The 1972 Miami Dolphins season was the
franchise's seventh season and third 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 majo ...
(NFL). The team was led by third-year head coach
Don Shula
Donald Francis Shula (January 4, 1930 – May 4, 2020) was an American football defensive back and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1995. The head coach of the Miami Dolphins for most of his ca ...
and achieved the only
perfect season in NFL history. They also led the league in both points scored and fewest points allowed.
Starting quarterback
Bob Griese
Robert Allen Griese (pronounced ; born February 3, 1945) is a former American football quarterback who earned All-American honors with the Purdue Boilermakers before being drafted in 1967 by the American Football League's Miami Dolphins. Gri ...
broke his ankle in Week 5, leaving backup
Earl Morrall to start the remainder of the regular season, though Griese relieved Morrall in the second half of the AFC Championship Game and started
Super Bowl VII
Super Bowl VII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...
. Morrall, a thirty-eight-year-old who spent much of his career backing up stars including Griese,
Johnny Unitas, and
Bobby Layne, was named
MVP in 1968 under Shula when the pair led the
Baltimore Colts to the NFL championship. The Dolphins clinched the AFC East title in Week 10 with Morrall at quarterback.
Running backs
Larry Csonka
Larry Richard Csonka (; born December 25, 1946) is a former professional American football fullback who played for the Miami Dolphins for the majority of his career, along with the New York Giants for three years, and a short stint with the ...
and
Mercury Morris became the first
teammates to each rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
Paul Warfield
Paul Dryden Warfield (born November 28, 1942) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) from 1964 to 1977 for the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins, except for a year i ...
led the team in receptions and receiving yards. The offensive line included future
Hall of Famers
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...
Jim Langer
James John Langer (May 16, 1948 – August 29, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a center and guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings. ''BBC Sport'' reported him as o ...
and
Larry Little.
The Dolphins' early-1970s defensive unit was termed the "No-Name Defense" by
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
coach
Tom Landry
Thomas Wade Landry (September 11, 1924 – February 12, 2000) was an American professional football player and coach. He was the first head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League (NFL), a position he held for 29 seasons. Dur ...
given its lack of high-profile players (the unit's only Hall of Famer, linebacker
Nick Buoniconti, achieved much of his success with the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
and was not inducted until 2001). The defense was led by Buoniconti, end
Bill Stanfill, tackle
Manny Fernandez, and safeties
Dick Anderson and
Jake Scott
Jacob E. Scott III (July 20, 1945 – November 19, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a free safety and punt returner from 1970 to 1978 for the Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NF ...
. In all, nine Dolphins—Csonka, Morris, Warfield, Little,
Norm Evans, Buoniconti, Stanfill, Anderson, and Scott—were selected to the Pro Bowl, and Little, Morrall, Stanfill, and Anderson were named
first-team All-Pro.
The Dolphins went 14–0 in the regular season and won all three postseason games to finish 17–0, the only undefeated and untied season in NFL history. Three other teams, the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...
in
1934 and
1942 and the New England Patriots in
2007, reached the NFL's title game undefeated, but all three lost the championship. Miami led the league in total offense, total defense, scoring offense, and scoring defense, the only team ever to do so. On August 20, 2013, four decades after the perfect season,
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
hosted the surviving members of the 1972 Dolphins, noting they "never got their
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
visit." 50 years later, on October 23, 2022, the 1972 Dolphins were honored at halftime during a
Sunday Night Football
Sunday Night Football may refer to:
* ''NBC Sunday Night Football'', the Sunday night broadcast of American NFL games by NBC since 2006
* ''ESPN Sunday Night Football'', the Sunday night broadcast of American NFL games from 1987 to 2005 by ESPN
* ...
game featuring the
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 p ...
and
Pittsburgh Steelers, the same matchup that occurred for the 1972
AFC Championship Game
The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...
. For the 50th anniversary celebration, the Dolphins wore throwback uniforms as well as patches bearing a classic Dolphins logo, the number 50, and the years 1972 and 2022.
The 1972 Dolphins ranked number 1 on the 100 greatest teams of all-time by the NFL on its 100th anniversary.
Background
The Miami Dolphins franchise was founded in 1966 under head coach
George Wilson. Wilson led the Dolphins to just fifteen wins in four seasons before being fired and replaced by
Baltimore Colts head coach
Don Shula
Donald Francis Shula (January 4, 1930 – May 4, 2020) was an American football defensive back and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1995. The head coach of the Miami Dolphins for most of his ca ...
. Despite his poor record, many of Wilson's acquisitions contributed to the Dolphins' success in the early 1970s. The team drafted quarterback
Bob Griese
Robert Allen Griese (pronounced ; born February 3, 1945) is a former American football quarterback who earned All-American honors with the Purdue Boilermakers before being drafted in 1967 by the American Football League's Miami Dolphins. Gri ...
in
1967, fullback
Larry Csonka
Larry Richard Csonka (; born December 25, 1946) is a former professional American football fullback who played for the Miami Dolphins for the majority of his career, along with the New York Giants for three years, and a short stint with the ...
in
1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* J ...
, and defensive end
Bill Stanfill and running back
Mercury Morris in
1969
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
**Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
.
