48 Fun Facts About Miami Dolphins

In which league did the Miami Dolphins begin play in 1966?

The AFL took Miami in as its ninth team, and the Dolphins won only 15 of their 56 games there before the 1970 merger carried them into the NFL.

Which comedian co-founded the Dolphins with the attorney whose name later went on their stadium?

The pair paid $7.5 million for the franchise in 1965; the star of Make Room for Daddy soon sold his share.

How was the Miami Dolphins' name chosen in 1965?

By a fan contest that drew nearly 20,000 entries; more than 600 sent in Dolphins, a name the owner liked because the dolphin is one of the fastest and smartest creatures in the sea.

Who was the Miami Dolphins' first head coach, fired in 1970 after four losing seasons?

George Wilson had Don Shula on his Detroit Lions staff in the early 1960s; in 1970 Miami fired Wilson and gave his old assistant the job.

From which team did Don Shula come when he was hired by Miami in 1970?

The Baltimore Colts cried tampering when Miami hired their coach, and the NFL commissioner made the Dolphins hand over their first-round draft pick for 1971.

Which team's 18-0 run in 2007 nearly matched Miami's perfect season?

The Patriots lost Super Bowl XLII to a Giants touchdown in the final minute, so Miami's 17-0 run of 1972 was still the NFL's only perfect season as of 2025.

Which backup led the 1972 Dolphins for most of the season after Bob Griese broke his ankle?

Earl Morrall, 38 and claimed off waivers, started the rest of the regular season, then was benched for the healed Griese at halftime of the AFC title game.

Which two Dolphins were the first teammates to each rush for 1,000 yards in a season?

Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris needed a recount: Morris was credited with 991 yards until the league reviewed a fumbled lateral and gave him back nine, for exactly 1,000.

Whom did the Dolphins beat 14-7 in Super Bowl VII to complete the perfect season?

The Washington Redskins did not score until the fourth quarter; Miami safety Jake Scott intercepted two passes, one of them in his own end zone, and was named the game's MVP.

Which Dolphins kicker's ill-fated pass attempt was returned for a touchdown in Super Bowl VII?

Garo Yepremian picked up his own blocked field goal, tried to throw it and batted the ball to cornerback Mike Bass, whose 49-yard return turned a 14-0 stroll into a tense finish.

Whom did Miami beat 24-7 in Super Bowl VIII to repeat as champions?

The Minnesota Vikings trailed 24-0 before they scored; fullback Larry Csonka ran 33 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns and was named the game's MVP.

Which team did Miami beat on Christmas Day 1971 in the longest game in NFL history?

The Kansas City Chiefs lost 27-24 to a field goal in the second overtime, after 82 minutes and 40 seconds of play; one more win put Miami in its first Super Bowl.

Which team beat Miami in the 1974 playoffs in the game known as the 'Sea of Hands'?

The Oakland Raiders won 28-26 when Clarence Davis wrestled Ken Stabler's pass away from a crowd of Dolphins in the final seconds, ending Miami's two-year reign as champions.

Which rival league lured Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick and Paul Warfield away from Miami in 1975?

The WFL put all three in Memphis, then folded midway through that season, its second; by then Miami's run of three straight Super Bowls was over.

What was the nickname of the Dolphins defence that reached Super Bowl XVII after the 1982 season?

The Killer B's got the name because six of the eleven starters had surnames beginning with B, among them Bob Baumhower, Doug Betters and the Blackwood brothers.

Fulton Walker's 98-yard kickoff return put Miami ahead in Super Bowl XVII, but whose fourth-down touchdown run won it?

John Riggins broke loose on fourth-and-one and ran 43 yards for the winning score, so the first kickoff-return touchdown in Super Bowl history ended up in a 27-17 defeat.

Which quarterback went first overall in the 1983 draft, 26 picks before Miami took Dan Marino?

John Elway led off the draft and four more teams took quarterbacks before a surprised Miami found Marino still there; the last of the six retired with the NFL records for yards and touchdowns.

Whose 2004 season broke Dan Marino's record of 48 touchdown passes?

Peyton Manning broke it 20 years on. Marino's 48 in 1984, only his second season, had shattered the old mark of 36, a year after five teams drafted other quarterbacks ahead of him.

Which team beat Marino's Dolphins 38-16 in Super Bowl XIX?

The San Francisco 49ers won although Marino completed a then-record 29 passes; in only his second season, he played 15 more years and never reached another Super Bowl.

Which 15-1 team's only defeat of the 1985 season came against Miami?

The Chicago Bears had won their first twelve games before losing 38-24 on a Monday night in Miami; they went on to win the Super Bowl, and the 1972 Dolphins stayed the only unbeaten champions.

Which receiver teamed with Mark Duper as Dan Marino's 'Marks Brothers'?

Mark Clayton was only an eighth-round pick in 1983, yet a year later he caught 18 touchdown passes, the most in the league.

Against which team did Marino pull off his famous fake spike in 1994?

The New York Jets led 24-6 in the third quarter and relaxed when Marino signalled a clock-stopping spike; he threw the winning touchdown instead, completing a 28-24 comeback.

Dan Marino played college football in his home city for which university?

Pittsburgh. A poor senior season there dropped his stock in the draft, yet he retired with 61,361 passing yards and 420 touchdown passes, both more than anyone before him.

In which 1994 comedy did Dan Marino play himself?

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective sends Jim Carrey after the Dolphins' stolen mascot, a dolphin named Snowflake, and then after Marino, who is kidnapped too with the Super Bowl days away.

