Larry Chatmon Little (born November 2, 1945) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was an offensive

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

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 ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Bethune–Cookman University Bethune–Cookman University (BCU or Bethune–Cookman) is a private historically black university in Daytona Beach, Florida. Bethune–Cookman University is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The primary administration building, Wh ...

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal Resort town, resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County near the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic coastline, its population ...

. He signed with the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

as an undrafted free agent in 1967. After two years in San Diego, he was then traded to 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 pla ...

where he played for the rest of his career, establishing himself as one of the best offensive guards in the NFL. Little was a five-time Pro Bowl selection, and a seven-time first- or second-team all-pro. He was part of a dominant Miami Dolphins offensive line which included Hall of Fame center

Jim Langer James John Langer (May 16, 1948 – August 29, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various ...

and opposite offensive 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 ...

, that was instrumental in the Miami Dolphins winning Super Bowl VII during their

perfect season A perfect season is a sports season, including any requisite playoff portion, in which a team remains and finishes undefeated and untied. The feat is extremely rare at the professional level of any team sport, and has occurred more commonly at the ...

in 1972, and

Super Bowl VIII Super Bowl VIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Minnesota Vikings and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

the following year. He was elected to the

NFL 1970s All-Decade Team The National Football League 1970s All-Decade Team is a list of National Football League (NFL) players selected by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The squad consists of first- and second-team offensive, defensive, and special teams units, ...

, a member of the

Miami Dolphins Honor Roll The Miami Dolphins Honor Roll is a ring around the second tier at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, which honors former players, coaches, contributors, and officials who have made significant contributions to the Miami Dolphins franchis ...

, and was elected to the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

in 1993.

College career

Little played for the

Bethune–Cookman Wildcats The Bethune–Cookman Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Bethune–Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida. Bethune-Cookman is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference and participates in NCAA Division I Football Champions ...

from 1964 to 1967 on the team's offensive and defensive line. He was a three-time All-]

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Formed in 1913, it consists mostly of historically black co ...

(SIAC) selection.

Professional career

Little went undrafted in 1967. After the draft, he received free agent offers from Miami, San Diego, and Baltimore. He signed as a free agent with 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. ...

because they offered him the largest signing bonus ($750). After playing for San Diego in 1967 and 1968, he was traded to the AFL's

for the 1969 season, when he was named an AFL All-Star. He then played with the

Dolphins from 1970 through 1980. "I didn't particularly like the trade," Little said in the January 1974 issue of ''

SPORT Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

''. "The Dolphins weren't much then." Little was a key contributor to the success of the Dolphins' punishing running attack of the early and mid-1970s, which featured

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 Me ...

Mercury Morris Eugene Edward "Mercury" Morris (born January 5, 1947) is a former American football running back and kick returner. He played for seven years, primarily for the Miami Dolphins, in the American Football League (AFL) as a rookie in 1969, then ...

, and Jim Kiick.

Post-playing career

He also served as head football coach of his alma mater, from 1983 to 1991, and as head coach at

North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University (NCCU or NC Central) is a public historically black university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by James E. Shepard in affiliation with the Chautauqua movement in 1909, it was supported by private funds from ...

from 1993 to 1998. In addition, Little served as head coach of the

Ohio Glory The Ohio Glory were a professional American football team in NFL Europe. They played one season (1992) in the World League of American Football, which later became NFL Europe. Columbus, Ohio was awarded the WLAF franchise after the Raleigh-Dur ...

of the

World League of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

(which eventually became the now-defunct

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

). On December 16, 1993, Larry was added to the

. In 1999, he was ranked number 79 on ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.

Personal life

Little's younger brother, David Little, was a linebacker for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. In 2007 was named to the Florida High School Association All-Century Team which selected the Top 33 players in the 100-year history of high school football in the state of Florida's history.

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Little, Larry 1945 births Living people American football offensive guards American Football League players Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football coaches Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football players Miami Dolphins players North Carolina Central Eagles football coaches Ohio Glory coaches San Diego Chargers players American Football League All-Star players American Conference Pro Bowl players Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Booker T. Washington Senior High School (Miami, Florida) alumni Sports coaches from Miami Coaches of American football from Florida Players of American football from Miami African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople