Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Nick Buoniconti
Former Dolphins great, HOF member Buoniconti dies at 78
helped the Dolphins win back-to-back Super Bowls, including the 1972 team that finished 17-0 — the NFL’s only perfect season.
“He was more than just a football player and was larger than life for all of us. We’re going to miss him. He’ll always be remembered as not only the first Dolphins defensive player to go into the Hall of Fame,
but one of the greatest Dolphins
ever.” —Nate Moore on Nick Buoniconti
Nick Buoniconti, who anchored the Miami Dolphins’ No-Name Defense of the 1970s Super Bowl teams and cofounded The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, has died at age 78, the family announced Wednesday.
Buoniconti’s football accomplishments would be life-defining for most players, from being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame to winning two Super Bowls to being inducted into the de facto Hall of Fame of two teams, the Dolphins and New England Patriots.
Yet his life’s work, as he defined it, began with the crushing tragedy of his son, Marc, being paralyzed while playing college football in 1985. He sat at Marc’s hospital bedside and promised to do everything he could to see him walk again.
That led to founding The Miami Project with Dr. Barth Green, then raising nearly a half-billion dollars over the following decades to fund medical research for a cure to paralysis.
“Today, with a heavy heart and profound sorrow, my family and the entire Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and Buoniconti Fund community mourn the loss of a man who was truly larger than life, my father, NFL Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti,” Marc Buoniconti said in a statement. “My dad has been my hero and represents what I have always aspired to be; a leader, a mentor and a champion. He made a promise to me that turned into a revolution in paralysis research. We can best honor his dedication and endless commitment by continuing with our work until that promise is fulfilled and a cure is found.”
In recent years, Buoniconti went public with his dementia, which he said resulted from chronic traumatic encephalopathy from playing football.
He also had recently battled pneumonia, Dolphins senior vice president Nat Moore said.
“I’d like to think about the good times we had going back to when I first came into the league in 1974,” said Moore. “Whenever something needed to happen with coach [Don] Shula, he was the guy who went to the back and talked with coach and worked things out. What a smart guy he was. He would stand behind the offense on days he wasn’t practicing. By just looking at the offensive line, looking at the backs, he could tell you what play we were running. It showed you why he was such a great player. He always got to the hole before the guard or the tackle could get to him and he could blow up a play.”
Moore also praised Buoniconti for making an enormous impact in the South Florida community.
“Through the years of what he’s done here in South Florida and the fight to cure paralysis with the Miami Project has been phenomenal,” Moore said. “When you look at paralysis, in the ’70s guys would have back injuries or injuries to their spine and their career was over with. They couldn’t walk again. Because of Nick raising money, he and Marc, what they’ve been able to do at the Miami Project — guys are walking again, guys are playing again.”
Buoniconti helped the Dolphins win back-to-back Super Bowls, including the 1972 team that finished 17-0 — the NFL’s only perfect season. Buoniconti, an undersized overachiever from Notre Dame who was bypassed in the NFL draft, made the Pro Bowl eight times as a middle linebacker. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001.
Fellow Hall of Famer and former Dolphins coach Don Shula released a statement through the team Wednesday.
“Nick was special to me in every way,” Shula said. “He was someone I greatly admired. His love for his wife, Lynn, his children, grandchildren, friends, teammates, family and the community was evident. His groundbreaking work with The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis has made a huge difference in the lives of so many people. I am thankful to have had Nick in my life. I will miss him.”
Former teammates also recalled Buoniconti, such as Hall Of Fame fullback Larry Csonka.
“He was the consummate team captain, the heartbeat of our team,” Csonka said in a statement. “I’ll miss Nick, his wisdom and class. Because of Nick, the world’s a much better place. My sincerest condolences to Lynn and family. RIP brother, #85.”
Buoniconti was drafted in the 13th round by the Boston Patriots of the old AFL, making the All-Star Game six times after recording 24 interceptions from 1962 to 1968. Buoniconti played for the Dolphins from 1969-1974 and in 1976.
When he began his stint with Miami, Buoncionti met a little-known guard from the San Diego Chargers named Larry Little. He also ended up landing a spot in the Hall of Fame based on his Dolphins career, which ended in 1980.
“The main thing I always remember about Nick is that we were both traded to the Dolphins the same year [1969] and were bonded ever since then,” Little said in a statement Wednesday. “He came from Boston and I was with San Diego. We had a great relationship and always kidded each other. We were both captains of the 1972 team, and he would always call the coin toss and got it right every time. One time I asked to do it, and I got it wrong. He never let me forget that! He was a great guy and a great person. He was always a fierce competitor. It’s really a sad day for me.”
Buoniconti, a native of Springfield, Massachusetts, also had a successful career in broadcasting following his 14-year playing career.
“Nick Buoniconti lived an extraordinary life,” executive producer of HBO Sports Rick Bernstein said in a statement. “He accomplished virtually everything he set his sights on in life. He was a trailblazer. Pairing him with Len Dawson on ‘Inside the NFL’ for 23 years is an unforgettable part of football television history. … Everybody at HBO Sports is grateful to have had Nick as a friend, colleague and part of our family.”
Following retirement, Buoniconti also worked as an attorney, president and chief operating officer of U.S. Tobacco, a Fortune 500 company, and as an agent for several athletes, including former Yankees Mickey Rivers and Bucky Dent, the Dolphins’ Moore and Joe Rose and Hall of Fame baseball player Andre Dawson. He also was chief operating officer of Columbia Laboratories, an AMEX listed pharmaceutical research and development company.
“He was more than just a football player and was larger than life for all of us,” Moore said. “We’re going to miss him. He’ll always be remembered as not only the first Dolphins defensive player to go into the Hall of Fame, but one of the greatest Dolphins ever.”