Wilson also signed
Manny Fernandez and traded for
Nick Buoniconti,
Larry Little, and
Paul Warfield
Paul Dryden Warfield (born November 28, 1942) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) from 1964 to 1977 for the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins, except for a year i ...
.
Wilson was initially resentful of the Dolphins' success, believing his firing was premature and Shula had inherited a "ready-made team." However, tension between Wilson and Shula lessened after the team won
Super Bowl VII
Super Bowl VII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...
, and Wilson congratulated Shula and invited him to play at his golf course.
After accepting the job in Miami, Shula hired
Howard Schnellenberger as offensive coordinator,
Bill Arnsparger (who had served as defensive line coach under Shula in Baltimore) as defensive coordinator,
Carl Taseff
Carl N. Taseff (September 28, 1928 – February 27, 2005) was an American football player and assistant coach.
Early life and college
Taseff grew up in Ohio and went to college at John Carrol University in University Heights, Ohio, east of Cle ...
as offensive backs coach,
Monte Clark as offensive line coach, and
Mike Scarry
Michael Joseph “Mo” Scarry (February 1, 1920 – September 9, 2012) was an American football player and coach. He grew up in Pennsylvania, and played football in college at Waynesburg College in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania and went on to join t ...
as defensive line coach, and retained defensive backs coach
Tom Keane from Wilson's staff;
each of these coaches remained with the team through 1972. In the
1970 draft and ensuing free agency period, Shula added cornerback
Tim Foley, safety
Jake Scott
Jacob E. Scott III (July 20, 1945 – November 19, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a free safety and punt returner from 1970 to 1978 for the Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NF ...
, guard
Bob Kuechenberg
Robert John Kuechenberg (October 14, 1947 – January 12, 2019) was a National Football League guard for the Miami Dolphins for 14 seasons between 1970 and 1983, spending the 1984 season on injured reserve. He was a mainstay in a line that inclu ...
, and future
Hall of Fame
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...
center
Jim Langer
James John Langer (May 16, 1948 – August 29, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a center and guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings. ''BBC Sport'' reported him as o ...
. In Shula's
first season, the Dolphins went 10–4 and reached the playoffs for the first time. Miami returned to the playoffs in
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6).
The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history.
Events
J ...
and defeated 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 t ...
in the longest game in NFL history to secure the franchise's first playoff victory. The Dolphins shut out the
Baltimore Colts, Shula's former team, to reach
Super Bowl VI, where they lost 24–3 to
Dallas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
.
Off-season
NFL Draft
Roster
Preseason
Regular season
Game summaries
Week 1: at Kansas City Chiefs
The Dolphins opened the season against the Chiefs in the first regular season game at
Arrowhead Stadium
Arrowhead Stadium is an American football stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The stadium has been officially named GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stad ...
. In the
Divisional Round the year prior, Miami defeated Kansas City at
Kansas City Municipal Stadium
Kansas City Municipal Stadium was an American baseball and football stadium in the central United States, located in Kansas City, Missouri. It was located at the corner of Brooklyn Avenue and E. 22nd Street.
Municipal Stadium hosted both the mi ...
in double overtime, the longest game in NFL history.
On the Chiefs' first drive, Miami safety
Dick Anderson recovered an
Ed Podolak
Edward Joseph Podolak (born September 1, 1947) is a former professional American football player, a running back for nine seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League and National Football League.
Early years
Ed Podolak wa ...
fumble, leading to a seven-play, 57-yard drive capped by a 14-yard touchdown from
Bob Griese
Robert Allen Griese (pronounced ; born February 3, 1945) is a former American football quarterback who earned All-American honors with the Purdue Boilermakers before being drafted in 1967 by the American Football League's Miami Dolphins. Gri ...
to
Marlin Briscoe
Marlin Oliver Briscoe (September 10, 1945 – June 27, 2022), nicknamed "the Magician", was an American professional football player who was a quarterback and wide receiver in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football Leagu ...
.
Lloyd Mumphord blocked a
Jan Stenerud field goal attempt on Kansas City's ensuing drive. Late in the second quarter, the Dolphins scored twice in quick succession – a 47-yard
Garo Yepremian field goal and a two-yard
Larry Csonka
Larry Richard Csonka (; born December 25, 1946) is a former professional American football fullback who played for the Miami Dolphins for the majority of his career, along with the New York Giants for three years, and a short stint with the ...
run following an interception by
Jake Scott
Jacob E. Scott III (July 20, 1945 – November 19, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a free safety and punt returner from 1970 to 1978 for the Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NF ...
. The Chiefs did not score until a 40-yard field goal by Stenerud late in the third quarter, and a touchdown from
Len Dawson to
Willie Frazier
Willie C. Frazier (June 19, 1942 – September 5, 2013) was an American collegiate and professional American football tight end. He spent three stints with the Houston Oilers over a 10-year career in the AFL and NFL and was one of the 4,000- ...
was the only score of the fourth quarter as Miami won 20–10.
Week 2: vs. Houston Oilers
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 in ...
