The 1972 Miami Dolphins, owners of the only undefeated season in NFL history, will be honored in a special ceremony at the White House in Washington on Aug. 20.
President Barack Obama will host head coach Don Shula and members of the '72 team, who never got a chance to visit the White House after their legendary perfect season.
"The entire Miami Dolphin organization is very excited and appreciative that the 1972 'Perfect Season' team is going to be honored by President Obama at the White House," Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said in a statement released by the team. "By going undefeated all year en route to a Super Bowl championship, the ’72 Dolphins reached the pinnacle of sports achievement and set a standard for excellence that has yet to be duplicated.
"In addition, Coach Shula and his players were just as successful off the field in their charitable and civic activities, becoming role models for the South Florida community. The players and coaches are most deserving of this unique honor, and they are looking forward to their trip to the White House and their ceremony with the President."
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In just their seventh season in franchise history, the Dolphins avenged a loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the previous season's Super Bowl by winning every game on its schedule then breezing through the playoffs en route to a 14-7 win over the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII.
The team featured a number of future Hall of Famers, including QB Bob Griese, RB Larry Csonka, WR Paul Warfield, OL Larry Little, and Shula. Csonka and Mercury became the first RB tandem to each top 1,000 yards rushing in a season.
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Nine players on the team made the Pro Bowl: Csonka, Morris, Warfield, Little, OL Norm Evans, LB Nick Buoniconti, DE Bill Stanfill, S Dick Anderson and S Jake Scott. Stanfill, Anderson, and QB Earl Morrall (who subbed for an injured Griese for most of the season) were named 1st-team All-Pro.
This will be the first time the '72 Dolphins will make the trip to Washington, as then-President Richard Nixon was mired in the Watergate scandal in 1973 after Miami won Super Bowl VII.
