Nick Buoniconti: A Leader on and off The Field

Miami Dolphins linebacker Nick Buoniconti tries to stay cool on the sidelines. Afternoon game field temperatures at the Orange Bowl often exceeded 110 degrees during the PolyTurf years of the early 1970s. At 5’11 and 220 pounds Buoniconti was considered too small and too slow to play in the NFL coming out of Notre Dame. After going undrafted by the NFL, Buoniconti signed with the Boston Patriots of the American Football League in 1962. He not only made the team, he became their best player. He was a 5-time All AFL selection with the Patriots from 1962 to 1968.

The best was yet to come for Buoniconti. He was traded to the Miami Dolphins in 1969 in exchange for quarterback Kim Hammond and linebacker John Bramlett. Buoniconti gave the Dolphins instant leadership the young expansion franchise had been sorely lacking. When Don Shula arrived in 1970, the pieces for a championship team were coming together. From 1971 to 1973, Buoniconti was the leader of the Dolphins “No-Name Defense” which dominated the NFL. He was selected to 2 more Pro Bowls in Miami and was a member of 2 Super Bowl championship teams.

But perhaps Buoniconti’s greatest achievements in Miami were off the football field. He became a successful attorney and was a longtime co-host of HBO’s Inside the NFL. In 1985 his son Marc Buoniconti was paralyzed while playing football for The Citadel. To help his son and others who are suffering from paralysis, Buoniconti started The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, now one of the world’s leading neurological research centers. Over the years, the Miami Project has made significant strides in helping more people walk again. In 2001, Buoniconti was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Nick Buoniconti passed away on July 30, 2019 after spending a week in a hospice facility. He had suffered from dementia. Before he passed, he admitted to possibly contracting CTE due to countless hits taken to the head during his football career that began at age 9. Nick Buoniconti was 78.