Cocaine, murder, prostitution ... the biggest scandals in Super Bowl history

Sunday's Super Bowl will bring out the best in certain players: heroic courage, unbridled passion, fearless leadership, and other hackneyed descriptors best left to the booming baritone of the legendary NFL Films narrator, John Facenda. But the biggest day in American consumerism sports could very likely bring out some other things, too, like cocaine possession, the soliciting of prostitution, or murder. Which, you have to admit, is much more interesting. That's why we are pleased to present Radar's Super Bowl Guide I. Because who doesn't love Roman numerals? To kick things off (we couldn't resist), please join us as we look back at a double homicide, a gentlemanly request for a $40 blow job, Dan Quayle, and IV more of the worst plays ever seen in our nation's great championship football game.

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Super Bowl IV

Year: 1970

Location: New Orleans, Louisiana


The Play: Five days before the Chiefs are to face the Vikings, NBC reports that the FBI is investigating possible illicit activities involving Kansas City's star quarterback Len Dawson, Joe Namath, three other NFL quarterbacks, and a shady Motor City gambler with the alliterative and decidedly bad-ass sounding name of Donald "Dice" Dawson. The feds had been tipped off to phone calls Dice Dawson made to Len, asking after the condition of his knee and about the recent death of his dad. Hmmm—why would a notorious professional gambler be interested in such things? Must just be a big old teddy bear at heart.

Anyway, the investigation was gathering steam and threatening to derail the Chief's title dreams when a guy who famously knew a thing or two about the law and breaking it intervened. President Nixon himself reassured Kansas City coach Hank Stram before the game: "I know there is nothing to the rumors," Tricky Dick told Stram in a phone conversation, according to the St. Petersburg Times. And just like that—poof!—the FBI investigation quietly ended. "Nixon killed the whole investigation," Bill Matney, the NBC reporter who broke the story, told the paper. "I'm not saying that Dawson did anything wrong. All I'm saying is that Nixon's phone calls put the investigation on ice."

Post-game analysis: Dawson and the Chiefs then put the Vikings on ice, too. Chiefs fans could breathe easy, knowing this was not going to become football's version of the 1919 Black Sox scandal, in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox conspired with gamblers to intentionally lose the World Series. As the smoke settled, it remained unclear if the feds were partly basing their hunch on the fact that Len Dawson and Donald "Dice" Dawson share a last name. If Len Dawson was distracted by recent events during the game, it didn't seem to matter: he completed 12 of 17 passes for 142 yards, with one touchdown and one interception, which in those days was good enough to earn the MVP award. It should be noted that neither Len Dawson nor Donald "Dice" Dawson has ever been linked to Richard Dawson, the former host of Family Feud.