Miami Dolphins great Bob Kuechenberg, who was a member of the only team ever to achieve a perfect season in NFL history dies, aged 71
- NFL great, Bob Kuechenberg, died Saturday; details of death were not released
- His death was confirmed Son unday morning by the Miami Dolphins in a tweet
- Kuechenberg spent his entire NFL career with the Dolphins from 1970 to 1983
- He started every game for 1972 Dolphins team that had a perfect season at 17-0
Miami Dolphins guard Bob Kuechenberg (pictured in 2012), a six-time Pro Bowl selection and member of the only team to achieve a perfect season, has died at age 71
Miami Dolphins guard Bob Kuechenberg, a six-time Pro Bowl selection and member of the only team to achieve a perfect season, has died at age 71.
His death on Saturday was confirmed by the Dolphins, who had no immediate details.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Bob Kuechenberg,’ the Dolphins tweeted Sunday morning.
Kuechenberg spent his entire NFL career with the Dolphins from 1970 to 1983.
He started every game for the team that went 17-0 in 1972, and started 16 games for the team that repeated as Super Bowl champions in 1973.
Kuechenberg was also a first-team All-Pro honoree in 1978.
He played in 196 career games with 176 starts.
A native of Gary, Indiana, Kuechenberg played at Notre Dame before being drafted by the Dolphins in coach Don Shula’s first year with the team.
In 2013, Kuechenberg was among three Dolphins players from the 1972 team to deny a White House invitation from then-president Barack Obama.
While it is now commonplace for a championship team to be invited to the White House, those visits didn’t happen back when Miami ran the table on the season.
His death Saturday was confirmed by the Dolphins, who had no immediate details
Kuechenberg (left in 1972) spent his entire NFL career with the Dolphins from 1970 to 1983. Kuechenberg (right, No 67) started every game for the team that went 17-0 in 1972, and started 16 games for the team that repeated as Super Bowl champions in 1973
At the time, Kuechenberg explained why he chose not to go.
‘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.
The 1972 Dolphins famously had 14 wins and no losses, winning the Super Bowl that year 14-7 over a talented Washington Redskins team to cap the only perfect season in NFL history.
Members of the 1972 team saluted the New England Patriots for their first perfect season in 2007.
That year the Patriots completed a 16-0 regular season with a hard-fought 38-35 victory over the New York Giants.
But Kuechenberg said at the time that he was rooting against the Patriots.
‘Now the exhibition season is over and the real season begins,’ he said at the time. ‘But my heart is dead set against it.’
Kuechenberg’s brother, Rudy, also played in the NFL.
Rudy, 75, played for five seasons and a linebacker for the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, and Atlanta Falcons.
A native of Gary, Indiana, Kuechenberg (center, in 1982) played at Notre Dame before being drafted by the Dolphins in coach Don Shula’s first year with the team
Kuechenberg (No 67) and defensive tackle Bob Heinz (72) walk off the stage following a ceremony honoring the team at a football game against the Baltimore Ravens on December 16, 2007