1970 Miami Dolphins season

5th season in franchise history; first in the National Football League December 2013 March 2026 Miami Dolphins 1970 10–4 2nd AFC East Don Shula Miami Orange Bowl Lost Divisional Playoffs(at Raiders) 14–21 3 QB Bob Griese WR Paul Warfield FB Larry Csonka Dolphins seasons The 1970 Miami Dolphins season was the team's fifth, and first in the National Football League (NFL). It was the team's first winning season, first playoff appearance, and first of 26 seasons under head coach Don Shula. The team improved on their 3–10–1 record from 1969, and finished the regular season at 10–4, second in the newly aligned AFC East to only the Baltimore Colts, the eventual Super Bowl champion. During this season, the Dolphins defeated the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders for the first time in franchise history.100 Things Dolphins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Armando Salguero, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2020, ISBN 978-1-62937-722-3, p.26 The Dolphins got off to a fresh start at 4–1, lost three straight to even their record at 4–4, then won six straight to end the season to clinch their first-ever winning season and playoff berth, as the wild card team. They met the Oakland Raiders in the opening divisional round, whom they had defeated in Miami in early October,https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1lozAAAAIBAJ&pg=3094%2C318229 Lodi News-Sentinel California UPI Raiders still seek first win after loss to Miami October 5, 1970 10 but lost 21–14 on the road in the sun and mud.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gqlRAAAAIBAJ&pg=6250%2C6363585 Milwaukee Sentinel UPI Lamonica's 'bomb' wins for Raiders December 28, 1970 1, part 2 July 2026 InternetArchiveBot https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DlszAAAAIBAJ&pg=2710%2C7809465 Lodi News-Sentinel California UPI Oakland slips, slides past Dolphin defense December 28, 1970 22https://www.si.com/vault/1971/01/04/554208/rushing-to-stake-a-claim Sports Illustrated Maule Tex Tex Maule Rushing to stake a claim January 4, 1971 10 Shula had moved over to the Dolphins on February 18,https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8MkwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ugEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4658%2C3324709 Toledo Blade Ohio Associated Press Money entices Shula to sign with Dolphins February 19, 1970 38100 Things Dolphins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Armando Salguero, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2020, ISBN 978-1-62937-722-3, p.24 after seven seasons as head coach of the Baltimore Colts, now in the same division.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ondQAAAAIBAJ&pg=5621%2C3481279 Milwaukee Sentinel UPI Shula replaces Miami's Wilson February 19, 1970 1, part 2https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RBonAAAAIBAJ&pg=7083%2C4503386 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press Dollar signs convince Shula to jump to Miami Dolphins February 19, 1970 4D Offseason NFL draft 1970 NFL draft 1970 Miami Dolphins 2 29 Jim Mandich Tight end Michigan yes 3 55 Tim Foley Defensive back Purdue yes yes 4 81 Curtis Johnson Cornerback Toledo yes no 6 132 Dave Campbell Defensive end Auburn no no 7 159 Jake Scott Safety Georgia yes yes 8 185 Narvel Chavers Running back Jackson State no no 9 211 Hubert Ginn Running back Florida A&M yes no 10 237 Dick Nittenger Guard Tampa no no 11 263 Brownie Wheless Tackle Rice no no 12 289 Mike Kolen Linebacker Auburn yes no 13 315 Dave Buddington Running back Springfield (Mass.) no no 14 341 Gary Brackett Guard Holy Cross no no 15 367 Pat Hauser Wide receiver East Tennessee State no no 16 393 Charles Williams Guard Tennessee State no no 17 419 George Myles Defensive tackle Morris Brown no no no https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/mia/1970_draft.htm 1970 Miami Dolphins draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com October 18, 2014 Undrafted free agents + 1970 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeBob HamiltonWide receiverPrairie View A&MJesse KayeQuarterbackTampaJim LangerCenterSouth Dakota StateDoug SwiftLinebackerAmherstDoug WoolseyLinebackerBoise StateBill YoungSafetyTennesseeAlan ZerfossTackleWyoming Personnel Staff / Coaches 1970 Miami Dolphins President – Joe Robbie Vice president – Don Shula Director of player personnel – Joe Thomas Head coach – Don Shula Offense/receivers – Howard Schnellenberger Offensive backs – Carl Taseff Offensive line – Monte Clark Defense/linebackers – Bill Arnsparger Defensive line – Mike Scarry Defensive backs – Tom Keane Roster 1970 Miami Dolphins 12 Bob Griese  5 John Stofa 39 Larry Csonka 32 Hubert Ginn y 21 Jim Kiick 35 Stan Mitchell American football 22 Mercury Morris 89 Karl Noonan 87 Willie Richardson 81 Howard Twilley 42 Paul Warfield 80 Marv Fleming 88 Jim Mandich y 77 Doug Crusan T 73 Norm Evans T 67 Bob Kuechenberg G 62 Jim Langer y G 66 Larry Little G 60 Carl Mauck C 79 Wayne Moore American football T 78 Maxie Williams G 71 Frank Cornish Jr. DT 72 Bob Heinz DT 70 Jim Riley American football DE 74 John Richardson American football DT 84 Bill Stanfill DE 85 Nick Buoniconti MLB 54 Ted Davis American football OLB 57 Mike Kolen y OLB 56 Jesse Powell American football MLB 59 Doug Swift y OLB 40 Dick Anderson SS 44 Dean Brown American football CB/S 25 Tim Foley defensive back y CB 45 Curtis Johnson cornerback y CB 26 Lloyd Mumphord CB 48 Bob Petrella SS 13 Jake Scott y FS 20 Larry Seiple P  1 Garo Yepremian K 83 Jim Cox tight end TE IR 42 Bill Darnall WR IR 61 Bob DeMarco C IR 15 Karl Kremser K IR 76 George Myles y no DT Military 51 Ed Weisacosky LB IR 55 Randy Edmunds American football LB 75 Manny Fernandez American football DT 11 Jesse Kaye y QB 53 Norm McBride DE 50 Dick Palmer American football y LB 31 Barry Pryor RB Regular season 1970 NFL season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance 1 September 20 at Boston Patriots L 14–27 0–1 32,607 2 September 27 at Houston Oilers W 20–10 1–1 39,840 3 October 3, 1970 Oakland Raiders W 20–13 2–1 57,140 4 October 10, 1970 at New York Jets W 20–6 3–1 62,712 5 October 18 at Buffalo Bills W 33–14 4–1 41,312 6 October 25 Cleveland Browns L 0–28 4–2 75,313 7 November 1 at Baltimore Colts L 0–35 4–3 60,240 8 November 8 at Philadelphia Eagles L 17–24 4–4 58,171 9 November 15 New Orleans Saints W 21–10 5–4 52,866 10 November 22 Baltimore Colts W 34–17 6–4 67,699 11 November 30, 1970 at Atlanta Falcons W 20–7 7–4 54,036 12 December 6 Boston Patriots W 37–20 8–4 51,032 13 December 13 New York Jets W 16–10 9–4 75,099 14 December 20 Buffalo Bills W 45–7 10–4 70,990 Saturday (October 3, 10), Monday (November 30) Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings Postseason 1970–71 NFL playoffs Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Divisional December 27 at Oakland Raiders L 14–21 0–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 54,401 References External links 1970 Miami Dolphins at Pro-Football-Reference.com Miami Category:Miami Dolphins seasons Miami Dolphins Category:1970s in Miami