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Ex-NFL All-Pro Who Was Key Cog on Perfect Dolphins Team Dies at 71

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Six-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman Bob Kuechenberg, who played for the perfect 1972 Miami Dolphins, died Saturday at the age of 71.


Kuechenberg played with the Dolphins his entire career, from 1970 to 1984.

He was the only player from that undefeated 1972 team who also took the field with quarterback Dan Marino in the 1980s.

He started in four Super Bowls, winning two of them, and was a first-team All-Pro in 1978.

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Kuechenberg was never even supposed to be a Miami Dolphin.

He was drafted by the Eagles in the fourth round of the 1969 draft, then opted to to play semi-pro ball with the Chicago Owls of the now-defunct Continental Football League.

After just one season with the Owls, he returned to the NFL and signed as a free agent with the Dolphins.

Kuechenberg’s longtime coach, Don Shula, released a statement on his passing, calling him “not only one of the best players I ever coached, but one of the toughest as well.”


Shula also stumped for Kuechenberg to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “I hope one day he gets that ultimate recognition by being enshrined in Canton — it’s an honor long overdue and one he certainly deserves,” Shula said.

Since retiring, Kuechenberg had been outspoken on a number of topics both on and off the football field.

In 2006, he said the current Dolphins “do not have a soul” after the team’s 1-6 start under Nick Saban. He also said Saban should be “impeached” for not bringing back veteran quarterback Gus Frerotte.

That prompted criticism from then-active Dolphins Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas.

Taylor said Kuechenberg needed a “hug and a hobby,” while Thomas took a shot at Kuechenberg’s lack of a Canton bust.

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“You could say we’re not playing well, but when you say (we have) no soul, guys are playing hard,” Thomas said, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “Fans can say that, but (from him) it’s a no-no.

“He’s always calling up here crying about not making the Hall of Fame. He needs to turn the page. Don’t come in here and try to praise (us) and shake hands with the guys when you’re dogging us out like that.”

Shula responded to Kuechenberg’s comments as well, and jokingly said he would have fined Kuechenberg for talking about the “family” in public.

In 2013, Kuechenberg also made headlines by declining an invitation to the White House when President Barack Obama honored the undefeated ’72 Dolphins.

“I want to be careful, because mom said if you have nothing good to say about someone, then don’t say anything. I don’t have anything good to say about someone,” he said, before acknowledging he made his decision for political reasons.

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Ross Kelly has been a sportswriter since 2009.
Ross Kelly has been a sportswriter since 2009 and previously worked for ESPN, CBS and STATS Inc. A native of Louisiana, Ross now resides in Houston.
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