Even '72 Dolphins can't defeat Father Time
- Tom Rife: Livin' the Team
- December 10, 2020
- 2304
Imagine that. It took the team with only half a name to bolster the reputation of the undefeated Miami Dolphins and their renowned “No-Name Defense” of 1972.
That’s what transpired this past Monday when the Washington Football Team undressed Pittsburgh 23-17, exposing the Steelers and trashing their bid to become only the second team in NFL history to record an undefeated season.
Suddenly, Washington’s already-sprawling fan base acquired countless new friends in South Florida, where folks are incredibly protective of Miami’s perfect-season status.
Prior to Monday’s kickoff, Pittsburgh was the lone remaining team without a loss in this unorthodox 2020 campaign. But the Steelers’ moribund running game and nonphysical defense led to their undoing. The defeat touched off the now-traditional cigar smoking and champagne popping by the still-living members of the Miami juggernaut that left nothing in doubt 48 years ago.
“Tonight, I’m a Washington fan,” boasted Larry Csonka, Miami’s beloved former backfield bull, the Hall of Famer puffing away on his obligatory stogie.
Regrettably, for all the bravado and bluster attached to Miami’s history-making season and the Dolphins’ prolonged heyday, there also is a poignant downside that is becoming more and more fragile.
In the brutal, punishing game of football, a guy can call a time-out or step out of bounds to stop the clock. Life, however, is different. And that is why Zonk wasn’t able to celebrate Monday with backfield buddy Jim Kiick.
Six weeks after the death of iconic head coach Don Shula, Kiick, a key figure in the Dolphins' three-headed running attack that also featured speed merchant Mercury Morris, died on June 20, 2020.
The reality is that the last two years have been heartbreaking for Dolphins legends. Last month hard-hitting safety Jake Scott became the fifth starter on the 17-0 team to die in the two-year span of 2019 and 2020. (Shula’s death occurred on May 4.)
Hall of Famers Jim Langer (center) and Nick Buoniconti (middle linebacker) passed in 2019, as did guard Bob Kuechenberg, the only Dolphin to have started in four Super Bowls. Kooch was a six-time Pro Bowl pick.
For NFL historians and Dol-fans alike, the names remain household. We’re forced to accept the numbers are dwindling.
Defensive end Bill Stanfill (2016) carved his special niche in Miami lore and the ’72 season. Stanfill played for the Dolphins from 1969-76, and he is third on the team’s all-time leading sack list with 67 1/2.
In May 2015 the death of diminutive kicker Garo Yepremian at age 70 was sad news throughout the Sunshine State. A cancer victim, he helped Miami win consecutive NFL championships but is best remembered for a Super Bowl VII blooper in 1973. He vowed never to attempt another pass.
No one ever epitomized the role of backup quarterback more than Earl Morrall. With his trademark flat-top haircut, Morrall died on April 25, 2014, in Naples, Florida at age 79. Morrall took over for starting injured quarterback Bob Griese and started 11 games during their perfect season run, but Griese started in the team's Super Bowl VII 14-7 win over Washington. In retirement, Morrall was often seen attending high school sporting events at Naples High, showing his enthusiastic support for daughter, Meghan.
The list of deceased ’72 Dolphins goes on and on: linebacker Jesse Powell (2012), tight end Jim “Mad Dog” Mandich (2011), running back Charlie Leigh (2006), LB Bob Matheson (1994), tackle Wayne Moore (1989).
The architect of the franchise was Joe Robbie, the intense team owner whose team went from an expansion franchise to two-time Super Bowl champions. He died in 1990 at age 73.
In addition to Shula, several members of the ’72 coach staff have passed on: Bill Arnsparger (2015), Michael Maurice "Mo" Scarry (2012), Monte Clark (2009), Carl Taseff (2005).
Of course, also gone from that golden age of pro football is the fabled Orange Bowl Stadium itself. Residents near the facility made a killing on Sundays, charging fans to park on cramped, fenced-in lawns in Little Havana.
Marlins Park, built for baseball, now occupies that chunk of real estate.
There will be no undefeated seasons in that building.