(cid:42)(cid:79)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:92)(cid:3)(cid:39)(cid:68)(cid:92)(cid:86) D uring the 1960s the American Football League AFL and the older National Football League NFL competed for players and fans Both leagues set their sights on the South where college football was already very popular They believed that professional football would do well there too A businessman named Joe Robbie was eager to start a team of his own The AFL suggested that he place his team in Miami The city’s population had doubled in a generation There were new fans being born every day Robbie liked what he saw The Dolphins played their first season in 1966 The Dolphins built their team by selecting players from other AFL clubs They also found college stars in the draft But Miami struggled in its first season (cid:25)
and won just three games The Dolphins had so many injured quarterbacks that coach George Wilson ended up using his son to call the signals Over the next few years the Dolphins put together a group of good young players including Bob Griese Larry Csonka Howard Twilley Dick Anderson Jim Kiick and Mercury Morris Miami also traded for older stars such as Nick Buoniconti Paul Warfield and Bob Matheson In 1970 the year that the AFL and NFL joined forces the team hired Don Shula as its coach In only his second season the Dolphins made it to the Super Bowl Before long Miami became one of the best teams in history They returned to the Super Bowl twice during the 1970s and took the championship both times In 1972 the Dolphins won all 14 games during the regular season They added three more postseason victories including Super Bowl VII to become the first NFL team to finish with a perfect 17 0 record The Dolphins succeeded because everyone on the team worked hard and did his job well Most football fans in the 1970s LEFT Don Shula directs his players ABOVE Bob Griese and the Dolphins were on a lot of magazine covers in the 1970s (cid:26)
did not know much about players such as Jim Langer Larry Little Bob Kuechenberg Manny Fernandez Bill Stanfill and Vern Den Herder But Miami’s opponents sure knew who they were The same was true years later when the Dolphins were led by A J Duhe Bob Baumhower Dwight Stephenson Ed Newman Duriel Harris Andra Franklin and David Woodley They were champions of the American Football Conference AFC in 1982 but they lost to the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVII The Dolphins hoped that a new quarterback would change their luck They found one in strong-armed Dan Marino who led them back to the Super Bowl During his long and brilliant career Marino smashed almost every NFL passing record Shula retired in 1996 and Marino did the same four seasons later The Dolphins found new leaders in a pair of defensive stars Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor Both were hard workers who got the job done without being flashy They inspired their teammates to give everything they had on every play LEFT Dan Marino loosens up before a game ABOVE This trading card shows linebacker Zack Thomas in action (cid:28)
