Frank Pitts

Frank H. Pitts (November 12, 1943 – January 16, 2026) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Southern Jaguars. He played professionally for 10 seasons with the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs (1965–1969) and then the NFL's Chiefs, Cleveland Browns (1971–1973) and Oakland Raiders (1974).

Kansas City Chiefs Pitts was selected by the Chiefs in the fourth round of the 1965 AFL draft. He had speed and desire, but throughout the wide receiver's first three seasons in Kansas City, he acquired a "bad hands" label. However, he worked through the problem, and when starting wide receiver Otis Taylor was injured in 1968, Pitts stepped in. He was a starter the next three seasons, and his end around reverse runs became a big part of the Chiefs' offense.

Super Bowl IV Hank Stram told the play to Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson. "Listen, let's have a ... 9-0-8, 51 G-O reverse." As Dawson ran back to the huddle, Stram told everyone on the sidelines, "Here comes the reverse from Tight I, it could be wide open." Dawson took the snap, faked to Wendell Hayes on the left side of the line, then turned the ball to a sprinting Frank Pitts, who turned the corner and jetted down the right sideline for 20 yards. It was one of the biggest plays of the Chiefs' Super Bowl IV win over the Minnesota Vikings, and it set up Jan Stenerud's third field goal of the game.

Pitts ran the reverse again in the third quarter and picked up a critical first down. Otis Taylor scored on the next play.

In 74 games for Kansas City, Pitts caught 78 passes for 11 touchdowns and ran the ball 24 times for 238 yards and one touchdown.

Cleveland and Oakland The Chiefs traded Pitts to the Cleveland Browns before the start of the 1971 season, where he became one of their starting wide receivers. He finished his career with the Oakland Raiders.

Personal life and death Pitts resided in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was married to Diane Guidry Pitts and they had three children. Pitts died on January 16, 2026, at the age of 82.

His grandson, Brandon Bolden, played running back collegiately at Ole Miss and in the NFL for the New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, and Las Vegas Raiders.

NFL/AFL career statistics Legend Won the Super Bowl Won the AFL championship Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Games Receiving GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 1965 KAN 7 0 1 11 11.0 11 0 1966 KAN 14 0 1 11 11.0 11 0 1967 KAN 14 2 4 131 32.8 59 1 1968 KAN 13 10 30 655 21.8 90 6 1969 KAN 14 14 31 470 15.2 51 2 1970 KAN 12 10 11 172 15.6 54 2 1971 CLE 13 6 27 487 18.0 53 4 1972 CLE 14 13 36 620 17.2 80 8 1973 CLE 13 12 31 317 10.2 26 4 1974 OAK 13 0 3 23 7.7 11 0 127 67 175 2,897 16.6 90 27

Playoffs Year Team Games Receiving GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 1966 KAN 2 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1968 KAN 1 1 5 56 11.2 31 0 1969 KAN 3 3 5 68 13.6 41 0 1971 CLE 1 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 1972 CLE 1 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 1974 OAK 2 0 1 5 5.0 5 0 10 6 11 129 11.7 41 0