Tag: 1972

Former Dolphins LB Mike ‘Captain Crunch’ Kolen dies at age 76

Mike Kolen, a key member of the Dolphins’ famed “No Name Defense,” died Wednesday at the age of 76.

Former Miami Dolphins linebacker Mike “Captain Crunch” Kolen died Wednesday at age 76, his alma mater Auburn University announced.

Kolen was the Dolphins’ 12th round draft pick in the 1970 NFL draft and spent his entire eight-year career with the team. As a key member of Miami’s “No Name Defense,” Kolen was part of a Dolphins dynasty that went undefeated in the 1972 season and won back-to-back Super Bowls.

In 2016, Kolen published The Greatest Team: A Playbook for Champions, a novel about his journey in football and life. A year later, the former Dolphins linebacker revealed to the Miami Herald that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Kolen first earned his nickname “Captain Crunch” while at Auburn where he was a two-time All-SEC selection and one-time All-American. He was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1985 and Auburn has long given the “Mike Kolen Award” to its leading tackler at the end of the season.

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LOOK: Dolphins share throwback uniforms, patch for SNF

Everyone loves the jerseys.

With the Miami Dolphins taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night, Mike McDaniel’s team is recognizing the 50th anniversary of the undefeated 1972 team.

A number of former players will be present at the game with the team getting some shine during halftime. While NBC has said that they won’t carry the celebration live, they may show some highlights during the second half of action, and there will likely be plenty of video coming out from the Dolphins’ social media accounts.

During the game, Miami will wear their fan-favorite throwback jerseys with a patch honoring that perfect season. They shared an early look at the jerseys on social media this week.

Now, everybody’s next question will be when they’re going to switch back to these full-time.

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Dolphins to use Week 7 vs. Steelers to honor 1972 ‘perfect’ team

The matchup is a Sunday night showdown.

2022 will be the 50th anniversary of the most unique teams in the history of professional football – the lone undefeated Super Bowl Championship in NFL history, the 1972 “perfect” Miami Dolphins season.

The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson reported Monday that the nationally-televised Sunday night matchup on October 23 against the Pittsburgh Steelers during Week 7 will be time to honor the legendary team.

That’s a team that was in the middle of three straight Super Bowl runs that started with a loss against the Dallas Cowboys in 1971 but led to a pair of titles in 1972 and 1973.

Unfortunately on the same day that the 50th-anniversary celebration date news was announced, another member of the Perfect Team passed away, pioneer quarterback and wide receiver Marlin Briscoe.

Briscoe became the first black starting quarterback in professional American football in 1968 for the Denver Broncos, and then became a receiver and spent three years playing for Miami from 1972-74.

While Week 7 and Sunday Night Football in America will celebrate the many Miami legends that are sure to be in attendance, figuratively, and perhaps literally, raising glasses of champagne to toast and remember 1972, the team and the individuals.

Especially those who will be celebrated and honored posthumously, such as Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti, the legendary Jim “Mad Dog” Mandich and other popular Dolphins such as Jake Scott, Jim Kiick and Bob Kuechenberg to name a few. And, of course, Hard Rock Stadium will once again get an opportunity to honor the greatest to ever coach a group of football players, Don Shula.

While the legends will be out in spirit and on the sidelines against the Steelers on October 23, you can imagine a grand celebration for a feat that’s so great that it simply has never been replicated.

While there were a few scares within these 50 years of another franchise meeting Miami on the mountain of football immortality, it was a Dolphin himself who made sure it didn’t happen in 1985. Dan Marino led the Dolphins against a 12-0 Bears juggernaut, well on their way to a Super Bowl win.

Entering December with an unblemished record, the Bears’ defense was mastered by Marino, as the Dolphins beat Chicago 38-24. Shula brought out his players-of-perfect-past, as Larry Csonka, Mercury Morris and company roamed the sidelines in hopes of retaining the sole place in “Perfectville.”

Most recently, the 2007 New England Patriots ran the regular season gamut perfectly to 16-0. However, a miraculous throw and catch by New York Giants Eli Manning and David Tyree in Super Bowl XLII ended perfection for the Pats.

