One day in 1998, the Kansas City Chiefs received some unusual news, and it came from an unusual source: People magazine.



“We got a phone call referencing that Elvis Grbac was in line for Sexiest Athlete Alive,” said Bob Moore, the team’s longtime PR director. “To which a number of us were surprised.”



Grbac was tall and handsome and could throw a football better than all but a few people on Earth. He had a degree from Michigan and a contract that paid him millions of dollars to play quarterback for the Chiefs. But Sexiest Athlete Alive?



“We were as surprised as anyone else,” Moore said. “But I would suppose the most surprised person was Elvis.”



A red-faced Grbac met with reporters after the magazine hit newsstands and sheepishly said, “There’s guys in that locker room that are 10 times better-looking than I am.” He was, he admitted, “dumbfounded” by the whole thing. He...