The Miami Dolphins
are a professional American football team based in the Miami,
Florida Metropolitan Area. They play home games at Dolphin Stadium,
in the suburb of Miami Gardens. They are headquartered at the
Miami Dolphins Training Facility in Davie, Florida. The Miami
Dolphins belong to the Eastern Division of the American Football
Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The Miami
Dolphins were founded by Joseph Robbie, began play in the American
Football League as an expansion team in 1966, and joined the
NFL as part of the AFL-NFL Merger. The Miami Dolphins are the
oldest major-league professional sports franchise in the state
of Florida.
The team made its first Super Bowl appearance following the 1971
season in Super Bowl VI, but lost to the Dallas Cowboys. In 1972,
The Miami Dolphins completed the NFL's first perfect season culminating
in a Super Bowl win, winning all 14 regular season games, two
playoff games and Super Bowl VII. To date, they are the only
team to have done so. The 1972 Dolphins held the fourth perfect
regular season in NFL history. The team also won Super Bowl VIII,
becoming the first team to appear in three consecutive Super
Bowls, and the second team (first AFL/AFC team) to win back-to-back
championships. Miami also appeared in Super Bowl XVII and Super
Bowl XIX, losing both games.
For most of their history, The Miami Dolphins were coached by
Don Shula, the most successful head coach in professional football
history. His Dolphins teams posted losing records in only two
of his 26 seasons with the club. Six future Hall of Fame members
played for Miami during the 1970s, including running back Larry
Csonka and quarterback Bob Griese. During the 1980s and 1990s
quarterback Dan Marino became the most prolific passer in NFL
history, breaking numerous league passing records. He led The
Miami Dolphins to numerous playoff appearances and Super Bowl
XIX.
Miami joined the American Football League (AFL) when an expansion
team franchise was awarded to lawyer Joseph Robbie and actor
Danny Thomas in 1965 for $7.5 dollars , although Thomas would
eventually sell his stake in the team to Robbie.[1] A contest
was held in 1965 to find the name of the new Miami franchise
for the American Football League. 19,843 entries were submitted
with over a thousand different names. A dozen finalists were
screened through by a seven-member committee made up of the local
media, names considered included the Mariners, Marauders, Mustangs,
Missiles, Moons, Sharks, and Suns. The winning name, "Dolphins,"
was submitted by 622 entrants. Mrs. Robert Swanson of West Miami
won lifetime passes to Dolphin games when her nickname entry
successfully predicted the winner and score of the 1965 football
game between Notre Dame and the University of Miami, a scoreless
tie.
1970s
The Miami Dolphins had a combined 15392 record
in their first four seasons (under head coach George Wilson)
when Shula was hired as head coach. Shula was a former Paul Brown
disciple who had been lured from the Baltimore Colts after first
losing Super Bowl III two seasons earlier to the AFL's New York
Jets and finishing 851 the following season. The Colts
charged The Miami Dolphins with tampering in their hiring of
Shula, costing them their first round draft pick in 1970. Shula
introduced himself to the Miami press by saying that he didn't
have any magic formulas and that the only way he knew to make
his teams successful was through hard work. Shula's early training
camps with The Miami Dolphins, with four workouts a day, would
soon be the stuff of sweltering, painful legend. But Shula's
hard work paid immediate dividends, as Miami improved to a 104
record and their first-ever playoff appearance, losing 2114
at Oakland.
The Miami Dolphins were successful in the early 1970s, becoming
the first team to advance to the Super Bowl for three consecutive
seasons. They captured the AFC championship in 1971 behind quarterback
Bob Griese, running backs Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick, and wide
receiver Paul Warfield. The AFC Divisional Playoff Game, in which
The Miami Dolphins defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, was the longest
contest in NFL history (82 minutes 40 seconds). In Super Bowl
VI, however, Miami lost to the Dallas Cowboys 243.
In 1972 The Miami Dolphins completed the NFL's only perfect season,
winning 14 regular season games,two playoff games and Super Bowl
VII, defeating the Washington Redskins 14-7. QB Griese fell victim
to a broken leg and dislocated ankle in Week 5 versus the San
Diego Chargers and was replaced by veteran Earl Morrall for the
rest of the regular season, but returned to the field as a substitute
during the AFC Championship game versus the Pittsburgh Steelers
and then started in Super Bowl VII. The Miami Dolphins set the
NFL single-season rushing record, and running backs Csonka and
Mercury Morris became the first teammates to each rush for 1,000
yards in a season. The offensive line included future Hall of
Fame members Jim Langer and Larry Little and Pro Bowler Bob Kuechenberg.
The 1972 Dolphins defensive unit, called the No-Name Defense
because Miami's impressive offense received much more publicity,
was the league's best that year. It was led by linebacker Nick
Buoniconti, end Bill Stanfill, tackle Manny Fernandez and safeties
Dick Anderson and Jake Scott.
Before the 1972 Dolphins, only the Chicago Bears, in 1934[2]
and 1942[3], had finished an NFL regular season with no losses
or ties. The 1934 team lost the NFL Championship Game that year
to the New York Football Giants, and the 1942 team lost the Championship
to the Redskins. The Cleveland Browns were undefeated in the
1948 All-America Football Conference season.
The Miami Dolphins finished 122 after the 1973 regular season
and repeated as NFL Champions, beating the Minnesota Vikings
247 in Super Bowl VIII at Rice Stadium in Houston. Miami
reached the playoffs again in 1974 but lost in the first round
to the Oakland Raiders, in what has entered NFL lore as the "Sea
of Hands" game, considered one of the greatest games ever
played. Following the 1974 season, The Miami Dolphins lost Csonka,
Kiick, and Warfield to the World Football League.
Miami rebounded from a 68 record in 1976 by winning ten
or more games in four of the next five seasons. Shula built a
solid defense around a new set of stars, including linebacker
A.J. Duhe and linemen Bob Baumhower and Doug Betters. The Miami
Dolphins went 104 again in 1977, but again lost the division
title (and playoff spot) to the Colts. They made the playoffs
as a wild card in 1978, but lost in the first round to the Houston
Oilers 17-9.
Csonka returned to The Miami Dolphins in time for the 1979 season.
After winning the division with a 106 record, The Miami
Dolphins lost the divisional playoff 3414 to the eventual
Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium. |