's new
Poly-Turf Poly-Turf was a brand of artificial turf in the early 1970s, manufactured by American Biltrite of Wellesley, Massachusetts. It was the first specifically designed for American football, with a patented layered structure which included a "shock pad" ...
field and intermittent rains led to slippery conditions for Miami's Week 2 meeting with Houston. Less than two minutes in,
Bill Stanfill returned a
Hoyle Granger fumble to Houston's one-yard line to set up a
Jim Kiick
James Forrest Kiick (; August 9, 1946 – June 20, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a running back. He played for the Miami Dolphins in the American Football League (AFL) from 1968 to 1969 and in the National Footb ...
touchdown. Minutes later, Houston quarterback
Dan Pastorini muffed the ball in punt formation; the Dolphins recovered again and
Mercury Morris scored four plays later. Garo Yepremian's subsequent extra point attempt was blocked, his first miss after seventy-five consecutive successful attempts. Miami engineered another four-play scoring drive on its following possession, using a 30-yard
Paul Warfield
Paul Dryden Warfield (born November 28, 1942) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) from 1964 to 1977 for the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins, except for a year i ...
reception to set up a short Larry Csonka touchdown and give the Dolphins a 20–0 halftime lead. Pastorini completed three of ten passes for minus-ten yards in the first half.
[ ]
A nine-play, 76-yard drive to open the second half pushed Miami further ahead.
A long
Charlie Joiner
Charles B. Joiner Jr. (born October 14, 1947) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. He is best known for his career ...
touchdown got Houston on the board and a second score after a Morris fumble cut Miami's lead to 27–13. However, Kiick's second touchdown following a fourteen-play drive in the fourth quarter put the game out of reach, and a
Tim Foley interception sealed a 34–13 Dolphins victory.
[ ]
Week 3: at Minnesota Vikings
The first-ever meeting between the Dolphins and Vikings began with a long first-quarter touchdown from
Fran Tarkenton to
John Gilliam; Minnesota held this 7–0 lead into halftime. Tim Foley intercepted Tarkenton early in the third quarter, setting up a 51-yard Garo Yepremian field goal. A second Yepremian field goal cut Minnesota's lead to one point, but the Vikings responded with thirteen-play drive which ended in a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter.
[ ]
Minnesota quickly regained possession by intercepting Bob Griese, but two sacks of Tarkenton kept Minnesota out of field goal range and the game at 14–6. On Miami's ensuing drive, a 22-yard pass from wide receiver Marlin Briscoe to
Jim Mandich
James Michael Mandich (July 30, 1948 – April 26, 2011), also known as "Mad Dog", was an American football player. Mandich played college football for the University of Michigan from 1967 to 1969 and was recognized as a consensus first-team ti ...
set up another 51-yard Yepremian field goal.
A short Vikings punt was followed by a six-play Miami drive and a three-yard touchdown pass from Griese to Mandich to give the Dolphins a 16–14 win. The Dolphins sacked Tarkenton five times and intercepted him three times.
[100 Things Dolphins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Armando Salguero, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2020, ISBN 978-1-62937-722-3, p.3]
Week 4: at New York Jets
The Jets received the opening kickoff and quickly marched 65 yards downfield, taking a 7–0 lead when a
Cliff McClain fumble was recovered by guard
Randy Rasmussen in the end zone. New York maintained this advantage until early in the second quarter when a 16-yard touchdown pass from Bob Griese to
Howard Twilley
Howard James Twilley Jr. (born December 25, 1943) is a former American football player. He played college football at the University of Tulsa and was the runner up for the Heisman Trophy in 1965. Twilley played professionally as a wide receive ...
tied the game. A six-yard Jim Kiick touchdown run gave Miami a 14–7 lead just before halftime.
[ ]
A field goal early in the third quarter increased Miami's lead to ten points. On New York's subsequent drive,
Joe Namath
Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943) is a former American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college fo ...
found
Jerome Barkum for a 52-yard gain which gave the Jets first-and-goal at the one-yard line. However, two penalties and three failed attempts forced New York to settle for an 18-yard
Bobby Howfield field goal, cutting the lead to 17–10. Early in the fourth quarter, Miami capitalized on a long pass interference penalty against
Steve Tannen
Steven J. "Steve" Tannen (born 1968) is an American singer-songwriter. He is best known for being in the folk-pop duo The Weepies.
Early life and career
Tannen was born in New York City, but grew up in Australia and Canada in addition to New ...
with a second Jim Kiick touchdown run. Miami fumbled a punt deep in its own territory in the fourth quarter and allowed New York cut the lead to 24–17, but a late field goal put the game out of reach as the Dolphins won 27–17.
Week 5: vs. San Diego Chargers
The Dolphins and Chargers traded first-quarter field goals before Dick Anderson returned a fumble 35 yards for a touchdown to give Miami a 10–3 lead. The Dolphins scored a second touchdown on an 18-yard pass from
Earl Morrall to Howard Twilley to take a 17–3 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, Morrall's second touchdown pass increased the lead to 24–3. A late San Diego touchdown made the final score 24–10 as the Dolphins moved to 5–0.
Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese broke his ankle early in the first quarter on a sack by
Ron East
Ronald Allan East (born August 26, 1943) is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, San Diego Chargers, Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks. He played college footbal ...
and
Deacon Jones. He did not play again for the remainder of the regular season; Griese was replaced by the thirty-eight-year-old Morrall until returning in the AFC Championship Game.
