The Miami Dolphins family has endured another loss in 2020. A little over a month after the passing of Dolphins legend and all-time great coach Don Shula, one of Shula’s former players, running back Jim Kiick, passed away at the age of 73 after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
During the golden era of Miami Dolphins football in the early 1970s, Kiick served as one third of Miami’s signature offensive backfield with Hall of Fame fullback Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris. En route to the NFL’s only perfect season of the Super Bowl era in 1972, Kiick, Csonka and Morris combined to rush for over 2,600 yards in 14 games. Wearing you out up front was exactly how the Dolphins planned to claim victory; and that’s exactly what they did.
Kiick currently sits 5th on the Miami Dolphins all-time rushing leaders list with 3,644 rushing yards. He trails only Larry Csonka, Ricky Williams, Ronnie Brown and Mercury Morris.
Kiick tenure in Miami ran from 1968 to 1974 and wasn’t alway smooth sailing — his tightly knit friendship with Larry Csonka at times took center stage. His friendship with Csonka was so close that the duo, along with WR Paul Warfield, left Miami to play for the Memphis Southmen of the World Football League in 1975. The league failed to make it through its first season before folding.
Kiick’s role on the Dolphins was much more prominent before the Super Bowl championship seasons of 1972 & 1973 — but ultimately Kiick logged 97 games for the Dolphins over 7 seasons and he scored four touchdowns in the 1972 playoffs to help the team run the gauntlet and win their first Super Bowl that season.
Life after football for Jim Kiick involved becoming a detective for Broward County — providing more positive contributions to the South FLorida community well after he bid farewell to the gridiron.