It will be an amazing atmosphere at Hard Rock Stadium for the nationally televised Sunday Night Football in America contest on NBC. With the number of former Dolphins supporting a current group of players, as well as a few former players and coaches on the opposite side of the field, the storylines are rife with intrigue.

Not only will the Dolphins honor their landmark achievement’s 50th anniversary, but they will also go against their former head coach Brian Flores, working as an assistant coach for the Steelers’ defense, as well as a former first-round pick, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.

However, regardless of how appealing that sidenote is to a primetime game, Dolphins fans and football historians will no doubt be treated to a proper honoring, of an accomplishment that’s treasured by fans young and old.

Miami will look to make Week 7 a perfect Sunday night, with a toast and, hopefully, cap off with a win.

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Flashback Friday: Dolphins 1972 perfect team celebrates 50th anniversary

It’s a special anniversary for a perfect team.

On this first Friday of April, following a momentous month of March in Miami, it’s a perfect time to reflect on the Dolphins’ banner accomplishment – the 1972 undefeated season.

It was 50 years ago that head coach Don Shula and his Dolphins steamrolled through the NFL to go 17-0, capping the only perfect season in NFL history, with a 14-7 Super Bowl victory over the Washington Redskins.

A team loaded with Hall of Fame players such as Bob Griese, Larry Csonka, Paul Warfield, Jim Lager, Larry Little and Nick Buoniconti helped lead the Dolphins to domination. They were the NFL’s top-ranked offense and defense in 1927, shutting out their opponents three times during that season.

In 17 games, including the postseason, Miami’s perfect defense only gave up 20 or more points on three occasions. When the season hit mid-October, the Dolphins’ defense hit its stride. From Week 6 through Week 19, Miami didn’t allow over 100 passing yards. They created 46 turnovers in the regular season, and in the playoffs, the Dolphins’ defensive unit caused 10 turnovers, including three in the Super Bowl.

The Dolphins had the offensive magic of the perfect backfield led by Ohio’s own Csonka. Mercury Morris was the charismatic running back to play alongside Csonka. The pair both exceeded 1,000 yards in the regular season, which was just 14 games. Jim Kiick added a complimentary punch to Shula’s rushing attack, as the trio combined for 2,638 yards and 23 touchdowns on the ground.

As for the passing attack, Griese started the season off with five straight wins before an injury led to veteran quarterback Earl Morrall taking the reins, and he did so, well, perfectly.

Morrall, in his 17th professional season, rattled off a 9-0 record to help Miami not lose a step in their quest to return to the Super Bowl. The 1971 team lost to the Dallas Cowboys 24-3. Making it back in 1973 ade in two Super Bowls in a row for Shula and the Dolphins, the franchise’s only victory in the big game. While he led Miami two another two appearances in the 1980s, they weren’t able to capture another Lombardi Trophy.

The 1972 Dolphins have been a timeless tribute and a major source of pride for the organization and their legions of loyal fans and supporters. Whether it’s rewatching highlights of a graceful Warfield corralling a perfect pass from Griese in the championship game, seeing Csonka run through a would-be-tackler, or the simple joy of a cork-popping soundbite following the last fallen unbeaten in today’s game, that team continues to provide this community with palpable pride.

In a season of newfound hope in South Florida, coinciding with this special anniversary of perfection, perhaps there’s magic in the air in Miami Gardens, as the ghosts of 1972 will, without a doubt, be all over the sidelines in 2022, in person and in spirit.

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1972 Dolphins ranked as second-best team of Super Bowl era by CBS

1972 Dolphins ranked as second-best team of Super Bowl era by CBS

The Miami Dolphins’ historic accolades may not boast the highest number of Lombardi Trophies when compared to the rest of the league, but the team does certainly have an impressive historic resume and offers a number of impressive records to hang their hat on nonetheless. Of all the NFL teams and all the Super Bowl champions, only the 1972 Miami Dolphins can claim an undefeated season from start to finish.

