Only A Blog

'72 Dolphins Set For White House Visit

August 14, 2013

Head coach Don Shula and members of the 1972 Dolphins have returned to Sun Life Stadium in Miami to celebrate their perfect season, but now they are heading to the White House. (Lynne Sladky/AP)

More than 40 years ago, the Miami Dolphins made history, becoming the only franchise to ever go unbeaten in an NFL season.

Nowadays, it’s customary for the Super Bowl champs to take a celebratory visit to the White House. But after the Dolphins capped off the 1972 season with a 14-7 Super Bowl win over the Washington Redskins, no invitation came from the Oval Office. (President Richard Nixon had other matters to deal with.)

But next Tuesday, the ’72 Dolphins will finally get to shake the president’s hand. President Barack Obama has invited the team to the White House for a ceremony.

It may seem like a White House visit was long overdue for the NFL’s only perfect team. But, at least according to one Hall of Famer from the ’72 Dolphins, it doesn’t feel like much time has passed.

“It seems like it was yesterday,” running back Larry Csonka told Bill Littlefield earlier this year.

In his appearance on Only A Game, Csonka spoke of the 17-0 season, the play that nearly lost the Super Bowl, and the 2007 New England Patriots squad that came one win short of being the second undefeated team.

This program aired on August 14, 2013. The audio for this program is not available.