The 1966 Miami Dolphins season was the

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...

's inaugural year as an expansion franchise in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL). The Dolphins were the first of two expansion teams in the AFL, founded by

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

attorney-politician

Joe Robbie Joseph Robbie (July 7, 1916 – January 7, 1990) was an American attorney, politician, and the principal founder of the Miami Dolphins. Early life Robbie was raised in Sisseton, South Dakota, the second of five children. His father was a Lebanes ...

and actor-comedian Future Harlem Globetrotters and

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

owner George N. Gillett, Jr. was a minority partner, and the team was led by head coach The franchise was granted in August 1965 for Their regular season debut on September 2 began with

Joe Auer Joseph Auer (October 11, 1941 – March 9, 2019) was an American football former running back. He graduated from Coral Gables Senior High School in Coral Gables, Florida and played collegiately for Georgia Tech and professionally in the Am ...

returning the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, but the Dolphins lost to the Oakland Raiders, Auer was the leading scorer for the season and was named team MVP. With an odd number of teams, each of the nine AFL teams had two bye weeks and played fourteen games. Miami lost its first five games before beating the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

in the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game ...

. The Dolphins defeated the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...

the following week for their first road win in franchise history, but then lost the next six consecutive games. In Week 16, Miami won against the Oilers again to finish the season with a 3–11 record. Having defeated the Oilers twice, the Dolphins became the first ever expansion team in the Super Bowl era to sweep a division rival, and the last until the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

did it in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

Offseason

AFL Draft

With the first pick overall, the Dolphins selected

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

Jim Grabowski James Grabowski (born September 9, 1944) is a former American football player and broadcaster. He played college football at the University of Illinois and professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Green Bay Packers and the Ch ...

out of the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

. Grabowski was also drafted by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

. The result was a bidding war between the two franchises to obtain Grabowski's services. The Packers signed Grabowski and he played for them for five seasons.

Personnel

Staff

Roster

Schedule

Pre-season

Regular season

Two bye weeks were necessary in 1966, as the league expanded to an odd-number (9) of teams; one team was idle each week (three teams were idle in week one). The Dolphins played three teams from each division twice, and one in each once (Boston, San Diego)

Game summaries

Week 1

The Dolphins' regular season debut was a home game against the Oakland Raiders on Friday night, September 2; Miami

returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for An extra point kick by

Gene Mingo Eugene L. Mingo (born September 22, 1938) is a former professional American football player from Akron, Ohio, who played several positions including halfback, placekicker, and return specialist. He is widely recognized as the first African A ...

allowed the Dolphins to lead 7–0 barely into the start of the game. Miami was unable to retain the lead, however, with the Raiders scoring a field goal in the second quarter and two touchdowns (one each in the second and third quarters) – a total of 17 points. In the fourth quarter, the Dolphins narrowed the score with a touchdown reception from

Rick Norton Richard Eugene Norton (November 16, 1943 – July 25, 2013) from Louisville, Kentucky was an American collegiate and professional football quarterback who played college football at the University of Kentucky and professionally with the Ameri ...

Rick Casares Richard Jose Casares (July 4, 1931 – September 13, 2013) was an American professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) for twelve seasons during the 1950s and 1960s. ...

. However, Oakland responded with another touchdown – a 16 yard pass to Tom Mitchell from

Tom Flores Thomas Raymond Flores (born March 21, 1937) is a former American football coach and quarterback. After his retirement as a coach, he was a radio announcer for more than twenty years. Flores won a total of four Super Bowls in his playing and c ...

. The game ended with a 23–14 loss for Miami.

Week 2

In their first ever intradivisional game, the Dolphins played against the

AFL Eastern Division The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

New York Jets at the Orange Bowl on Friday night, Miami trailed the entire game, with the Jets scoring a safety (by tackling Rick Norton in the end zone) and a touchdown in the first quarter. New York added a field goal and a touchdown in the third quarter, while holding Miami scoreless until the fourth quarter. By then, the Dolphins scored a touchdown – a 43-yard reception from Norton to

Dave Kocourek David Allen Kocourek (August 20, 1937 – April 24, 2013) was an American gridiron football player. He played college football at Wisconsin. Career As a professional, he played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

. Later in the quarter, Jets quarterback Joe Namath was intercepted by defensive back

Pete Jaquess Pete Jaquess (born December 25, 1940) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive back in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Eastern New Mexico Unive ...

, who returned the ball 27 yards for another touchdown. However, Miami was unable to complete a comeback and lost

Week 3

For their first division rivalry game against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

on September 18, Miami traveled to the War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo. The Bills dominated the Dolphins throughout the game. In the first quarter, the Buffalo scored three touchdown before Miami kicked a field goal. The Bills then added four touchdowns in the second quarter, versus one by the Dolphins. After the first half, the score was 48–10 in favor of the Bills. The only score in the third quarter was a field goal by Booth Lusteg of Buffalo. Three touchdowns were scored in the fourth quarter, two for Miami and one for Buffalo. The Bills defeated the Dolphins by a score of 58–24, which remains one of the worst losses by Miami in the history of the

Bills–Dolphins rivalry The Bills–Dolphins rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins. The teams, who are members of the AFC East, have played each other twice per year since the 1966 season. In the 114 regular se ...