Whose record for NFL coaching wins did Don Shula break in 1993?

George Halas's 324 wins fell in Philadelphia: with Miami trailing and its quarterback hurt, reserve Doug Pederson came on to lead two field-goal drives, long before he coached the Eagles to a Super Bowl title.

Who replaced Don Shula as the Dolphins' head coach before the 1996 season?

Jimmy Johnson left a television studio to take the job, two years after winning back-to-back Super Bowls with Dallas; in four seasons he took Miami to three playoffs but never to another title game.

Which college did Nick Saban leave the Dolphins for in January 2007?

Alabama announced him on 3 January 2007, thirteen days after Saban had told reporters, "I'm not going to be the Alabama coach."

Which coach took over Miami's football operations during its 1-15 season?

Bill Parcells replaced the general manager and the head coach, and a year later Miami went 11-5, tying the biggest one-season improvement in NFL history.

Which formation did the 2008 Dolphins spring on the Patriots to launch their turnaround season?

The Wildcat sent the snap straight to running back Ronnie Brown, who ran for four touchdowns and threw for another in a 38-13 rout in Foxborough.

Which Dolphins running back retired days before the 2004 training camp and spent that autumn studying holistic medicine?

Ricky Williams was facing a four-game suspension for marijuana when he walked away; Miami sank to 4-12 without him, and he returned to the team in 2005.

Under what name did Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens open in 1987?

Joe Robbie Stadium was named for the Dolphins owner who built it entirely with private money; it has since been Pro Player, Dolphin, Land Shark and Sun Life Stadium, among other names.

Where did the Dolphins play their home games from 1966 to 1986?

The Orange Bowl also staged five Super Bowls; it was torn down in 2008, and the Marlins' baseball park now stands on the site.

Whose drive won Hard Rock Stadium's first Super Bowl?

Joe Montana found John Taylor with 34 seconds left to beat Cincinnati 20-16 in January 1989; by 2020 the stadium had staged five more Super Bowls.

Which businessman took full control of the Dolphins in 1994 and sold the team to Stephen Ross in 2009?

Wayne Huizenga, who built Blockbuster Video into America's biggest movie-rental chain, also owned baseball's Marlins and hockey's Panthers; he sold the Dolphins and their stadium to Ross in two stages.

Which quarterback went first overall in 2020, four picks before Miami chose Tua Tagovailoa?

Joe Burrow went to Cincinnati; Miami took Tagovailoa fifth although a hip injury had cut short his last college season, and the Chargers chose Justin Herbert with the very next pick.

Which Dolphins receiver led the NFL in receiving yards in 2023?

Tyreek Hill had arrived in a trade a year earlier; with him, Tagovailoa became the first Dolphin to lead the league in passing yards since Dan Marino in 1992.

Which team did Miami beat in overtime in December 2000, its most recent playoff win as of 2025?

The Indianapolis Colts lost 23-17 when Lamar Smith, on his 40th carry of the game, ran 17 yards to score in overtime.

What did the original Dolphins logo show?

A leaping dolphin in a helmet marked M stayed on the logo through the 2012 season; the 2013 redesign kept a sunburst but left a bare, swimming dolphin with no helmet at all.

Why did the Dolphins drop Flipper, the live dolphin who leapt in an end-zone tank at their games, after 1968?

To save money: neither the city nor the aquarium would pay for tank repairs and for trucking her to each game, and the owner became known as the man who fired Flipper.

Which Miami rapper joined T-Pain on the 2009 remake of the Dolphins' fight song?

Pitbull and T-Pain were enlisted to modernise Lee Ofman's 1972 fight song, yet the original was still the one playing at Dolphins home games in 2023.

Which linebacker, a 13th-round draft pick thought too small for the pros, captained the Dolphins' 'No-Name Defense'?

Nick Buoniconti came to Miami from the Patriots in a 1969 trade and was the team's most valuable player in his first season; he reached the Hall of Fame in 2001.

Who scored the walk-off touchdown in the 2018 'Miracle in Miami' lateral play against New England?

Kenyan Drake took the second lateral, got a block from a guard who had chased the play 40 yards and ran past the last defender, tight end Rob Gronkowski, as time expired.

In March 2006 Miami passed on free agent Drew Brees over his shoulder and traded a second-round pick for which quarterback?

Daunte Culpepper, coming off a wrecked knee, started four games before going on injured reserve; Brees signed with New Orleans and was the MVP of its first Super Bowl win.

Which Dolphins pass rusher finished second on Dancing with the Stars?

Jason Taylor, a third-round pick out of Akron, skipped Miami's spring workouts in 2008 to dance on the show, and the club traded him away that July.

Which linebacker did Miami find in the fifth round of the 1996 draft?

Zach Thomas, the 154th player chosen, was the AFC's defensive rookie of the year that season and went on to seven Pro Bowls, though the Hall of Fame made him wait until 2023.

From 1977, Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese became known for playing in what?

Eyeglasses went on under his helmet in 1977, and Griese answered with a career-high 22 touchdown passes and his first All-Pro season since 1971.

Which head coach, hired in 2022, built the Dolphins offence that led the NFL in yards in 2023?

Mike McDaniel reached the playoffs in each of his first two seasons but lost both wild-card games, and Miami fired him after a 7-10 finish in 2025.

What is the name of the Dolphins' costumed mascot, introduced in 1997?

T.D. made his debut without a name at the club's draft-day party in April 1997; the name was picked weeks later and announced at the team's awards banquet.