Howard Twilley, an original Dolphin who had a Super Bowl TD to cap 17-0 season, dies at 81
Howard Twilley, who played for the Dolphins in their first season of existence and caught the only touchdown pass in the Super Bowl win that completed the only undefeated season in NFL history, died on Wednesday at 81.
The University of Tulsa, where Twilley starred collegiately, confirmed his passing to the Associated Press.
Twilley’s 28-yard touchdown reception from Bob Griese in the first quarter of Super Bowl 7 gave the Dolphins a lead they would never relinquish in completing their 17-0 undefeated season.
Twilley had 20 catches for 364 yards and three touchdowns during that ‘72 season.
Drafted in the 12th round of the AFL draft and 14th round of the NFL draft in 1966, Twilley caught 10 passes for 128 yards in the Dolphins’ inaugural season later that year. He and Norm Evans were the only original Dolphins who played on the 1972 undefeated team.
Twilley went on to play 11 seasons for the Dolphins and finished his pro career with 212 receptions for 3,064 yards and 23 touchdowns.
He established career highs in receptions (39) and receiving yards (604) in 1968.
Twilley started 82 of his 123 appearances for the Dolphins, including 11 starts in 13 regular-season appearances in the Dolphins’ perfect season.
In 1965, Twilley set two NCAA records that stood for more than two decades -- most receiving yards in a season with 1779, and most receptions in a season with 134. That year, Twilley was the Heisman runner-up to Southern California’s Mike Garrett.
Born in Houston on Christmas Day in 1943, Twilley was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992 and was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.
After his NFL career ended in 1976, Twilley owned 28 stores of the sporting goods chain, The Athlete’s Foot, before selling them in 1990.
“I tried to be prepared for things in life before they came up; I knew I couldn’t play forever,” Twilley told steelerstakeaways.com in a 2020 interview. “And no one made big money then. I made an average of $40,000 over my 11-year career.”
Asked in that interview about being a member of the only undefeated team in NFL history, Twilley said: “How does anyone feel about being the only one to accomplish something; it feels special certainly.
“But it’s not really that important. Winning World War II – that was important. Lots of things are more important. But I was 28 then and didn’t think of things that way.”
Twilley was living in Dallas in 2022 at the time of the Dolphins’ 50th anniversary celebration for their undefeated team.
Twilley is the 22nd player from the 1972 team who has died. All of the team’s coaches are deceased.
This story was originally published February 6, 2025 at 11:57 PM.