Week 5

Coming off their first bye week, the Miami Dolphins traveled to

Balboa Stadium Balboa Stadium is an American football and soccer stadium on the west coast of the United States, located in San Diego, California. Just east of San Diego High School, the original stadium was built in 1914 as part of the 1915 Panama–Californ ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

in Week 5 in search for their first win. The Dolphins began the game with a 10 point lead – a field goal by Gene Mingo and a Karl Noonan touchdown via a 20 yard pass from Dick Wood. However, the

Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

took the lead in the third quarter following two touchdowns and a field goal, with a score of 16–10 as the quarter ended. In the fourth quarter, San Diego put the game away and delivered another blowout for Miami, scoring four touchdowns (28 points), while preventing the Dolphins from receiving additional points. The game ended with a score of 44–10 in favor of the Chargers. The Dolphins win–loss record fell to 0–4.

Week 6

In a second game against the Oakland Raiders on October 9, the Miami Dolphins traveled to the

Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Oakland Coliseum, currently branded as RingCentral Coliseum, is a stadium in Oakland, California. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880. The Coliseum is the home ba ...

. Miami took the lead in the first quarter, with a 47 yard field goal by Gene Mingo. In the second quarter, Oakland took the lead after a touchdown, while Miami re-took the lead with a touchdown of their own. However, before the end of the second quarter, Oakland again re-took the lead with another touchdown. The first half of the game ended with a score of 14–10 in favor of the Raiders. Neither team received additional points in the third quarter. Oakland put the game away in the fourth quarter by scoring another touchdown. The match ended with a 21–10 loss for Miami.

Week 7

After being on the road since Week 3, the Miami Dolphins returned home in Week 7 for a contest against the

on October 16. Miami scored a touchdown and field goal in the first quarter, with a 67 yard pass from George Wilson to Billy Joe and a Gene Mingo field goal. The Broncos scored a touchdown later in the first quarter. Subsequently, the Dolphins scored one touchdown each in the third and fourth quarters – 1 yard and 3 yard rushes by Joe Auer, respectively. However, Denver was unable to earn additional points following the first quarter. As a result, the Miami Dolphins won the game by a score of 24–7. This was the first win by the franchise and raised their win–loss record to 1–5.

Week 8

The Dolphins returned to the road again in Week 8, traveling to Rice Stadium to take on the

on October 23. Miami scored first with a touchdown in the first quarter – an 80 yard reception from George Wilson to Bo Roberson.

George Blanda George Frederick Blanda (September 17, 1927 – September 27, 2010) was an American football placekicker and quarterback who played professionally in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Blanda played 26 seaso ...

of the Oilers kicked a field goal in the second quarter, but the Dolphins responded with another touchdown. In the third quarter, Blanda kicked another field goal, but

of the Dolphins also scored a field goal. Houston finally reached the endzone later in the third quarter to narrow the match to a 4-point game. However, Mingo kicked another field goal in the fourth quarter, ending the game with a 20–13 win for Miami. The Dolphins improved to 2–5.

Week 10

After the second bye week, Miami returned home for another game against the Buffalo Bills on November 6. As during Week 3, the Bills again dominated the match. After neither club scored in the first quarter, Buffalo scored a touchdown and a field goal in both the second and third quarters. In the fourth quarter, the Bills scored a third touchdown. Later, Buffalo received two points from a safety after

Marty Schottenheimer Martin Edward Schottenheimer (; September 23, 1943 – February 8, 2021) was an American football linebacker and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1984 to 2006. He was the head coach of the Kansas City ...

blocked a punt. Miami was unable to score points throughout the game and lost 29–0, their first regular season shutout loss. The Dolphins fell to 2–6.

Week 11

In the following week, the Dolphins traveled to Municipal Stadium to take on the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

. However, Miami was quickly overtaken. Kansas City reached a 23 point lead – three touchdowns (one missed extra point) and one field goal – before the Dolphins finally scored a field goal in the second quarter. Miami followed up with a touchdown, but Kansas City scored another touchdown before the end of the quarter. In the third quarter, the Chiefs added another field goal to their score. The Dolphins scored another touchdown in the fourth quarter, but the team fell well short of making a comeback. The game ended with a 34–16 loss for Miami, with their record falling to 2–7.

Week 12

During Week 12, the Dolphins traveled to

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

for their second match-up against the Jets on November 20. Miami built a six point lead in the first quarter with two field goals by Gene Mingo. However, they would not maintain their lead. In the second quarter, the Jets scored a touchdown and a field goal, before adding another touchdown and two additional field goals in the third quarter. Miami, down 23–6 at the close of the third quarter, finally scored again with a touchdown in the fourth quarter. The Dolphins were unable to overcome the deficit, and New York scored another touchdown before the end of regulation. The game ended with a 30–13 loss for Miami, dropping their record to 2–8.

