1972

After six seasons of football, the Miami Dolphins had tasted the ultimate prize, but had left the field hungry for the trophy.   The next season would fulfill that desire - more than anyone before or after them ever would.

  The 1972 NFL Draft was held February 1-2, 1972.

(Bold players on Miami active roster at some point in career)

The Dolphins also continued their customary busy offseason by making several trades.  The first one, made on June 7, 1972, brought DT Jim Dunaway to Miami from Buffalo, sending  LB Dale Farley to the Bills.  The Dolphins traded, again with Buffalo, later that day for WR Marlin Briscoe, giving up a 1973 first round draft pick.

WR Marlin Briscoe - acquired in a trade before the season with the Buffalo Bills. via dolphinfaned.tripod.com

August saw two more Dolphins trades, the first one also with the Buffalo Bills on August 22nd.  This time, the Dolphins sent DT Frank Cornish to the Bills for G/C Howard Kindig and 5th round pick in 1973.  The second trade of the month was with the New England Patriots, breaking the string of Bills trades; the Dolphins gave up T Wayne Mass and received a 1973 7th Round draft choice in compensation.

As the season started in September, the month also witnessed an additional two trades by the busy Dolphins.  The first of these two moves sent C Bob Demarco, acquired in a trade with Pittsburgh in 1970, to Cleveland for a 1973 7th round pick, on September 22, 1972.  The second trade, sending G/C Bill Griffin to New England for yet another 7th round pick in 1973, was made later that same day.

RBs Jim Kiick and Larry Csonka on a Sports Illustrated cover prior to the 1972 Season via mymedia.myfoxla.com

The Dolphins first game in 1972 was also the first game in the Kansas City Chiefs' new home, Arrowhead Stadium.  The September 17th game was never in doubt, however, as the visiting Dolphins dominated the home team for the entire first half, scoring 7 points in the first quarter off a 14-yard pass from QB Bob Griese to WR Marlin Briscoe and 10 more points in the second (47-yard field goal from Garo Yepremian and a 2-yard rush from RB Larry Csonka).    The Dolphins scoring ceased after a third quarter, 15-yard field goal from Yepremian.  The Chiefs finally scored in the third quarter with a 40-yard field goal, ending the game with 10-points when Len Dawson connected with Willie Frazier on a 4-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.  Miami handed the Chiefs a loss in their first game at the now legendary stadium.

The Dolphins home opener was the next week, as the Houston Oilers traveled to Miami for their September 24th meeting.  Again, Miami jumped out to an early lead and never looked back.  By the end of the first quarter, the Dolphins held a 13-0 lead off of a Jim Kiick 1-yard rush and a 2-yard Mercury Morris rush (missed extra point).

The second quarter scoring began with the third of the Dolphins' running backs finding pay-dirt, as Larry Csonka scored from 4-yards out.  Quarterback Bob Griese, not to be out-done, scored the Dolphins only points of the third quarter with a 2-yard run of his own. 

Houston finally found the end zone for themselves in the third period, scoring on an 82-yard pass from QB Dan Pastorini to WR Charlie Joyner (accounting for most of Pastorini's 104-yards passing for the game) - but they too missed an extra point.  The Oilers scored for a second time in the quarter when RB Willie Rodgers scored from the 1-yard line.  The fourth quarter saw Miami add another touchdown when Jim Kiick caught a 6-yard pass from QB Bob Griese.

Miami was on a winning streak - a streak that wouldn't end.

The Dolphins traveled to Minnesota on October 1st looking to continue the hot start to the season.  However, the game was controlled by the Vikings early on.  Minnesota opened the game with a first quarter touchdown when QB Fran Tarkenton hit John Gilliam on a 56-yard strike.  Neither team would add any more points in the first half.

The third quarter saw Miami claw their way back into the game with two Garo Yepremian field goals (38-, 42-yards).  Going into the fourth quarter, Miami trailed by one.  Minnesota quickly increased that lead with a Bill Brown 1-yard rushing touchdown.

