Quote:
Originally Posted by kioshk
Jim Kiick died, integral part of those early 70s Miami Dolphins. They had a Butch-Sundance thing going with him and Larry Csonka until Mercury Morris came along.
Actually, Morris was there the whole time; it's just that Shula didn't decide to feature him and make him the starting running back until the 1972 perfect season. Kiick and Csonka were rookies in 1968 and Morris arrived in 1969, but was mainly just the kickoff returner.
This has been a somber 6 weeks for me with Shula's death last month and now Kiick's. As a matter of fact, Kiick might hit closer to home given that he's less than a decade older than me. I grew up in Miami and watching these guys as my idols. The Dolphins were created in 1966 when I was 10 and I became a season ticket holder immediately. (Eleven games for $10! Ah, those were the days.)
I even met them all back in 2002 when the Dolphins hosted a special 40-year-reunion of the perfect season team during a MNF game. Still have a signed football from that night encased in plexiglass and hanging in my den. I'm still a fanboy even though the team has sucked for decades, lol.