971, Pitts was traded to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick in the 1972 draft and a third-round selection in the 1973 draft. By 1972, he was a full-time starter.
He was traded to the Raiders in 1974.
Later in life, Pitts served as the sergeant-at-arms for the Louisiana State Senate.
