Category: Sports

Remembering Mercury

The Dolphins Eternal Team picked up a new draftee, when Eugene “Mercury” Morris died yesterday. He was a 1969 third round draft pick from West Texas State. He added his talents to the already impressive Dolphins Offensive Backfield that including quarterback Bob Griese, halfback Jim Kiick, and fullback Larry Csonka.

On arrival, there were tensions, as Kiick and Csonka were already established as the dynamic duo. They were nicknamed “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” and Kiick in particular wasn’t quiet about his desire to continue that relationship. That conflict wasn’t ignored by the media, and in fact, frustrations seemed fueled by the extra attention. Mercury feared he would be relegated to special teams in kick and punt returner positions.

However, after those initial growing pains, the team reached a balance, with Kiick and Morris sharing the halfback role. Although Morris officially remained the backup halfback through 1972, he lead the NFL in rushing touchdowns, and he and Csonka were the first NFL teammates to both rush for 1,000 yards or more in a single season. The Dynamic Duo was now a trio, and that trio were a big part of the magical “Perfect Season.” Mercury, Kiick, and Csonka played in 3 Miami Super Bowls (VI, VII, and VIII,) winning the latter two.

As I reflect on Mercury’s passing, I am again reminded that all good things eventually end. Just as the Dolphins early 70s era closed, the players themselves continue to gradually march into history. Jim Kiick of the Dynamic Trio died in 2020, and with Mercury’s departure, now only Larry Csonka remains in that group.        In fact, about half of that early 70s Dolphins team are now gone.

America’s Game (1972 and 1973 Miami Dolphins) includes interview clips with Mercury Morris

I wasn’t on that team. I was never even a football player – even as a kid. I didn’t see an NFL game in person until I was an adult. But I do get to remember those days, and revisit them through video clips and players’ memoirs.
I read the stories in old issues of Sports Illustrated. And I get to see other fans’ recollections on Facebook groups.

And finally, I’ll close this with a message to Mercury himself:

I haven’t forgotten you. I continue to be inspired and in awe of your talents. But you were just selected for the All Time Dolphins Team. So, suit up. It’s Sunday. You and your reunited teammates have a big game today.

-Toph

From my personal Wall of Fame

 

 

 

That One Moment

I was in the first grade when I picked the football team I would follow for the rest of my life. I read somewhere that decisions like that aren’t uncommon. Age 5 or 6 is a pretty significant time in our lives.

In my school, we had a cafeteria, and if we got down there early, the lunch lady would give us whatever football cards came in the Wonder Bread bags that day. Although I wasn’t really “into” football at the time, it was cool to get the cards. They had pictures on the front, and some seemingly useless statistics on the back. I got 3 that year. Larry Csonka, Bob Griese, and Paul Warfield. (For those of you who are unfamiliar, they were all future Hall of Famers who played for the Miami Dolphins in the early 70s.) At the time, as an impressionable first grader, that was FATE herself, whispering directly into my ear,

“You like the Dolphins.”

So, Dolphins is was. How fortunate the timing – that year, they won every game, including the Super Bowl. The PERFECT SEASON! As I got older, I continued to be a fan (though, admittedly, not as dedicated as I was to that season in particular.) A few years later, I started collecting autographs and other memorabilia of the players from that era. First through mail, and later, sports shows, and finally, online dealers, I was able to collect autographs of all the players from that season. They are proudly displayed in my hallway at home.

Now, I tell you all of this because I think it’s a cool anecdote, but also for a more important, and dare I say, more relatable reason. There is a moment, experience, or achievement in everyone’s life that occurred in their formative years. Yours probably isn’t 3 football cards from the 1972-73 Dolphins. But there is something. Think of that event for you. Maybe it’s a certain TV show, or a musician/ band that you just LOVED. Was it standing in line for 4 hours to see Star Wars for the first time? Maybe it’s the first book that really reached out and touched your soul. It could be the time your grandpa took you fishing one summer. Maybe it was holding the flashlight while your dad was under the car, or mom teaching you her Nana’s old cookie recipe, or when the neighbor kid next door helped you build a “fort” out of old boxes and broken crap from the garage.

Take that moment, and contemplate how it worked its way into your modern, adult life. Nostalgia ties everything back to the past. It keeps it fresh, and builds, pointing at something more important. Us.

-Toph

My Dolphins autograph wall
The great Larry Csonka, with my original card.