And because of that, any debate for the best team in the history of the game must include the 1972 Dolphins. The conversation always makes for a great offseason topic and with the dog days of summer here, the debate has once again come to the surface. This time the debate comes from CBS Sports, who ultimately went on to rank the 1972 Dolphins as the second-best team in NFL history:

“Nearly 50 years later, the ’72 Dolphins remain the NFL’s only perfect team. They featured a dominant “No Name” defense (led by Nick Buoniconti, Manny Fernandez and Super Bowl MVP Jake Scott) that allowed 17 points or less 14 times. Miami’s offense boasted the first pair of teammates to each run for over 1,000 yards in a season in Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris. When the Dolphins did throw, Miami fans were treated to the balletic play of Hall of Fame receiver Paul Warfield. 

Hungry to avenge their 24-3 loss to the Cowboys in Super Bowl VI, Don Shula’s team did not lose a single game en route to defeating the Browns and Steelers (on the road, no less) in the playoffs before out-playing Washington in Super Bowl VII. Miami would have recorded the only shutout in Super Bowl history if not for one of the most iconic blunders in NFL history. The Dolphins can continue to take pride in being the NFL’s only unblemished team, but the fact that they faced just one team (an 8-6 Chiefs team) that finished with a winning record during the regular-season left them one spot off the top of this list.” — Bryan DeArdo, CBS Sports

Miami’s best squad finished behind the 1978 Steelers for the title of greatest team in NFL history. That Pittsburgh team boasted a slew of future Hall of Famers and finished their season with a 17-2 record, defeating the Dallas Cowboys 35-31 in Super Bowl XIII that season. That Pittsburgh team is certainly one of the greats, but that ‘2’ in the loss column certainly doesn’t have as much shine as a 1972 ‘0’.

1972 Dolphins on the fringe of yet another year alone in perfection

1972 Dolphins on the fringe of yet another year alone in perfection

The NFL entered Week 7 action with three undefeated teams left in the standings: the Seattle Seahawks, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Tennessee Titans. Leaving the weekend, we’re down to one. Which means that only the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were victorious in a clash of undefeated teams with Tennessee on Sunday despite some late drama, remain as a threat in 2020 to the 1972 Miami Dolphins’ legacy as the only undefeated Super Bowl champions in NFL history.

And Pittsburgh is about to see business pick up. Because Pittsburgh next week will travel to Baltimore to face the 5-1 Ravens — who were off last week and will be hosting the Steelers coming off of their bye.

It’s an admirable place to be: the last undefeated team of any season. And it is the first time since the 1970s that Pittsburgh sits at 6-0 or better; so good for them. But the Steelers have two games remaining against the Ravens, plus visits to Buffalo (5-2) and Cleveland (5-2) yet this season; so they’d have to create some magic to push the 1972 Dolphins to the brink.

Hopefully we won’t have to wait too much longer for the door to slam shut on any potential drama and the Ravens can seal the ’72 Dolphins’ legacy for yet another year by upending Pittsburgh. After all, the Steelers nearly blew a massive lead against Tennessee on Sunday and very much look ripe for the taking. The law of averages says that the regression is on the way. Pittsburgh’s wins thus far have included quality performances. But they also include three wins over lowly teams like the New York Giants (1-6), the Denver Broncos (2-4) and the Houston Texans (1-6) to start the season.

You have to be real special to defeat the law of averages all season long — like, 1972 Miami Dolphins kind of special. There’s no reason to think Pittsburgh is ready to create that kind of magic. So keep the champagne on ice and close by, Miami. Next week may be the week.

Dolphins set to honor 1972 undefeated squad on Sunday versus Bengals

Sunday afternoon will be the last time the 2019 Miami Dolphins take the field this season. The contest against the Cincinnati Bengals is about as far removed from the 1972 Dolphins as this organization has ever been – with the exception being 2008 …

Sunday afternoon will be the last time the 2019 Miami Dolphins take the field this season. The contest against the Cincinnati Bengals is about as far removed from the 1972 Dolphins as this organization has ever been — with the exception being 2008 when the winless Dolphins stole an overtime win over the Baltimore Ravens to avoid going 0-16. These Dolphins have no postseason to prep for, no fearsome defense, no physical offense and no star power.

