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1966 Miami Dolphins season

1966 Miami Dolphins season
OwnerJoe Robbie
General managerChuck Burr
Head coachGeorge Wilson
Home fieldOrange Bowl
Results
Record3–11
Division place5th AFL Eastern
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers4
SS Willie West
DB Jimmy Warren
DE Ed Cooke
LB Tom Erlandson

The 1966 Miami Dolphins season was the team's inaugural year as an expansion franchise in the American Football League (AFL). The Dolphins were the first of two expansion teams in the AFL, founded by Minneapolis attorney-politician Joe Robbie and actor-comedian Danny Thomas.[1][2][3] Future Harlem Globetrotters and Montreal Canadiens owner George N. Gillett, Jr. was a minority partner,[4] and the team was led by head coach George Wilson.[3] The franchise was granted in August 1965 for $7.5 million.[1][2][5]

Their regular season debut on September 2 began with Joe Auer returning the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown,[6] but the Dolphins lost to the Oakland Raiders, 23–14.[7] Auer was the leading scorer for the season and was named team MVP. With an odd number of teams, each of the nine AFL teams had two bye weeks and played fourteen games. Miami lost its first five games before beating the Denver Broncos in the Orange Bowl. The Dolphins defeated the Houston Oilers the following week for their first road win in franchise history, but then lost the next six consecutive games. In week 16, Miami won against the Oilers again to finish the season with a 3–11 record. Having defeated the Oilers twice, the Dolphins became the first ever expansion team in the Super Bowl era to sweep a division rival, and the last until the Jacksonville Jaguars did it in 1995 against the Cleveland Browns.

  1. ^ a b "Miami to join AFL in '66". St. Petersburg Times. Associated Press. August 17, 1965. p. 1C. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Miami granted AFL franchise". Pittsburgh Press. United Press International. August 17, 1965. p. 39. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Brody, Tom C. (August 8, 1966). "Win one for the Flipper". Sports Illustrated: 24. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  4. ^ Jenish, D’Arcy (2009). The Montreal Canadiens: 100 Years of Glory. Toronto, Ontario: Doubleday. p. 296. ISBN 978-0-385-66325-0.
  5. ^ "Miami gets franchise for AFL team in 1966". Milwaukee Journal. Journal Wire Services. August 17, 1965. p. 11. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  6. ^ 100 Things Dolphins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Armando Salguero, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2020, ISBN 978-1-62937-722-3, p.19
  7. ^ "Raiders rip Miami, 23-14, in AFL debut". Pittsburgh Press. United Press International. September 3, 1966. p. 10. Retrieved June 15, 2019.

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