Ed Budde; What Caused Super Bowl IV Winner Of Chief To Pass Away?
Ed Budde, who played on the offensive line for the Kansas City Chiefs for 14 years and was a key player in the team’s 1970 Super Bowl triumph against Minnesota, passed away on Tuesday. At eighty-three years old.
Through a statement released by the Chiefs, the family declared his passing. There was no stated cause of death.
In Highland Park, Michigan, on November 2, 1940, Budde was born. Prior to attending Michigan State, where he was an All-American in 1962 under Hall of Fame coach Duffy Daugherty, he excelled at Detroit’s Denby High School.
Budde gained his reputation as a dependable and tough lineman while working as a professional. Drafted fourth overall by the Eagles in the 1963 NFL Draft and eighth overall by the Chiefs in the AFL Draft, he finally decided to play for the young squad led by Hank Stram in the years leading up to the union of the two professional leagues.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt stated,
“He was an important component of those early Chiefs teams that brought pro football to Kansas City.” “He played in all nine of his seasons without missing a game, and he deservedly won titles as an All-Star, Pro Bowler, and Super Bowl champion.”
Ed Budde led the Chiefs, in fact, a formidable squad that won AFL crowns in 1966 and 1969 before defeating the Vikings in Super Bowl IV. Before retiring after the 1976 season, he was selected as a member of the All-AFL Team, a five-time AFL All-Star, and a selection to two Pro Bowls following the league’s merger with the NFL.
The only father-son team selected in the first round by the same NFL team
Before getting picked by the Chiefs with the 11th overall choice in the 1980 NFL Draft, Brad Budde, the father of Budde, was an All-American offensive guard at Southern California. They are still the only father-son team selected in the first round by the same NFL team.
As the longstanding head of the NFL Alumni chapter in Kansas City, the older Budde stayed involved in the community even after his playing days were over. When wide receiver Rashee Rice of the Chiefs was selected by the team in the second round of the NFL Draft in April, he was accompanied by his kid on stage at Kansas City’s Union Station.
“He was a wonderful father to Brad, Tionne, and John, and he was well-loved in the Kansas City community. Sincere sympathies are sent to Carolyn and the Budde family from my family and the whole Chiefs organization.”
Clark Hunt
