Number 72 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

We're now 72 days away from the start of the NFL regular season, so we honor the best players who have worn that number for the Miami Dolphins

Alain Poupart | Jun 28, 2022

Rich Barnes-USA Today Sports

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Miami Dolphins

The countdown to the start of the 2022 regular season has begun now that we're under 100 days away, so we'll honor every day the best players to wear the corresponding number for the Dolphins.

Today, we're at number 72.

As a reminder about the ground rules, the top three will be determined only by what the players did while wearing that uniform for the Dolphins.

Players who wore 72 for at least one regular season game for the Dolphins:

DL Whit Canale (1966), DT Bill Keating (1967), LB Rudy Barber (1968), DT Bob Heinz (1969-77), DT Mike Fultz (1981), Richard Bishop (1982), T Ronnie Lee (1984-89), G Steve Jacobson (1987), DE Karl Wilson (1993), T Tom McHale (1995), DT Barron Tanner (1997-98), G-T Vernon Carey (2004-11), T Will Yeatman (2012-13), T Jeff Linkenbach (2015), T Isaiah Prince (2019)

The breakdown of 72 with the Dolphins

The number 72 is another position that failed to produce a Pro Bowl season for the Dolphins, but there are three players who clearly stand out here. A second-round pick in 1969, Bob Heinz started 55 games for the Dolphins, including eight during the perfect season of 1972 and all 14 when Miami repeated as Super Bowl champion in 1973. Ronnie Lee started 62 games in six seasons wearing 72 for the Dolphins in what was a second stint after he had started 37 games as a tight end from 1979-82. Vernon Carey started the last seven of his eight years in Miami, moving from right tackle to left tackle to right guard.

Worth noting

Canale joined the Dolphins after being a 17th-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1965 NFL draft. ... Ruby Barber played two games for the Dolphins in 1968, the same number as his son Kantroy (a fullback) played for the Dolphins in 1989. ... Fultz played four games for the Dolphins in 1981, four years after he was a second-round pick of the Saints. ... Wilson played 16 games for the Dolphins in 1990 wearing 77 before coming back for two games in 1993 after stints with the Rams and Jets. ... McHale started four of the seven games he played in 1995 in the final season of his nine-year NFL career. ... Yeatman appeared in 12 games with no starts as a tackle after starting two games as a tight end wearing 89 in 2011. ... Prince started two of the four games he played for the Dolphins in 2019 as a rookie sixth-round pick before he was waived and picked up by the Bengals.

The top three Dolphins players with number 72

1. DT Bob Heinz

2. G-T Vernon Carey

3. T Ronnie Lee

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Alain Poupart has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989. You can follow him on Twitter at @PoupartNFL.

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Published Jun 28, 2022

ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of All Dolphins and co-host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press, the Dolphins team website, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated). In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.