According to the Associated Press on Monday, former Miami Dolphins running back Jim Kiick of Lincoln Park, NJ passed away on Friday at the age of 73 of Alzheimer’s Disease. Kiick played for the Dolphins from 1968 to 1974, and in that time was an American Football League All-Star twice, and won the Super Bowl twice.
After playing for the Dolphins in 1974, Kiick played for the Memphis Southmen of the World Football League in 1975. He then went on to play for the Denver Broncos in 1976, and shared his time with the Broncos and Washington Redskins in 1977.
Kiick had 997 rushes with the Dolphins from 1968 to 1974, and then 32 rushes with the Broncos from 1976 to 1977. Overall, he had 3759 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns. Kiick also had 233 catches for 2302 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
In 1968 and 1969, Kiick was an American Football League All-Star in back-to-back seasons. In 1968, Kiick had 165 rushes for 621 rushing yards and four touchdowns, along with 44 catches for 442 yards. In 1969, Kiick had 180 rushes for 575 yards and nine touchdowns, along with 29 catches for 443 yards and one touchdown.
Kiick’s nine rushing touchdowns in 1969 led the AFL. He had two more touchdowns than Warren McVea of San Antonio, TX, who had seven rushing touchdowns with the Kansas City Chiefs.
In 1972, Kiick was part of the Dolphins team that made National Football League history by going undefeated, and then winning the Super Bowl. No other team in the NFL has accomplished that feat. Kiick had 521 yards rushing and five touchdowns that season, to go along with 147 yards receiving and one touchdown. In the postseason, Kiick had 34 rushes for 100 yards and four touchdowns, to go along with three catches for 11 yards.
In Super Bowl VII, the Dolphins beat the Redskins 14-7 in Los Angeles. Kiick got the game-winning touchdown for the Dolphins with 18 seconds left in the first half, which put Miami up 14-0 at the time. Kiick had a one-yard run into the end zone. He finished the game with 12 rushes for 38 yards and two catches for six yards.
In 1973, Kiick had 76 rushes for 257 yards, and 27 catches for 208 yards. The Dolphins had a regular season record of 12 wins, and two losses. In the playoffs, Kiick had 23 rushes for 73 yards and one touchdown, to go along with four catches for 20 yards.
Kiick once again had a one-yard game-winning touchdown in the Super Bowl. He put the Dolphins up 14-0 at 13:38 of the first quarter, in their 24-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings. Kiick had seven rushes for 10 yards in Super Bowl VIII from Rice Stadium in Houston, TX.
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