Kansas City Football lost one of its early stars, Abner Haynes, who passed away at the age of 86.

Haynes was with the Chiefs from their inception, dating back to 1960 when they were the Dallas Texans.  Winning the AFL Rookie of the Year, Haynes would also win the UPI and The Sporting News Player of the Year off of his league-leading 875 Rushing Yards and 9 TDs.  A dual-threat Halfback, Haynes led the AFL in Rushing Touchdowns the next two seasons and was a vital part of the team’s AFL Championship in 1962.

With the Texans/Chiefs, Haynes rushed for 3,814 Yards and caught 199 passes for 2,739 Yards with 56 Touchdowns from scrimmage.  The man who was the franchise’s first superstar was inducted to their Hall of Honor in 1991.

We at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to Abner Haynes's fans, friends, and family.

Playing college ball at the University of North Texas, Abner Haynes chose to stay in his home state and signed with the Dallas Texans of the AFL rather than the Pittsburgh Steelers, who selected him in the 5^th Round in 1960.  Haynes was the first breakout star of the new league, winning their inaugural Rushing Title while being named the AP and UPI MVP.  Haynes, who would also lead the league in Rushing Touchdowns, would do so again in the next two seasons and would accrue over 1,700 All-Purpose Yards in all of his first three seasons, the last of which was an AFL Championship.

Haynes was never that dominant again, but he would have two more 1,400-yard seasons in All-Purpose Yards with the now-named Kansas City Chiefs.  He finished his career with the Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, and New York Jets, where he won a Super Bowl Ring.  Haynes would record 12,065 All-Purpose Yards over his eight-year career.

In terms of overall Games Played in Professional Football, Abner Haynes is not in the top 50 in regards to the Kansas City Chiefs but he certainly made the most of his time there.

After being drafted from North Texas, Haynes would become a dominant star in the American Football League and he was their Rookie of the Year winning the inaugural AFL rushing title.  Notably, the Running Back was not just the first AFL Rookie of the Year, he was the first AFL Player of the Year.  In the first three seasons of the American Football League’s existence, he would finish first in Rushing Touchdowns, and in his five seasons with the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs, he was easily one of their first star skill players.  He finished his Texans/Chiefs career with 6,553 Yards from Scrimmage with 56 Touchdowns.  In 1991, Haynes was elected into the Chiefs Hall of Fame.

Out of all the people on this list, we will say up front that there is zero chance that Jim Tyrer will get into the Football Hall of Fame.  Killing your wife and committing suicide thereafter is sadly what Tyrer is best known for, and this has led to him being ostracized by the NFL.

Had Tyrer not broken down in his personal life, his on-field accomplishments may have been enough to get him into Canton.  He was arguably the best offensive lineman in the AFL and was a multiple-time AFL All-Star.  He was voted to the all-time AFL team and was a big part of opening holes for Chiefs runners for years.  Tyrer may very well be the best lineman that Kansas City ever had.

Again, his off-field circumstances will prevent him from enshrinement, though with what we now know about CTE, we have to wonder if he might have had that.  He was a finalist once in his first year of eligibility, but was left off afterward until he made a shock return as a Senior Finalist in 2025.  He won’t be back.