Today in History—January 14: The “No-Name Guys” and the Perfect Season

On a balmy California day in 1973, the Miami Dolphins won the Super Bowl and became the first and only team in NFL history to win every game in a modern season (aka those since the Super Bowl era began in 1967).

The Dolphins went 14–0 in the 1972 regular season and then won their three playoff games, including the Super Bowl. (Today there are usually a few more games—and a few more chances to mess up your record—in a regular season.)

And they did it with a replacement quarterback nicknamed “Old Man,” a defense known as the “No-Name” squad, and betting odds that still listed them as underdogs on game day, despite their undefeated season.

Super Bowl VII was played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum against the Washington Redskins (now Commanders) and decided by a score of 14–7. It was both the second-lowest scoring and the warmest Super Bowl on record. The final score could have been 17–0, perfectly mirroring the Dolphins’ season record, but a field goal was botched and returned for Washington’s only touchdown. (The kicker, Garo Yepremian, reportedly wouldn’t leave his house for weeks afterward.)

Eight future Pro Football Hall of Famers filled out the team’s roster that year, including running back Larry Csonka and guard Larry Little, who met by chance years earlier at a Buick dealership. After that encounter, Csonka lobbied the team’s general manager to sign Little: “If nothing else, I can hide behind him.” (Little was 6’1” and 265 pounds.) Little was traded to Miami from San Diego in July 1969.

Fun Fact

Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula’s watch was stolen as he was being carried off the field in celebration.

Csonka’s hunch about Little proved true during that perfect season. With Little’s blocking, Csonka rushed for more than 1,100 yards during the regular season and supercharged Miami’s offense in the postseason, rushing 112 yards in Super Bowl VII.

The Dolphins didn’t repeat a perfect season the following year, but they did repeat as Super Bowl champs. Not bad for a franchise that only came into existence in 1966. Football history knows their names now.