Week 6: vs. Buffalo Bills
The Dolphins remained at home during week 6 for a game against the intradivisional rival
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 ...
. Miami scored a touchdown on the opening drive, capped off by a 5-yard run by Mercury Morris. After regaining possession later in the first quarter, the Dolphins managed to reach the Bills 7-yard line. However, four failed attempts at reaching the end zone gave the Bills possession again. Then, in the second quarter, Dolphins running back Jim Kiick fumbled the ball, recovered by
Alvin Wyatt
Alvin B. Wyatt (born December 13, 1947) is a former American football player and coach of football and basketball. He played professionally as a defensive back in the National Football League (NFL) with the Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills, an ...
of the Bills. This ultimately set up a 35-yard field goal by Buffalo's
John Leypoldt
John Howard Leypoldt (March 31, 1946 – February 7, 1987) was an American football placekicker who played eight seasons in the National Football League. Leypoldt died of a heart attack at St. Joseph Intercommunity Hospital in Cheektowaga, New Yo ...
. Shortly after, Bills linebacker
Ken Lee intercepted a pass from Earl Morrall and returned it for a touchdown. Late in the second quarter, Morrall attempted to throw a lateral pass, but fumbled and Buffalo defensive tackle
Don Croft
Donald Thomas Croft (born January 1, 1949) is an American former professional football defensive tackle who played four season in the National Football League (NFL) for the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional ...
secured the ball. Leypoldt then kicked a 34-yard field goal, allowing the Bills to lead 13–7 at halftime.
[ ]
Dolphins tackle
Manny Fernandez strip-sacked Bills quarterback
Dennis Shaw
Dennis Wendell Shaw (born March 3, 1947) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Buffalo Bills, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, and the Kansas City Chiefs.
College career
Shaw played college foo ...
at the Buffalo 10-yard line on the first play of the third quarter. Miami fullback Larry Csonka then ran 10 yards into the end zone, allowing the Dolphins to take a 14–13 lead. A few minutes after this transpired, Dolphins cornerback
Curtis Johnson blocked a punt by
Spike Jones of the Bills. After the Dolphins were penalized four times on that drive (a loss of 33 yards), Garo Yepremian kicked a 54-yard field goal,
the longest in franchise history until
Pete Stoyanovich
Peter Stoyanovich (born April 28, 1967) is an American football placekicker of Macedonian descent. His father Mijalce and his mother Slobodanka are from Ljubojno, North Macedonia. He played with the Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs and briefly ...
's 59-yard field goal in
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
. The fourth quarter began with a 45-yard field goal by Leypoldt, cutting Miami's lead to 17–16. With 9:18 remaining in the final period, the Dolphins scored again with a 15-yard run by Morris, amassing 106 rushing yards in the game.
Later, the Bills capped off a touchdown-scoring drive with a 6-yard pass from quarterback
Mike Taliaferro to fullback
Jim Braxton. However, with only about one minute remaining by then, the Dolphins won the game by a score of 24–23.
Week 7: at Baltimore Colts
The Dolphins then traveled to
Memorial Stadium in Baltimore for a match against the Colts on October 29. Miami scored in the first quarter on an 80-yard drive that included a 20-yard pass from quarterback Earl Morrall to wide receiver Howard Twilley, a 32-yard rush by running back Larry Csonka, a 19-yard rush by running back Mercury Morris, and finally a 1-yard rush by Csonka for a touchdown. Garo Yepremian's extra point allowed the Dolphins to take a 7–0 lead. Dolphins cornerback
Curtis Johnson blocked a punt by
David Lee of the Colts and recovered the football at Baltimore's 22-yard line. A few plays later, at 3rd and 15 on Baltimore's 27-yard line, Morrall threw the ball to wide receiver Marlin Briscoe, who then threw a pass to wide receiver Paul Warfield at the 1-yard line. Csonka then ran 1-yard for a touchdown, but defensive tackle
Jim Bailey blocked Yepremian's extra point attempt.
[ ]
Later in the second quarter, Dolphins defensive back Lloyd Mumphord blocked
Boris Shlapak
Boris Shlapak is a former professional American football player who played placekicker one season for the Baltimore Colts. As a free agent, he kicked two field goals for the Buffalo Bills in the 1974 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohi ...
's field goal attempt. The second quarter then ended after Yepremian kicked a 24-yard field goal. The Dolphins led 16-0 after the first half. The game's final score occurred in the third quarter.
Bruce Laird
Bruce Malcolm Laird (born 21 November 1950) is a former Western Australian and Australian cricketer. He was an opening batsmen who played in 21 Test matches and 23 One Day Internationals. He also played 13 "Supertests" in World Series Cricke ...
of the Colts was returning a punt but fumbled the ball, which was recovered by
Hubert Ginn
Hubert Ginn (born January 4, 1947) is a former professional American football player. He played in the National Football League for nine seasons as a running back for the Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Colts and the Oakland Raiders. He was a member o ...
of the Dolphins at Baltimore's 20 yard line. After a few more plays, Morris scored a 7-yard rushing touchdown, followed by a Yepremian extra point. Miami won the game with a score of 23-0 and improved to 7–0 at the halfway point of the regular season.
