Miami Dolphins
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Miami Dolphins, American professional football team based in Miami that plays in the American Football Conference (AFC) of the National Football League (NFL). With a rich history that includes two Super Bowl championships (1973–74) and five conference titles, the Dolphins are the only team in NFL history to finish an entire season undefeated; their 1972 season ended without a loss and culminated in a victory in Super Bowl VII.
(Read Walter Camp’s 1903 Britannica essay on inventing American football.)
![Serena Williams poses with the Daphne Akhurst Trophy after winning the Women's Singles final against Venus Williams of the United States on day 13 of the 2017 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 28, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (tennis, sports)](https://cdn.britannica.com/74/234474-131-7CBD1A96/Serena-Williams-womens-single-trophy-Australian-Open-Januray-28-2017.jpg)
The Dolphins joined the American Football League (AFL) in 1966, four years before the league merged with the NFL. Failures during the team’s infancy brought about the hiring of head coach Don Shula from the Baltimore Colts in 1970. Shula immediately turned the Dolphins around and led them to playoff appearances in each of his first five seasons with the team, including the Dolphins’ first trip to the Super Bowl in January 1972, which they lost to the Dallas Cowboys. Featuring the “no-name” defense, captained by middle linebacker Nick Buoniconti, and a potent offense led by five players destined for the Hall of Fame—quarterback Bob Griese (who was injured mid-season and replaced by Earl Morrall), wide receiver Paul Warfield, running back Larry Csonka, and linemen Larry Little and Jim Langer—the 1972 Dolphins team dominated the NFL en route to posting the only undefeated season in league history. Returning to the Super Bowl the following season and thus becoming the first franchise to make three consecutive Super Bowl appearances, Miami beat the Minnesota Vikings 24–7. The Dolphins often fielded competitive teams throughout the remainder of the 1970s, but they did not appear in another Super Bowl during the decade.
In 1983 the Dolphins drafted quarterback Dan Marino, who would go on to set major career NFL passing records and be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Teamed with the “Marks Brothers”—wide receivers Mark Clayton and Mark Duper—and working behind a line anchored by centre Dwight Stephenson, Marino ran an offense that often ranked at the top of the league. Despite experiencing a great deal of regular-season success, Marino and the Dolphins advanced to the Super Bowl only once in his 17-year career, a 38–16 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in 1985.
Shula retired after the 1995 season as the winningest coach in NFL history. Defensive-minded squads led by defensive end Jason Taylor, linebacker Zach Thomas, and cornerback Sam Madison experienced moderate success beginning in the late 1990s, but in 2002 the team entered into the longest postseason drought in franchise history. A disastrous one-win season in 2007 prompted the hiring of Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Parcells as head of football operations, bringing hope for a return to form. Miami posted 11 wins and 5 losses in 2008 (which tied the NFL record for the greatest win improvement from the previous season) and won a division championship. Parcells left the Dolphins in 2010 in the midst of three consecutive losing seasons that resulted in another coaching change after the 2011 season. The team continued its mediocre play, however, and the Dolphins’ streak of seasons without a playoff berth reached a franchise-record seven following the 2015 season. Miami bounced back the following year, winning 10 games and reaching the postseason, which resulted in a first-round loss for the Dolphins. Miami then reeled off three consecutive losing seasons.