Trailing 14-6 in the fourth quarter, Miami responded.  Yepremian kicked his third field goal of the day, this one from 51-yards, to tighten the score at 14-9.  Miami finally found the end zone when Jim Mandich caught a 3-yard pass from Bob Griese.  Miami took the lead 16-14, and held on for the two-point win.

Week 4, October 8, 1972, again saw Miami on the road, this time visiting their Division rival New York Jets.  The Dolphins again let their opponent score first when New York guard Randy Rasmussen recovered a fumble in the end zone, giving the Jets the 7-0 early lead.

Miami took over in the second quarter, scoring two touchdowns, a16-yard pass from Griese to Howard Twilley followed by a 6-yard Kiick run.  Going into halftime, the Dolphins led 14-7.

The Dolphins started the third quarter scoring with a 27-yard field goal from Garo Yepremian.  The Jets answered with an 18-yard field goal of the own.  Leading 17-10 going into the fourth quarter, Miami slammed the door on the Jets with a 3-yard Kiick touchdown and a 43-yard Yepremian field goal sandwiching a 1-yard Emerson Boozer touchdown run for the Jets.  The game ended with the Dolphins 27-17 victors.

After two weeks on the road, Miami hosted the San Diego Chargers on October 15th.  San Diego managed a first quarter field goal and a fourth quarter touchdown, but the game was never in doubt.  Miami scored 3-points on a 37-yard Yepremian field goal in the 1st, two touchdowns in the second (a 35-yard fumble recovery by Dick Anderson and an 18-yard pass from QB Earl Morrall to Howard Twilley), and another touchdown in the 3rd off a 19-yard reception from Morrall to Paul Warfield.  The Dolphins won their fifth game 24-10.

The real story of Week 5, however, was a tackle of QB Bob Griese by Deacon Jones and Ron East.  The hit broke Griese's leg and dislocated his ankle.  The injury would sideline the All-Pro Quarterback for the rest of the Regular Season.  The Dolphins were forced to turn over the team to backup Earl Morrall.  Morrall had been signed off of waivers in the offseason, coming to Miami from coach Don Shula's previous team, the Baltimore Colts.

QB Earl Morrall via weblogs.newsday.com

Week 6, October 22nd, saw Buffalo nearly end Miami's five game winning streak.  Miami scored first, with a first quarter 5-yard touchdown run from Mercury Morris.  However, Buffalo scored 13 points in the second quarter with a 35-yard field goal, a 16-yard interception return, and a 34-yard field goal.  At halftime, Miami trailed 7-13.

Miami Running Back Mercury Morris runs away from the Buffalo defense via static.nfl.com

Miami stormed back to the lead with 10, 3rd quarter points when Larry Csonka ran it in from 10-yards out and Yepremian connected on a 54-yard field goal.  Buffalo responded at the start of the fourth quarter with a 45-yard field goal, closing the margin to one point, 17-16 in favor of Miami.

The game concluded with the teams trading touchdowns, Miami scoring first with a 15-yard rush from Mercury Morris and Buffalo adding their own touchdown off a 6-yard pass.  The game ended 24-23, with Miami barely keeping the winning streak alive.

Week 7 saw Miami return to the early season domination.  On October 29th, Miami traveled to Baltimore to face the Colts.  The scoring started early, with a first quarter rushing touchdown from Larry Csonka (1-yard).  Continuing into the second quarter, Miami scored twice, once off another 1-yard rush from Csonka (missed extra point) and once on a 24-yard Yepremian field goal.  The final score of the game came in the third quarter, when Mercury Morris ran it in from 7-yards out.  The Dolphins easily dispatched their AFC East rival 23-0.

