We continue on this afternoon with the latest installment of our series, the Greatest Kansas City Chiefs By The Numbers. Today, we're talking about #55 and the thirteen Kansas CIty Chiefs to have worn that number.
Naturally, we have lots of linebackers in this list, including one who played center and linebacker in the 1960s. Yeah, he was the man.
To find out who that was, and more about the Chiefs players who have worn #55, take a jump with me....
LB Louis Cooper (1985-90)
Cooper was a part-time starter at linebacker for the Chiefs in the late 1980s. He started 23 games in his six seasons in KC, nabbing 7.5 sacks and one pick. He also forced a couple of fumbles, most notably against Dave Krieg and Seattle.
C Tom Dimmick (1960)
There isn't much out there on Dimmick except to say he played 13 games for the Dallas Texans in 1960. He did not play pro football after that.
LB Troy Dumas (1995-97)
Currently a coach at Southeast Missouri State University, Dumas is a former All-American linebacker out of Nebraska. In two seasons with KC, Dumas played in 13 games, starting none of them. He became more and more injury prone in his final season in KC, forcing the Chiefs to let him go.
LB Ron George (1998-00)
A fifth round pick by the Falcons in 1993, George quietly spent his final two NFL seasons in Kansas City. He didn't start any games and had 15 total tackles for the Chiefs.
C/LB E.J. Holub (1961-70)
And we have our winner for the day.
Like many of the original Texans/Chiefs, E.J. Holub hailed from the Lone Star State. He left Texas Tech for the Texans in 1961 and became one of the greatest Kansas City Chiefs of all time. He exemplified the old school toughness of his day, especially through his nine knee surgeries:
Even after nine knee surgeries, Holub was a leader, a "holler guy", and he was a team player, enduring pain to lead his team. He would spend hours in the training room, watching blood and liquid drain from his knee, then go out to the field and perform as though he was suffering from no physical problem.
Oh, and besides being tough, he was an awesome football player:
He was an American Football League All-Star in 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965 and 1966 and was the only player to start two Super Bowls at two different positions. He started Super Bowl I at linebacker, then started Super Bowl IV at center and was a driving force in helping the Chiefs defeat the Minnesota Vikings 23-7.
Holub was inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 1976. Please kindly go vote for him now.
LB Dave Klug (1981-83)
Klug was a fourth round pick out of Concordia College and didn't do much with his time in KC. He played three seasons, his only three NFL seasons, and started only one game.
LB Bill Peterson (1975)
Peterson played 14 games, mainly on special teams, in his one season with the Chiefs. He ended up spending the vast majority of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals.
LB Ervin Randle (1991-92)
Ervin, the older brother of Hall of Fame rusher John Randle, was mainly a Buccaneer in his NFL career but spent his last two seasons with the Chiefs. He didn't rack up many stats and now sells cars in Dallas.
LB Dave Rozumek (1976-79)
Rozumek played four seasons for the Chiefs and starated every game in the '78 campaign. He never had big numbers and only played for KC in his career.
LB Rich Scanlon (2004-06)
Scanlon was an undrafted free agent in 2004 and never started a game for KC. He was mainly a reserve/special teams player.
LB Frank Stams (1995)
Stams played in one game in his one season with KC. He registered no stats.
LB/DE Gary Stills (1999-05)
Besides famously allowing Dante Hall to be tackled on his would-be record setting kick return, Stills was known for being a consistent performer for KC. He was a third round pick in 1999. Only a starter for one game in KC, Stills played in 88 games for the Chiefs.
LB Pat Thomas (2007-08)
Thomas' big season in KC was 2008, when he started nine games. He didn't register any big stats and now plays in the UFL.
Read more about who AP has voted the greatest Chiefs: #1 - QB Warren Moon #2 - P Dustin Colquitt #3 - K Jan Stenerud #4 - P Nick Murphy #5 - P Louie Aguiar #6 - RB Warren McVea #7 - QB Ron Jaworski #8 - K Nick Lowery #9 - QB Bill Kenney #10 - QB Trent Green #11 - QB Elvis Grbac #12 - QB Rich Gannon #13 - QB Steve Bono #14 - RB Ed Podolak #16 - QB Len Dawson #17 - QB Steve Deberg #18 - CB Emmitt Thomas #19 - QB Joe Montana #20 - S Deron Cherry #21 - S Jerome Woods #22 - DB Willie Mitchell #23 - RB Barry Word #24 - CB Jayice Pearson #25 - S Greg Wesley #26 - S Gary Barbaro #27 - RB Larry Johnson #28 - RB Abner Haynes #29 - CB Albert Lewis #30 - RB Donnell Bennett #31 - RB Priest Holmes #32 - RB Marcus Allen #33 - RB Stone Johnson #34 - CB Dale Carter #35 - RB Christian Okoye #36 - RB Mack Lee Hill #37 - RB Joe Delaney #38 - RB Kimble Anders #39 - RB Bam Morris #40 - CB James Hasty #41 - S Reggie Tongue #42 - S/HB Johnny Robinson #43 - FB Omar Easy #44 - P Jerrel Wilson #45 - RB Robert Holmes #46 - DB Jim Kearney #47 - S Jon McGraw #48 - RB Todd McNair #49 - FB Tony Richardson #50 - LB Kawika Mitchell #51 - LB Jim Lynch #52 - LB Tracy Rogers #53 - LB Marvcus Patton #54 - G Brian Waters