Week 13

In their first game against the division rival Boston Patriots, the Dolphins hosted the Patriots at the Orange Bowl on November 27. After neither team scored in the first quarter, the Patriots scored twice in the first quarter, with a touchdown pass from Babe Parilli to Art Graham and then a 32-yard field goal by Gino Cappelletti. The first half of the game closed with a 13-0 lead for Boston. A rushing touchdown by

Jim Nance James Solomon "Big Jim" Nance (December 30, 1942 – June 17, 1992) was an American professional football player who was a fullback with the Boston Patriots during their days in the American Football League (AFL). He was inducted into the ...

allowed the Patriots to increase their lead to 20-0. Later in the third quarter, the Dolphins finally scored with a 32-yard pass from

Dick Wood Malcolm Richard Wood (February 29, 1936 – April 4, 2015) was an American football quarterback and coach who played college football at Auburn and professionally in the American Football League (AFL). After his player career ended, Wood served ...

to Frank Jackson. In the fourth quarter, another Miami touchdown pass from Wood to

for 38 yards further reduced the Patriots lead to 20-14. However, with no additional scores by either team, the game ended with a 20-14 loss for the Miami Dolphins, causing them to fall to 2-9.

Week 14

For Week 14, the Dolphins traveled to

Bears Stadium Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

in Denver for another game against the Broncos on December 4. The game was a low-scoring affair. After neither team scored in the first quarter, Denver put points on the board with a Gary Kroner field goal, before Miami countered with Tom Erlandson scoring a touchdown after returning an interception 26 yards. However, the Broncos responded with a touchdown before the end of the second quarter. Denver scored another touchdown in the third quarter. Following that, neither Miami nor Denver any additional points in the third or fourth quarter. The game ended with a 17–7 loss for Miami, dropping their record to 2–10.

Week 15

Miami returned home for their second match against Kansas City on December 11. The Chiefs opened up with two Mike Mercer field goals, with one each in the first and second quarters. Later in the second quarter, the Dolphins scored a field goal and a touchdown (with a 2-point conversion) to close the first half 11–6. After no scores in the third quarter, Kansas City was the first team to put more points on the board with a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Miami then scored another touchdown to take the lead in the fourth quarter. However, the Chiefs countered with a touchdown before the game ended. Miami lost by a score of 19–18.

Week 16

In the final game of their inaugural season, the Dolphins hosted the Oilers at the Orange Bowl on December 18. The Oilers mounted a 14-0 lead before the Dolphins scored – a 27-yard pass from

Don Trull Donald Dean Trull (born October 20, 1941) is a former American football quarterback in the American Football League. Trull played football collegiately at Baylor University, where he was an All-American and twice won the Sammy Baugh Trophy as t ...

Hoyle Granger Hoyle John Granger ( ;
Retrieved July 29, 2020 born March 7, 1944) is a former collegiate a ...

in the first quarter and an 11-yard pass from Trull to

Larry Elkins Lawrence Clayton "Larry" Elkins (born July 28, 1943) is a former American football player. He was a two-time All-American flanker at Baylor and later for the AFL's Houston Oilers. Early life Elkins is the youngest of ten children. One of his ...

. Miami then responded with a 27-yard pass from

John Stofa John Carl Stofa (June 29, 1942 – April 23, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Early life John Stofa was born in Johnstown, Penns ...

and a successful 2-point conversion. Houston added seven more points with a 2-yard pass from Trull to Bob McLeod. By the end of the first half of the game, the Oilers led by 21-8. The third quarter saw a 48-yard touchdown pass from Stofa to Frank Jackson, cutting the Oilers' lead to 21-15. In the fourth quarter, Houston scored again with a 1-yard rush from Trull. The Dolphins scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, via a 4-yard pass from Stofa to Bill Cronin and a 14-yard pass from Stofa to Auer. With no further scores by either team, the game ended with a 29-28 win for the Miami Dolphins. Miami ended their season with a win–loss record of 3-11.

Standings

Awards and honors

* Tom Erlandson, American Football League All-Star game selection *

Jimmy Warren James Davis Warren (born July 20, 1939 in Ferriday, Louisiana, died August 9, 2006) was a collegiate and professional American football, football cornerback who played twelve seasons of professional football, with the American Football League's S ...

, American Football League All-Star game selection * Willie West, American Football League All-Star game selection

References

External links

1966 Miami Dolphins
at

Pro-Football-Reference.com Pro-Football-Reference.com is a website providing a variety of statistics for American football. It is one of the few sites that provides information on both active and retired players. The site provides statistics for teams dating back to 1920. ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:1966 Miami Dolphins Season Miami Dolphins seasons

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...