Miami faced the Bills again in Week 8, this time in Buffalo.  Not wanting to repeat the nail-biter from two weeks before, Miami quickly attached the Bills and never slowed down.  The scoring began in the first quarter, as Yepremian connected on a 33-yard field goal.  Buffalo took their only lead of the game when they scored on a 13-yard pass play, but missed the extra point.  Miami continued the first quarter out-pouring of points with a 22-yard rush from Morris. 

The second quarter, started with Miami leading 10-6, began with two Yepremian field goals, a 17-yarder and a 16-yarder.  Buffalo then found the end zone again when Tony Greene returned an interception 39-yards.  The half ended with Miami leading 16-13.

Miami Dolphins TE Marv Fleming via 64.17.171.58

The third quarter saw Miami's Marv Fleming catch a 7-yard pass from Morrall followed by a 28-yard Buffalo field goal.  With a 23-16 lead, Miami began to control the clock, pounding the ball with the running game.  Morris extended Miami's lead with a final touchdown in the fourth quarter, finding the end zone on a 4-yard run.  The game ended with a 30-16 win for Miami.

The Dolphins hosted the Patriots on November 12th, and handed New England an embarrassing loss.  The Dolphins scored early and often in the game, with Morris running it in three times (4, 4, and 6-yards), Csonka once (3-yards), Marlin Briscoe catching two touchdowns (16 and 51-yards), Jim Madnich catching one (39-yards), and Yepremian kicking a 16-yard field goal.  Miami's domination of the game included two quarterbacks throwing for over 100-yards each (Earl Morral - 162-yards and a touchdown; Jim Del Gaizo - 145-yards and two touchdowns) and a combined 181 yards rushing (Morris led the way with 90 yards and three touchdowns).  Miami moved to 9&0 on the season with their impressive 52-0 win over 2&7 New England.

Miami's Week 10 matchup proved to be much closer than the previous week.  Hosting the Jets, Miami returned to their standard run-first offense, racking up 214-yards as a team on 45 carries.  The Jets attempted to answer after each Dolphins score, but were not able to keep up with Miami.  The first quarter saw each team score a touchdown (Miami - 9-yard pass from Morrall to Twilley; New York - 1-yard rush by John Riggins).

New York opened the scoring in the second quarter, taking the lead 17-7 with a 29-yard touchdown pass followed by a 33-yard field goal.  But the defending AFC Champions were not ready to give up under the barrage from the Jets.  Miami scored a touchdown before the end of the half with a 1-yard rush by Morris and then opened the third quarter scoring with a 31-yard scramble by Morrall for the touchdown.  On top 21-17, Miami saw its lead slip away again when New York scored on a 4-yard pass from Joe Namath. 

Trailing 24-21 in the fourth quarter, Miami found the end zone one more time on a 14-yard run by Morris.  The game ended 28-24 in favor of Miami.  With the win, the Dolphins reached double digits wins, holding a 10&0 record.

Miami hosted the Week 11 Monday Night game, welcoming in the St. Louis Cardinals.  The Dolphins again scored first, this time with a first quarter 2-yard run from Kiick.  The two teams traded field goals in the second quarter, with St. Louis hitting a 49-yarder followed by Yepremian kicking a 25-yarder for Miami.  The Dolphins scored twice in the third quarter, when Otto Stowe caught a 37-yard pass from Morrall and Lloyd Mumphord returned an interception28-yards for a touchdown.  The two teams again traded scores, this time touchdowns, with St. Louis scoring on a 2-yard run followed by Miami connecting on a 27-yard pass from Morrall to Stowe.  The game ended with Miami picking up the win , 31-10.

Miami traveled to New England on December 3rd.  This game proved to be more competitive than the previous meeting, though the Dolphins would again dispatch the Patriots.  Miami grabbed the game's first points with two field goals (Yepremian for 36- and 10-yards) and a touchdown (Kiick on a 1-yard run).  New England scored their first points against Miami in 6 quarters of football when Tim Reynolds caught a 36-yard pass from Jim Plunkett.  The game reached the half with Miami leading 13-7.

