Miami Gardens – The latest five members of the Dolphins 50th season team were introduced today, and they are Brent Grimes, Jim Langer, Reggie Roby, Paul Warfield and Ricky Williams.
Brent Grimes is in his third season (2013-15) as a cornerback with the Dolphins and started all 16 games each of his first two years in Miami. He is tied for the team lead in interceptions with four INTs in 2013 and led Miami with five picks in 2014. Grimes was named to the Pro Bowl following both of his seasons with the Dolphins, becoming only the third Miami cornerback to be selected to the Pro Bowl squad.
“It is a great honor to be included in such a prestigious group. I’m proud of the work I put in and extremely humbled to be voted into the top 50,” Grimes said.
Jim Langer played ten years with the Dolphins (1970-79) as the center of Miami’s offensive line during the team’s championship years in the 1970s. He is a six-time Pro Bowl selection, including five times as a starter (only Dan Marino was named to more Pro Bowl starts in Dolphins history). Langer was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987 and was selected to the Dolphins Honor Roll in 1990.
“It’s a great honor to be selected to the 50 player roster for the all-time Miami Dolphins team. Playing for the Dolphins was a great part of my life. I had some of the greatest coaches of all-time — Don Shula, Monte Clark, and that bunch — and the great players I played with, especially on the offensive line — Bob Kuechenberg, Larry Little and everyone else,” Langer said. “It is indeed an honor to be considered with this group of great athletes and great men. They are very dear to me and I sincerely appreciate the honor.”
Reggie Roby played ten seasons (1983-92) as punter with the Dolphins. His 555 punts are the third highest total in Miami history and his 43.3 yards per kick average ranks third. In 1991, he led the NFL in punting with an average of 45.7 yards per kick. Roby is the only punter in Dolphins history to be named to multiple Pro Bowls. He was one of the first to use just two steps to get his kicks off more quickly, a technique that is now used by every punter in the NFL. Roby passed away in February 2005.
“Not much else could give me more pride than to be able to, on behalf of Reggie, myself and the whole family, to say thank you,” Reggie Roby’s wife Melissa Roby said. “Thank you for acknowledging Reggie for his incredible talent as an athlete and his dedication to the sport. It’s an amazing honor to be a part of such an elite Dolphins team, and I know Reggie is smiling with pride as we reflect upon all 50 men and their accomplishments that add to their journey as NFL football players.”
Paul Warfield played five seasons with the Dolphins (1970-74) as an explosive threat from his wideout position on Miami’s great Super Bowl teams in the 1970s. When he left the Dolphins, he ranked first on Miami’s all-time list in receiving yards and touchdowns. Warfield’s 21.5 yards per reception is still the highest average in Dolphins history and his overall average of 20.5 yards per reception ranks as the fifth-highest in NFL history. He was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and inducted into the Dolphins Honor Roll in 1990.
“I’m very elated to be named to the Dolphins’ all-time team. As I reflect back to those years in the 1970s with the Miami Dolphins, I feel so gratified personally about being a part of the organization and that team during a time that was one of the great eras in professional football. To be a part of an undefeated, untied championship team is what team sport is all about. My life-long participation has been in team sport and to reach a paramount level such as that in one season (1972) certainly stands out,” Warfield said.
“As I reflect back to the Miami Dolphins organization when I arrived in 1970, it was, for the most part, a team that was searching for an identity, a team that had not accomplished very much in its initial years and started that 1970 season with a confluence of factors coming together. That team completely turned its fortunes around to become the finest team in all of professional football — the flagship of the fleet.”
“We did it with great players, we did it with a great coach and coaching staff. That is the essence of team sport which I love so much. And so I am immensely honored, in reflecting back at the great history of this organization, that they have elected me to one of those prestigious spots as one of the outstanding players who have been privileged to wear the aqua and orange.”
Ricky Williams played seven seasons (2002-03, 05, 07-10) with the Dolphins at running back. With 6,436 yards and 48 touchdowns rushing as a Dolphins player, he ranks second in team history in rushing yards and touchdowns. Williams set a Dolphins record in 2002 when he led the NFL in rushing with 1,853 yards. He followed that in 2003 with 1,372 yards and no one in Dolphins history has ever come within 100 yards of either of those totals.
Dolphins 50th Season Team
Dick Anderson
Doug Betters
Tim Bowens
Nick Buoniconti
Mark Clayton
Bryan Cox
Larry Csonka
Mark Duper
Bob Griese
Brent Grimes
Manny Fernandez
Bob Kuechenberg
Jim Langer
Larry Little
Jim Mandich
Dan Marino
O.J. McDuffie
Mercury Morris
Tony Nathan
Reggie Roby
Jake Scott
Bill Stanfill
Paul Warfield
Richmond Webb
Ricky Williams
In conjunction with the Dolphins 50th season celebration presented by Pepsi, voting took place to select the top 50 players in team history. Four different groups voted on the composition of the team, including fans, Dolphins alumni, South Florida media and a select blue ribbon panel. Each group’s selections counted for 25 percent of the overall vote.
Five players on the team will be announced each week leading up to home game vs. the New York Giants on Dec. 14 when the entire 50th team will be honored as part of a tribute to the 50 seasons of Dolphins football.
