1966 Miami Dolphins season

1966 Miami Dolphins season
Head coach	George Wilson
Results
Record	3–11
Division place	5th AFL Eastern
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1966 Miami Dolphins season was the team's inaugural year as an expansion franchise in the American Football League (AFL). The Dolphins team was founded by attorney/politician Joe Robbie and actor/comedian Danny Thomas. Future Harlem Globetrotters and Montreal Canadiens owner George N. Gillett, Jr. was a minority partner in the Dolphins.^[1]

Offseason

AFL Draft

With the first pick overall, the Dolphins selected running back Jim Grabowski our of the University of Illinois.^[2] Grabowski was also drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the National Football League's draft. The result was a bidding war between the two franchises to obtain Grabowski's services. The Packers signed Grabowski and he played for them for five seasons.

1966 Miami Dolphins draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	1	Jim Grabowski	Running back	Illinois
1	2	Rick Norton	Quarterback	Kentucky
Made roster

^[3]

Personnel

Staff

1966 Miami Dolphins staff
	Front office President – Joe Robbie Director of Player Personnel – Joe Thomas Head coaches Head Coach – George Wilson Offensive coaches Offensive Backs – John Idzik Receivers – Bobby Walston Offensive Line – Ernie Hefferle			Defensive coaches Defensive Line – Les Bingaman Linebackers – Bob Pellegrini Defensive Backs – Tom Keane Special teams coaches Kicking – Bobby Walston

Standings

AFL Eastern Division
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Buffalo Bills	9	4	1	.692	6–2	358	255	W1
Boston Patriots	8	4	2	.677	5–1–1	315	283	L1
New York Jets	6	6	2	.500	4–3–1	322	312	W1
Houston Oilers	3	11	0	.214	1–7	335	396	L8
Miami Dolphins	3	11	0	.214	2–5	213	362	W1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Attendance
1	September 2, 1966	Oakland Raiders	L 23–14	0–1–0	25,188
2	September 9, 1966	New York Jets	L 19–14	0–2–0	33,650
3	September 18, 1966	at Buffalo Bills	L 58–24	0–3–0	37,176
4	Bye
5	October 2, 1966	at San Diego Chargers	L 44–10	0–4–0	26,444
6	October 9, 1966	at Oakland Raiders	L 21–10	0–5–0	28,863
7	October 16, 1966	Denver Broncos	W 24–7	1–5–0	22,191
8	October 23, 1966	at Houston Oilers	W 20–13	2–5–0	21,999
9	Bye
10	November 6, 1966	Buffalo Bills	L 29–0	2–6–0	36,685
11	November 13, 1966	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 34–16	2–7–0	33,733
12	November 20, 1966	at New York Jets	L 30–13	2–8–0	57,092
13	November 27, 1966	Boston Patriots	L 20–14	2–9–0	22,480
14	December 4, 1966	at Denver Broncos	L 17–7	2–10–0	32,116
15	December 11, 1966	Kansas City Chiefs	L 19–18	2–11–0	17,881
16	December 18, 1966	Houston Oilers	W 29–28	3–11–0	19,274

References

1. The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D’Arcy Jenish, p.296, Published in Canada by Doubleday, 2009, ISBN 978-0-385-66325-0
2. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 396
3. "1966 Miami Dolphins draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 18, 2014.

External links

• 1966 Miami Dolphins at Pro-Football-Reference.com