Seventeen and Oh: Miami, 1972, and the NFL's Only Perfect Season

Publishing on the 50th anniversary of that magic season, the definitive chronicle of the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only undefeated team in NFL historyùfrom an award-winning literary sportswriterThe 1972 Miami Dolphins had something to prove. Losers in the previous Super Bowl, a ragtag bunch of overlooked, underappreciated, or just plain old players, they were led by Don Shula, a genius young coach obsessed with obliterating the reputation that he couldnÆt win the big game. And as the Dolphins headed into only their seventh season, all eyes were on Miami. For the last time, a city was hosting both national political conventions, and the backdrop to this season of redemption would be turbulent: the culture wars, the Nixon reelection campaign, the strange, unfolding saga of Watergate, and the war in Vietnam.Generational and cultural divides abounded on the team as well. There were long-haired, bell-bottomed party animals such as Jim ôMad Dogö Mandich, as well as the stylish Marv Fleming and Curtis Johnson, with h