Story Behind Iconic Picture of Len Dawson With a Fresca and Cigarette at Super Bowl I Explained

Now that’s one iconic photo.

Photos are much like time machines, they can really give us a glimpse into how things used to be. That’s the case of one picture of former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson. In the now iconic photo you can see Dawson Sitting on a chair at halftime of Super Bowl I, Dawson was taking a drag from his cigarette when the photo was shot. At the bottom of the frame was a glass bottle of Fresca.

This amazing picture was going viral this week following Len Dawson’s passing.

See the iconic pic below:

Iconic picture. RIP Len Dawson pic.twitter.com/eowTRMUNLI

— SideAction (@SideActionHQ) August 24, 2022

As far as the picture goes, it wasn’t seen for a quite a while after it was taken all the way back in 1967.

Via Yahoo:

“The iconic image remained unseen by the public for decades, as Life magazine declined to publish it following the AFL-NFL World Championship Game on Jan. 15, 1967. It only came to light when Life shared a photo slideshow from the first Super Bowl more than 45 years later.”

The picture literally wasn’t seen by the public until 2013.

As Ray told The Ringer, his deal with Stram for access in the locker room included a caveat: the images could be published only if the Chiefs defeated the Packers in Super Bowl I.

But the Chiefs lost 35-10, and the picture of Dawson stayed unseen until 2013. Now the image, including a colorized version, is widely shared on social media.

Just imagine nowadays seeing athletes smoking cigarettes during games, now that would be nuts.  Also hard to believe they allowed people to smoke in airplanes.

Oh how the times have changed.

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