Week 8: at Buffalo Bills
For week 8, the Dolphins traveled to
War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo to take on the Bills on November 5. A Garo Yepremian 33-yard field goal allowed Miami to take an early 3–0 lead. The Bills then overtook the Dolphins on a drive capped off by quarterback
Dennis Shaw
Dennis Wendell Shaw (born March 3, 1947) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Buffalo Bills, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, and the Kansas City Chiefs.
College career
Shaw played college foo ...
throwing a 13-yard pass to running back
Randy Jackson
Randall Darius Jackson (born June 23, 1956) is an American record executive and television presenter, perhaps best known as a judge on ''American Idol'' from 2002 to 2013.
Jackson began his career in the 1980s as a session musician playing ba ...
, although
John Leypoldt
John Howard Leypoldt (March 31, 1946 – February 7, 1987) was an American football placekicker who played eight seasons in the National Football League. Leypoldt died of a heart attack at St. Joseph Intercommunity Hospital in Cheektowaga, New Yo ...
's extra point attempt would be blocked. Buffalo now led Miami by a score of 6–3. However, the Dolphins reclaimed the lead on a possession culminating in a 22-yard run by running back Mercury Morris, followed by an extra point by Yepremian. Miami increased their lead further early in the second quarter with a pair of Yepremian field goals from 17 yards and 16 yards. Shortly thereafter, Dolphins quarterback Earl Morrall was intercepted by Bills safety
Tony Greene
Anthony Greene (born August 29, 1949 in Gaithersburg, Maryland) is an American football former safety in the NFL who played for the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at the University of Maryland.
Greene holds the record for the longe ...
and returned for a touchdown, narrowing Miami's lead to 16–13. This would be the final score of the first half, as Miami halted another scoring attempt by Buffalo when cornerback
Tim Foley intercepted Shaw at Miami's 20-yard line.
[ ]
Miami increased their lead again in the third quarter with a 7-yard pass from Morrall to tight end
Marv Fleming. The antecedent drive included several long runs and an
unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Bills. Later in the third quarter, Leypoldt kicked a 28-yard field goal, cutting their deficit to 23–16 at the end of the period. However, in the fourth quarter, the Dolphins put together another scoring drive that included a 26-yard pass from Morrall to Morris and then 4-yard rush by Morris for the touchdown. With neither team able to accumulate more points after that drive, the game ended as a 30-16 win for the Dolphins. Of note, Morris surpassed 100 rushing yards in a game for only the second time in his professional football career.
Week 9: vs. New England Patriots
Following their win against the Buffalo Bills, the Dolphins hosted the New England Patriots at the Orange Bowl for Week 9. Miami annihilated New England both offensively and defensively.
On the third play of the game, Dolphins safety Dick Anderson intercepted Patriots quarterback Jim Plunkett at New England's 26-yard line. Anderson returned the ball to the New England 4-yard line before fumbling. Although it appeared that the Patriots may have recovered the fumble, the officiating crew ruled that they did not. Dolphins running back Mercury Morris then scored a touchdown on a 4-yard rush. On just the fifth offensive play for the Dolphins, Morris again scored a 4-yard rushing touchdown. Miami scored on every possession they had during the first half, leading the Patriots 31–0 at intermission.
[ ]
In the third quarter, Morrall threw a 16-yard pass to Marlin Briscoe, increasing the Dolphins lead to 38–0. By the beginning of the fourth quarter, with little doubt about which team would win, Dolphins quarterback Jim Del Gazio replaced Morrall. Del Gazio threw two touchdown passes in the final quarter – a 51-yard pass to Briscoe and a 39-yard pass to Jim Mandich. The Dolphins did not allow the Patriots to score throughout the game.
The final score of 52–0 in favor of Miami remains the most lopsided win for either team in the history of the
Dolphins–Patriots rivalry
The Dolphins–Patriots rivalry is an American football National Football League rivalries, rivalry between the National Football League (NFL)'s Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots. The Dolphins lead the all-time series 60–55. Because both ...
. Miami totaled 482 yards, far higher than New England's 169 yards. Morrall passed for 162 yards, while Del Gazio passed for 145. The Dolphins defense limited the Patriots to just 77 net passing yards and 92 rushing yards, including four sacks against Plunkett for a loss of 40 yards. Morris, the leading rusher of the game, accumulated 90 rushing yards and 35 receiving yards; he scored 3 rushing touchdowns. With the victory, the Dolphins improved to 9–0.
Don Shula became the 9th head coach in NFL history to win at least 100 regular season games, but the first to do so in only 10 seasons.
Week 10 vs. New York Jets
The Dolphins then returned home in week 10 for their second matchup against the Jets. Near the beginning of the first quarter, Dolphins safety Dick Anderson intercepted Jets quarterback Joe Namath's first pass of that game. After seven more plays, Miami scored on a 9-yard pass from quarterback Earl Morrall to wide receiver Howard Twilley. New York responded with an 80-yard drive that included several short passes from Namath, before eventually ending with a 1-yard rushing touchdown by fullback
John Riggins. In the game's second quarter, Morrall fumbled on a lateral pass, with the ball being recovered by cornerback
Earlie Thomas of the Jets at the Dolphins 38-yard line. Within a few plays, the Jets scored another touchdown via a 28-yard pass from Namath to wide receiver
Rich Caster. New York increased their lead on Miami to 17–7 after Bobby Howfield kicked a 33-yard field goal. However, the Dolphins cut the Jets lead to 17–14 just before halftime on a drive that ended with a 1-yard run by running back Mercury Morris.
