text: Building a champion, 1964–1969 In 1964, the Chiefs began the year with a 2–1 mark before dropping three consecutive games as several of the team's best players, including E.J. Holub, Fred Arbanas and Johnny Robinson missed numerous games with injuries. Arbanas missed the final two games of the year after undergoing surgery to his left eye, in which he suffered almost total loss of vision. Running back Mack Lee Hill, who signed with the club as a rookie free agent and received a mere $300 signing bonus, entered the starting lineup and earned a spot in the AFL All-Star Game. The club rounded out the season with two consecutive wins to close the season at 7–7, finishing second in the AFL Western Conference behind the San Diego Chargers. An average of just 18,126 fans attended each home game at Municipal Stadium, prompting discussion at the AFL owners' meeting about the Chiefs future in Kansas City.
  For the 1965 season, the Chiefs were once again caught in the middle of the AFL and NFL's bidding wars for college talent. Kansas City made running back Gale Sayers from the University of Kansas their first-round draft pick, but Sayers eventually signed with the Bears for less money. Running back Mack Lee Hill suffered torn ligaments in his right knee in the second to last regular season game of the year at Buffalo on December 12. Following what was expected to be a routine surgery on December 14 at Menorah Hospital in Kansas City, Hill died from what was termed "a sudden and massive embolism." Hunt called Hill's death "the worst shock possible." Beginning the following year, the club annually bestowed the Mack Lee Hill Award on its top rookie or first-year performer in Hill's honor. Just days after Hill's unexpected death, the mourning Chiefs defeated the Denver Broncos on December 19 to finish the year with a 7–5–2 record, their first winning season in Kansas City.