By Dorri Partain

To the victor goes the bragging rights, and what better way to brag that your hometown team is No. 1 than with a novelty license plate for the front of your car?

On January 11, 1970, the Kansas City Chiefs football team beat the Minnesota Vikings 23-10, making them the champions of the 1969-1970 season. The Vikings were the champions of the National Football League (NFL) and the Chiefs were the champions of the American Football League (AFL) and faced off in what would be the final AFL-NFL World Championship Game prior to the merger of the two leagues later that year.

The season-ending competition first took place in 1966, when Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt promoted the idea of a “Super Bowl” between the two leagues; following the merger when the AFL teams became NFL teams the nickname became the official name for the final competition, dropping the use of “world champions” to proclaim a team’s victory.

This stamped metal novelty license plate follows the standard size set for state plates, measuring six by 12 inches. All plates manufactured in the United States, Canada, and Mexico were standardized in 1956 following an agreement through the Automobile Manufacturers Association, which includes standardized mounting holes.

At the time of production, Missouri state statutes only required one license plate, mounted at the rear of the vehicle. Novelty plates, much like a bumper sticker, could be mounted on the front of the vehicle with no consequences from law enforcement.

Despite the fact that the Kansas City Chiefs represented the AFL, this novelty plate was copyrighted by NFL Properties, Inc. and shows the NFL logo used from 1962 to 1983.