[ ]
Early in the third quarter, Morrall rushed for 31 yards for a touchdown. Miami then led New York by 21–17. The Jets reclaimed the lead later in the third quarter on a drive that ended with a 4-yard pass from Namath to tight end
Wayne Stewart. However, in the game's final quarter, Anderson landed on the ball after Jets running back Cliff McClain fumbled it at New York's 27-yard line. On the fourth play after the fumble, Morris managed to run 14 yards to the end zone. Miami would ultimately win the game by a score of 28–24 and improve to 10–0. With the victory, the Dolphins also clinched the AFC East title.
Week 11 vs. St. Louis Cardinals
The Dolphins remained at home at the Orange Bowl in Week 11 for a
Monday Night Football
''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, ...
game against the
St. Louis Cardinals. Dolphins safety Dick Anderson intercepted St. Louis quarterback
Gary Cuozzo
Gary Samuel Cuozzo (born April 26, 1941) is a former professional American football player.
High school career
Cuozzo played high school football at Glen Ridge High School in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.
Football career
An undrafted quarterback from ...
's first pass of the game at the Cardinals' 29-yard line. On the sixth play following the interception, Dolphins running back Jim Kiick reached the end zone on a 2-yard run. Miami led St. Louis 7–0 following the first quarter. Both teams scored a field goal in the second quarter, from 49-yards and 25-yards by
Jim Bakken
James LeRoy Bakken (born November 2, 1940) is an American former professional football player who was a punter and placekicker for the National Football League’s St. Louis Cardinals. He was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and was named to the ...
of the Cardinals and Garo Yepremian of the Dolphins, respectively. At half time, Miami led St. Louis by a score of 10–3.
[ ]
The Dolphins would widen their lead by two touchdowns in the third quarter. First, Miami scored on a 37-yard pass from quarterback Earl Morrall to wide receiver
Otto Stowe
Otto Stowe (born February 25, 1949 in Chicago, Illinois) is a former American football wide receiver who played four seasons in the NFL for the Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys, and Miami Dolphins. He played college football at Iowa State Univers ...
. Later in the quarter, Dolphins cornerback Lloyd Mumphord intercepted Cardinals quarterback
Jim Hart and returned the ball for a touchdown. Miami now led by 24–3 after the third quarter. St. Louis finally responded again in the fourth quarter via a 2-yard rush by running back
Leon Burns. However, the Dolphins then scored another touchdown on a drive capped off by a 27-yard pass from Morrall to Stowe. Miami won the game by a score of 31–10.
Week 12 at New England Patriots
In Week 12, the Dolphins traveled to
Schaefer Stadium for their second matchup of the season against the Patriots. The only score in the first quarter was 36-yard field goal by Miami's Garo Yepremian. The Dolphins increased their lead further in the second quarter, with a 10-yard field goal by Yepremian and a 1-yard rush by running back Jim Kiick on a drive that spanned 89 yards. New England responded late in the second quarter via a 36-yard pass from quarterback
Jim Plunkett to wide receiver
Tom Reynolds. The Dolphins led by a score of 13–7 at halftime.
[ ]
Early in the third quarter, Miami defensive
Vern Den Herder intercepted a pass by Plunkett and reached New England's 11-yard line before the play ended. The Dolphins soon scored another touchdown when quarterback Earl Morrall threw a 3-yard pass to tight end Jim Mandich. Later in the third quarter, Yepremian kicked a 18-yard field goal. Dolphins linebacker
Doug Swift intercepted Plunkett on New England's next possession. On the fifth play following the interception, Miami scored on a 14-yard pass from Morrall to wide receiver Marlin Briscoe. Miami added another touchdown early in the fourth quarter via an 8-yard rush by running back
Hubert Ginn
Hubert Ginn (born January 4, 1947) is a former professional American football player. He played in the National Football League for nine seasons as a running back for the Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Colts and the Oakland Raiders. He was a member o ...
. At this point, the Dolphins led by 37–7. The Patriots scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, the first being an 8-yard pass from quarterback
Brian Dowling to running back
John Tarver and the second being a 1-yard rush by Dowling. The game ended with a 37–21 victory for the Dolphins.
With the win, the Dolphins became only the third team in NFL history to win at least 12 consecutive games, after the
1934 Chicago Bears
The 1934 season was the Chicago Bears' 15th in the National Football League and 12th season under head coach George Halas. The team was able to improve on their 10–2–1 record from 1933 and finished with an undefeated 13–0 record.
The ...
and
1969 Minnesota Vikings. Also of note, running back Larry Csonka surpassed 1,000 rushing yards on the season during this game.
