Manny Fernandez, the legendary defensive lineman for the great Miami Dolphins teams of the 1970s, has died at 79.
Fernandez’s tenure with the Dolphins began before the team was even an NFL organization. He first joined the club after going undrafted in 1968 when the Miami was still an AFL squad.
It wasn’t long before Fernandez and the Dolphins would ascend to new heights. In 1970, Fernandez received down-ballot MVP votes. That season also became the first of five consecutive postseason appearances for the Dolphins. The Dolphins would make three trips to the Super Bowl before Fernandez’s retirement in 1975, including back-to-back Super Bowl championships in 1972 and 1973.
Fernandez was credited with 35 sacks during his eight-year career, though those are unofficial numbers, as the NFL did not recognize sacks until 1982.
The 1972 Super Bowl squad would become the only NFL team to go undefeated in the regular season and the postseason. The entire 1972 roster was inducted into the Dolphins’ Honor Roll, and Fernandez was personally inducted in 2014.