Miami's 1972 season's dominance of the Patriots continued in the third quarter, when the Dolphins scored 17 points ( Morrall 3-yard pass to Mandich; Yepremian 18-yard field goal; Morrall 14-pass to Briscoe).  The fourth quarter opened with Miami scoring another touchdown (Hubert Ginn 8-yard rush) before New England scored two touchdowns (8-yard pass; 1-yard rush).  Miami's winning streak reached 12 with the 37-21 victory.

Week 13 of the season, December 10, 1972, saw Miami travel to New York to face the Giants.  New York scored first with a 1-yard rushing touchdown, but failed to make the extra point.  Miami then answered with two first quarter scores of their own; a 12-yard Morris rushing touchdown and a 37-yard Yepremian field goal.  The second quarter saw the two teams trade touchdowns, with Miami scoring on a 34-yard pass from Morrall to Warfield and New York scoring on a 1-yard rush.  Miami continued the scoring with two fourth quarter Yepremian field goals (31- and 16-yards) and won the game 23-13.

Dolphins WR Paul Warfield and RB Mercury Morris on the sideline via www.sun-sentinel.com

Miami moved into Week 14 one win shy of a perfect regular season.  The Dolphins welcomed the Colts into the Orange Bowl on December 16, 1972, looking to repeat the Week 7 result.  The scoring began with a Miami 40-yard field goal by Yepremian.  Miami continued to dominate the Colts in the second quarter when Morrall connected with Warfield on a 14-yard touchdown pass.  The third and fourth quarters saw Yepremian kcik two more field goals, one of 50-yards and one of 35-yards.  Miami won the game 16-0, completing an 8-quarter shutout of Baltimore.

The 1972 regular season ended with the Miami Dolphins holding a perfect record of 14 wins and 0 losses.  The team had dominated the entire season, with an average margin of victory of 15.2 points per game, and only three games were won by less than 10 points.  The team had two 1,000-yard rushers (Csonka 1,117 and Morris 1,000 - first time that feat was accomplished) and Kiick had another 521 yards and set the single-season team rushing yardage record.  The offense was the top ranked offense in the league (1st in the rush, 16th in the pass, 1st in scoring), racking up 5,036 yards of total offense and 385 points.  The Dolphins also had the league's top defense (3rd against the run, 5th against the pass, #1 in points allowed), giving up only 3,297 yards and 171 points. 

The first round of the playoffs saw the Cleveland Browns travel down to Miami on Christmas Eve.  The Dolphins again relied on their tried-and-true method of scoring first and never looking back.  The only points of the first half came in the opening quarter, with Miami scoring on a blocked kick returned for a touchdown (Charlie Babb) and on a 40-yard field goal (Yepremian).  Cleveland scored the game's next points in the third quarter with a 5-yard rushing touchdown.  Both teams scored in the fourthy quarter, with Miami getting a 46-yard field goal from Yepremian before a Browns 27-yard touchdown pass. Trailing late in the fourth, Miami marched down the field and scored a touchdown on an 8-yard Kiick rush.  The last touchdown gave the Dolphins the 20-14 win and a spot in the AFC Championship game for the second year in a row - the first AFC team to ever accomplish that feat.

On New Year's Eve, Miami traveled to Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship.  The first quarter saw the Steelers jump out to an early lead as Steelers Guard Gerry Mullins recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown, giving Pittsburgh a 7-0 advantage.   

Miami evened the score in the second period with a 9-yard Morrall-to-Csonka pass.  At halftime, Dolphins coach Don Shula realized his team needed a spark and turned to Quarterback Bob Griese.  Asking him simply, "Are you ready?" Shula reinserted Griese, at the start of the third quarter - the first game action the quarterback had seen since his Week 5 injury.