Week 13 at New York Giants
The Dolphins traveled to
Yankee Stadium in New York to face the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
in Week 13. After
Joe Orduna of the Giants returned the opening kickoff for 38 yards, New York began a five play, 50-yard drive. New York running back
Ron Johnson rushed 1-yard for a touchdown, which was preceded by a 34-yard pass from quarterback
Norm Snead
Norman Bailey Snead (born July 31, 1939) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, and San Francisco 49ers. He played coll ...
to wide receiver
Don Herrmann. However, the Dolphins blocked
Pete Gogolak's extra point attempt. Miami quickly responded with a 10 play, 82-yard drive capped off by a 12-yard rush by Mercury Morris for a touchdown and a successful extra point attempt by Garo Yepremian. Later in the first quarter, New York's
Rocky Thompson
Rocky Lee Thompson (born August 8, 1977) is a Canadians, Canadian former ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), right wing, who is currently an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, NHL. He was drafted in the third ...
fumbled during a kickoff return, with the ball recovered by Miami running back
Charles Leigh. The Giants defense forced the Dolphins to kick a 37-yard field goal, increasing their lead to 10–6.
[ ]
Miami extended their lead further in the second quarter, when wide receiver Paul Warfield caught a 34-yard pass from quarterback Earl Morrall. New York responded with another touchdown, the result of an 81-yard, 12 play drive which again ended with a 1-yard run by Johnson. By the end of the first half, the Dolphins led by a score of 17–13. Neither team scored in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Dolphins cornerback
Curtis Johnson intercepted a pass from Snead, which eventually led to Yepremian kicking a 31-yard field goal. A turnover by New York's
John Mendenhall during a punt return later in the fourth quarter led to another field goal by Yepremian, this time by a distance of 16 yards. The Giants were unable to score after the second quarter, and thus, the game ended with a 23–13 victory for the Dolphins.
Week 14 vs. Baltimore Colts
In the final week of the regular season, the Dolphins returned home for their second matchup against the Colts. The Dolphins scored first, with a 40-yard field goal by Garo Yepremian in the first quarter. Miami extended their lead further in the second quarter, with a 14-yard pass from quarterback Earl Morrall to wide receiver Paul Warfield. After Colts quarterback
Marty Domres sprained his ankle, Baltimore briefly inserted
Johnny Unitas at quarterback late in the second quarter for what would be his final game as a Colt. In the second half, the Dolphins added six more points with a pair of third and fourth quarter field goals by Yepremian from 50 yards and 35 yards, respectively. Miami Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese entered the game in the fourth quarter, his first time on the field since his injury against the Chargers in Week 5. With Baltimore unable to score throughout the game, Miami won 16–0.
With the Dolphins defeating the Baltimore Colts, they finished the regular season with a perfect win–loss record of 14–0. The 1972 Dolphins became the third team in the history of the NFL to complete a regular season undefeated and untied, after the
1934 and
1942 Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...
, while the
1948 Cleveland Browns achieved a 14–0 record as a member of the
All-America Football Conference. Later, the
2007 New England Patriots also earned an undefeated and untied regular season record.
Postseason
Standings
Awards and honors
*
Coach of the Year –
Don Shula
Donald Francis Shula (January 4, 1930 – May 4, 2020) was an American football defensive back and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1995. The head coach of the Miami Dolphins for most of his ca ...
*
Comeback Player of the Year –
Earl Morrall
*
Super Bowl Most Valuable Player
The Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award, or Super Bowl MVP, is presented annually to the most valuable player of the Super Bowl, the National Football League's (NFL) championship game. The winner is chosen by a panel of 16 football writers a ...
–
Jake Scott
Jacob E. Scott III (July 20, 1945 – November 19, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a free safety and punt returner from 1970 to 1978 for the Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NF ...
Urban legend
There is an urban legend that every season, whenever the last remaining undefeated NFL team loses its first game, all the surviving members of the 1972 Miami Dolphins open bottles of champagne in celebration. Coach Don Shula tried to play down the myth by saying that two players,
Dick Anderson and
Nick Buoniconti, who live near each other, sometimes have a toast together. However, they occasionally had
Diet Cokes together, such as in 2005 when Bob Griese and Shula watched the
Chargers win over the
Colts, the last undefeated team
that season.
The NFL capitalized on the legend during a commercial that aired during
Super Bowl LIII
Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Confe ...
commemorating the 100th year of the NFL. The commercial featured "44 of the greatest NFL athletes" at a formal dinner event with the attendees dressed in
black tie
Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element f ...
. Cacophony breaks out, and three members of the 1972 Dolphins, Larry Little, Paul Warfield, Larry Csonka, are shown casually sitting at a table together uniquely dressed in aqua-colored formal coats, and all three are drinking champagne, laughing at the chaos happening around them.
The perfect season
The 1972 Miami Dolphins were the first team to execute a perfect regular season in the post-merger NFL. They are the only team in NFL history to go undefeated and untied in the regular season and postseason.
After their loss to
the Dallas Cowboys in
Super Bowl VI (Miami's only loss during calendar year 1972), Don Shula had vowed to not only reach the Super Bowl again but to win it. He forced the team to watch film of the loss twice while at training camp. Shula would later go on to say:
An enduring controversy is based on the argument that the 1972 Dolphins played a soft schedule not possible under the current scheduling formula. Prior to the implementation of position scheduling in 1978, opponents were set by the NFL on a rotating basis. The Dolphins’ 1972 regular-season opponents posted an aggregate winning percentage of .397, and only two had winning records for that season (both 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 t ...
and
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
finished 8–6). However, this does not constitute any record;
the 1975 Minnesota Vikings, who began 10–0 and finished 12–2, played 14 opponents with an average winning percentage of .332, and nine of their games were against teams 4–10 or worse.