They are, in fact, the anti-thesis of the 1972 undefeated Dolphins. But those ’72 Dolphins were named as the greatest team in NFL history by the league earlier this season and will be in the house on Sunday, just like the 2019 bunch.

At halftime of Sunday’s game against the Bengals, the organization is planning to honor the 1972 Miami Dolphins for their accomplishments and for being named the NFL’s greatest team after 100 seasons of play. Those alumni in attendance will be honored with a golden football at half time according to the release from the Dolphins’ organization.

The 1972 Dolphins, who were led by Hall of Fame head coach Don Shula, are the only NFL team to finish a season undefeated as Super Bowl champions. It’s a fact that those tied to the season will always relish and never let you forget.

“It’s always special to be around the guys who came together to accomplish what no other team in the 100-year history of the NFL has ever done – the perfect season,” said Shula via the team’s announcement.

“It’s only fitting as the League closes out this milestone season that the 1972 Dolphins are officially recognized with an honor that we always knew was true – that they are the greatest team in NFL history.”

Perhaps some of the ’72 Dolphins’ winning ways will rub off on the 2019 team in their final home game of the season. We’ll find out in a few days.

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1972 Dolphins named the greatest team in NFL history

How do you beat perfection? You don’t. Which is why the 1972 Dolphins have been named the best team in NFL history.

“Perfection is perfection. Close, get a cigar. There’s only one team that drinks the champagne.”

Larry Csonka’s words exude pride, and why shouldn’t they. As the NFL’s only undefeated Super Bowl champions, the 1972 Miami Dolphins are in a league of their own — and the NFL officially agrees. To celebrate the 100th year of NFL football, the league has been doing a bunch of top 100 series to commemorate the rich history of a century of the game. Yesterday was the culmination of the league’s series honoring the 100 best individual teams in NFL history.

The 1972 Miami Dolphins were ranked as the best team in NFL history.

The videos of Lombardi trophy glory and playoff wins are a far cry from the Miami Dolphins fans of younger generations have come to know — but regardless of if one were alive to see the perfect season or only has read the news clippings and watched the highlights, Dolphins fans have a unique source of pride that ultimately no other team does: perfection. And as Larry Csonka points out during the video honoring the 1972 Dolphins, there have been no shortage of great teams to pass through the NFL over the years — they’ve all just lost a football game along the way.

Seeing a young coach embolden young talent the way we’ve seen Brian Flores do in recent weeks is a fitting tribute to the rich history of the Dolphins at the end of the NFL’s 100th season. Once upon a time, before Don Shula, the Dolphins were a miserable expansion franchise who lacked direction. Shula came in, coached and developed the team and the rest is history. Hopefully Flores is the man to return the Dolphins to that level of glory — there’s inspiration all around him in South Florida.

Because no one is forgetting the greatest team in NFL history.

1972 Dolphins will remain as only undefeated Super Bowl champions

The 1972 Miami Dolphins’ record will remain intact for another year, as the San Francisco 49ers fell last night to earn their first loss.

Here’s to perfection! The 1972 Miami Dolphins will see their status as the NFL’s only undefeated Super Bowl Champions live on for yet another season. Miami’s long standing record has been tested to varying degrees over the years, but thankfully 2019 will be a fairly uneventful season as far as undefeated threats go. The NFL’s final undefeated team, the San Francisco 49ers, fell last night in overtime on Monday Night Football to fall to 8-1 on the season, marking the end of an impressive run to start the season after finished the last two seasons under coach Kyle Shanahan a combined 10-22.

San Francisco’s comeback attempt at home against Seattle fell short, as kicker Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard attempt in overtime sailed wide and the Seahawks went on to kick a game winner of their own from 42-yards at the end of the overtime period.

For the ’72 Dolphins, life is good. They’ve seen the New England Patriots finish the season 16-0 before losing in miraculous fashion in the Super Bowl to the New York Giants to preserve the record. And the 1985 Bears were turned away from perfection thanks to a late season loss to Dan Marino and the Dolphins in primetime as well.

Without a serious contender to threaten the undefeated record, long-time Miami Dolphins fans (and player/coaching alumni) can kick their feet up and enjoy what remains of the 2019 season — perhaps even with a few more Dolphins victories along the way.

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