The game stayed knotted until Pittsburgh hit on a 14-yard field goal in the third quarter.  Once again trailing, Miami turned to RB Jim Kiick to bring them back.  Kiick responded with third- and fourth-quarter touchdowns for the Dolphins the first from 2-yards out and the second from 3-yards.  Down 21-10 in the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh scored on a 12-yard Terry Bradshaw pass.  It turned out to be too little to late as the Miami Dolphins won the game 21-17 and earned themselves a second straight trip to the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl VII was held on January 14, 1973 at Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California in front of 90,182 fans.  The game was played at 3:30pm EST (12:30 locally in the PST) and game-time temperature was 84 degrees and the Dolphins entered the game as 1-1/2 point underdogs.  The game proved to be a more defensive struggle than was anticipated, as the Miami Dolphins, with the top offense in the league, battled the Washington Redskins, with the seventh ranked offense.  Coach Shula, recognizing the difference in the energy and efficiency of his team upon the return of Bob Shula, decided to start the returning quarterback in the Super Bowl.

Miami started the scoring early, with two touchdowns in the first half.  Howard Twilley scored on a 28-yard pass from Griese in the second longest play of the game (Larry Csonka had a 49-yard run in the third quarter).  In the second quarter, Jim Kiick found pay dirt with a 1-yard touchdown run.

Dolphins TE Jim Mandich catches a pass from QB Bob Greise during Super Bowl VII via cache.daylife.com

Meanwhile, the Miami "No-Name Defense" focused on stopping Washington running back Larry Brown.  The effort was so effective due to LB Nick Buoniconti's audibles throughout the game, shifting the defense so it was strongest where he believed Brown would attempt to run.  The result was so dominating that defensive tackle Manny Fernandez finished the game with 17-tackles, and was a strong candidate for game MVP.  Buoniconti wrote, "It was the game of his life - in fact, it was the most dominant game by a defensive lineman in the history of the game, and he would never be given much credit for it.  They should have give out two game balls and made Manny Fernandez the co-MVP with Jake Scott.

The Redskins failed to get anything going for most of the game.  Their only points came off of one of the most infamous plays in Miami Dolphins history.  With just over two minutes to go in the game, the Dolphins lined up to kick a 42-yard field goal.  As Garo Yepremian kicked a low-line drive, the ball was blocked by the Redskins' Bill Brundgie.  Holder and backup quarterback Earl Morrall attempted to reach the ball, but Yepremian beat him to it.  Yepremian picked up the ball and, as Brundgie steamed towards him, attempted to throw a pass to Csonka.  However, the ball slipped out of Yepremian's hand and went straight up into the air.  Yepremian stayed with the ball and attempted to hit the ball out of bounds, but wound up hitting it straight up in the air, allowing Redskins' cornerback Mike Bass to grab it.  Yepremian made a kicker's tackle attempt, but Bass avoided it and returned the ball 49-yards for a touchdown.  Suddenly, instead of having the only shut-out in Super Bowl history, the Dolphins were clinging to a 14-7 lead with 2:07 left in the game.

Dolphins Kicker Garo Yepremian and Holder/Quarteback Earl Morrall react to a blocked kick with 2:00 remaining in Super Bowl VII via 3.bp.blogspot.com

Dolphins K Garo Yepremian attempts to pass the ball following a blocked kick in Super Bowl VII via www.latimes.com

Upon returning to the sideline, Yepremian had to face immediate criticism from his teammates.  Defensive lineman Manny Fernandez told Yepremian, "You son of a b****, we lose this game, I'm gonna f***ing kill you."  Nick Buoniconti informed the kicker that if they lost, he would "Hang [him] up by one of [his] ties."  Yepremian was so distraught after the play that he had to be escorted out of the team's post-game party by his brother when he started experiencing debilitating stress induced pains in his side.  The kicker immediately went into a self-imposed isolation as his depression continued to deepen.  He continued this seclusion until a few weeks following the game, he received a letter apparently written by coach Shula, expressing his gratitude for the contributions to the Dolphins that Yepremian had made and telling him to forget about the play and the criticisms.  Yepremian kept the letter, talking to Coach Shula in 2000 about it - Shula said he never sent a letter.  The two decided that it was actually written by Shula's wife Dorothy who had signed her husband's name.  Dorothy Shula died of breast cancer in 1991.

