At Super Bowl LIX, the Kansas City Chiefs are hoping to become the first team in NFL history to win three successive titles.
But even if they overcome the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans on February 9, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and co. will not be the first players ever to win a so-called “three-peat”.
The distinction of being the first – and as yet only – player to win three Super Bowls in a row belongs to Ken Norton Jr.
A second-round draft pick for the Dallas Cowboys in 1988, Norton Jr overcame an injury-plagued start to his career to become the defensive leader of the first dynastic NFL team of the 1990s.
The son of professional boxer Ken Norton – a former heavyweight champion and only the second fighter ever to defeat Muhammad Ali – the Cowboys linebacker would pay tribute to his father by shadowboxing to celebrate any crucial tackles or turnovers he secured on the gridiron.
In 1992, the defensive unit Norton Jr marshalled was the best in the NFL and he led the team with 122 tackles.
The Cowboys went on to thump the Buffalo Bills 52-17 at Super Bowl XXVII at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Dallas were back in the big one again a year later. And the Bills were their unfortunate foes once more.
The iconic team coached by Jimmy Johnson and headlined by quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Emmet Smith and wide receiver Michael Irvin won 30-13. And this time Norton Jr was among the scorers, scooping a fumble and running it into the end zone in the fourth quarter.
In 1994, the NFL introduced a salary cap. The Cowboys felt they could replace their standout defensive performers with cheaper rookies from the draft, rather than retaining them to lengthy and expensive contracts.
So Norton Jr departed as a free agent, landing with the San Francisco 49ers, with whom he remained until he retired in 2000.
And in his first year in Northern California, the former Cowboy was again a champion.
He finished the regular season with 86 tackles and one interception to earn the first All-Pro honours of his career, before the Niners beat the San Diego Chargers 49-26 in Super Bowl XXIX, giving Norton Jr. an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl victory.
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One of sport's greatest occasions is with us, Super Bowl LIX, as Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles go at it once again, in a repeat of the 2023 NFL showpiece.
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