The Dolphins were beneficiaries of a weak AFC East that saw the
Colts lapse from a perennial contender into a three-year stretch in which they would win only 11 games; a
Bills team yet to find its legs with
O. J. Simpson and the return of coach
Lou Saban; a dysfunctional
Patriots organization that had little to no talent to surround former No. 1 overall draft choice
Jim Plunkett; and a
Jets squad with a porous defense, offsetting the benefits of
Joe Namath
Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943) is a former American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college fo ...
remaining healthy throughout the season and an emerging
John Riggins in the running game. Miami also caught a scheduling break by facing an
Oilers team that was in the midst of back-to-back 1–13 seasons,
a Chargers team beginning a run of four consecutive seasons in the AFC West cellar, and a
Cardinals team that appeared to lack direction by rotating its starting quarterbacks instead of giving the job full-time to
Jim Hart. The Dolphins also caught the
Vikings
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
in the midst of a massive transformation following the return of
Fran Tarkenton, missing the playoffs for the only time between 1968 and 1978, finishing 7–7.
The NFL's rules at the time forced the undefeated Dolphins (14–0) to play the Steelers (11–3) in Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship Game. Subsequent rule changes have since changed the playoff structure so that this would never happen again. Since the 1975 season, teams that have won their division and have had a superior record than their opponent (as was the case with the 1972 Dolphins when they faced the Steelers) would play their postseason games at home.
The 1972 Dolphins consisted mostly of the same core of players that it possessed from 1970 through 1974 and was the most dominant NFL team during that stretch. In those five seasons, the Dolphins reached the playoffs all five years, won three AFC Championships, two Super Bowls and went undefeated and untied while winning the Super Bowl in 1972. They posted a record of 65–15–1, and were also the fastest franchise to win a Super Bowl after franchise inception and joining the NFL (seven years after starting in the AFL, three years after becoming a member of the NFL).
Television coverage
Fans in the Miami area could not view the team's home games on television, as 1972 was the final year in which all NFL home games were blacked out on local television even if the stadium had sold out. To view the team's home games, Dolphins fans in the Miami-Dade area would have to attend home games in person or travel to outside markets such as Orlando and Jacksonville to watch the games on television.
Super Bowl VII
Super Bowl VII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...
was the first game to be televised in the market of origin under new rules that would come into effect the following season requiring games to be sold out within 72 hours of kickoff time to be aired in the market of origin (these blackout rules were lifted in 2015). As all Super Bowls (except
Super Bowl I) have sold out, none have been blacked out since.
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
, many of his
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
staff, and members of
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
were angered by the blackout rules, as they could not watch the home games of the Dolphins’ eventual Super Bowl opponent, the
Redskins, even though all games at
RFK Stadium
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium and originally known as District of Columbia Stadium, is a defunct multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C. It is located about due east of the U.S. Capitol building, near the ...
had been sold out since
1966.
2013 White House visit
Four decades later, on August 20, 2013, the team was invited by President Barack Obama to visit the White House. Obama noted that the team "never got their White House visit." Asked why the team had not been invited by President
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
in 1973, Larry Csonka stated that he did not feel neglected as it had not been a regular occurrence at the time. However, MSNBC reported that this was a deliberate snub by Nixon, who was a Redskins fan, even though Nixon owned a vacation home in nearby
Key Biscayne, Florida and telephoned Shula only hours after the Dolphins defeated the Colts in the 1971 AFC Championship game to suggest a play for Miami to use in Super Bowl VI (a down-and-out pass to Warfield that was broken up by Cowboys safety
Cornell Green). Obama had previously invited the
1985 Bears to the White House, as their original visit had been canceled because of the
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
On January 28, 1986, the broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members aboard. The spacecraft disintegrated above the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 11:39a.m. EST (16:39 UTC). It w ...
. Obama, a Chicago resident and Bears fan, had called the 1985 Bears the greatest team ever, but during the Dolphins' visit, he called his own words into question, also noting that the 1985 Bears' only defeat came at the hands of the
Dolphins.
Bob Kuechenberg
Robert John Kuechenberg (October 14, 1947 – January 12, 2019) was a National Football League guard for the Miami Dolphins for 14 seasons between 1970 and 1983, spending the 1984 season on injured reserve. He was a mainstay in a line that inclu ...
,
Jim Langer
James John Langer (May 16, 1948 – August 29, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a center and guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings. ''BBC Sport'' reported him as o ...
, and
Manny Fernandez all refused to attend because of their political differences with the Obama administration.
References
External links
1972 Miami Dolphins Season at Pro-Football ReferencePerfect Season Podcast – a 50th anniversary podcast with an episode for each game of the 1972 season, starring several members of the team
{{DEFAULTSORT:1972 Miami Dolphins Season
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
Miami Dolphins seasons
AFC East championship seasons
American Football Conference championship seasons
Super Bowl champion seasons
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 p ...