Following the touchdown, many expected the Redskins to attempt an onside kick; however, Washington kicked the ball deep and left it to the defense to try to get the ball back.  The defense held the Dolphins to a five-play drive, but was forced to use all of the team's timeouts.  Miami punted from their own 36-yard line, a punt that was nearly blocked, with just over one-minute left on the clock.

The Redskins' offense returned to the field, looking to drive down the field for the game tying touchdown.  However, the No-Name Defense was not going to let the dream of a Perfect Season die.  After two straight incomplete passes, the defense forced a 4-yard loss on a swing pass.  Facing fourth down with 14-yards to go, the Redskins came out looking to pass.  Miami defensive end burst through the offensive line and sacked Redskins' quarterback Billy Kilmer for a 9-yard loss as time expired.  The Dolphins won the game 14-7, in the lowest scoring Super Bowl ever.   Yepremian's missed field goal in the 4th quarter prevented the team from finishing the game with the score matching the team's season record, 17&0.

Super Bowl VII Ticket and Championship Ring via www.phins.com

The Miami Dolphins had completed the only perfect season in NFL history - a feat that has yet to be repeated.  The closest teams were the 1934 and 1942 Chicago Bears, both of whom lost the Championship game to the Giants and Redskins respectively, and the 2007 New England Patriots, who were embarrassed by the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, one of the biggest upsets in NFL history.  The only other professional football team with a perfect regular and post-season record was the 1948 Cleveland Browns, who went undefeated in the All-American Football Conference - which folded the next year and, even though the Browns entered the NFL, the NFL did not incorporate AAFC records.

As he was being carried off the field, Don Shula had his watch stolen by a kid who had reached up to shake the coach's hand.  Shula immediately jumped out of his players' arms and chased down the kid, recovering his watch.

Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula is carried off the field after winning Super Bowl VII via www.orlandosentinel.com

Miami Safety Jake Scott was named the game's Most Valuable Player for his two interceptions.  Scott got his first interception at the start of the second quarter, returning the ball eight yards.  His second interception of the game was in the fourth quarter, when Scott intercepted a pass in the end zone and returned it 55 yards to the Dolphins' 48-yard line.  He ended the game with those two interceptions, totaling 63 return yards.  Dick Schaap, editor of SPORT magazine, selected the game's MVP.  Later, Schaap admitted that he had been out late the previous night and had found it difficult to watch the defensive game.  He stated that he did not realize that Fernandez had 17-tackles in the game when he selected Scott. 

Miami Saftey Jake Scott (13) was named Super Bowl VII MVP - only the second Defensive player to win the award via i.cdn.turner.com

Following the season, many Dolphins received awards and honors.  The team had nine players named to the Pro Bowl (G/T Larry Little - 3rd; WR Paul Warfield - 3rd; S Jake Scott - 2nd; RB Larry Csonka - 3rd; DB Dick Anderson - 1st; DE Bill Stanfill - 1st; LB Nick Buoniconti - 2nd; RB Mercury Morris - 2nd; T Norm Evans - 1st).  They also had four players named First Team All-Pros (G/T Larry Little - 2nd; DB Dick Anderson - 1st; DE Bill Stanfill - 1st; QB Earl Morrall - 1st).  Quarteback Earl Morrall was also named the game's Comeback Player of the Year - the first year the award was presented.

The Dolphins' 1972 Perfect Season remains the greatest season in NFL history. 

via www.halloffamememorabilia.com 

Historical Perspective I - 1965 and 1966

Historical Perspective II - 1967-1969

 Historical Perspective III - 1970

 Historical Perspective IV - 1971