State Your Case: Why Dolphins' Bill Stanfill Was More Than a 'No Name'

By John Turney 

When the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame's screening committee last week released its list of 60 seniors for the Class of 2025, there were a few surprises, including former Miami defensive end Bill Stanfill. But the screeners got this one right.

Because Bill Stanfill should not have been a surprise.

In his prime, he was the best player on one of the NFL's best defenses. A five-time Pro Bowler, two-time All-Pro and two-time Super Bowl champion, Stanfill deserves to be among the seniors' candidates for the Hall's next enshrinement --partly because he was so accomplished and partly because the Miami defense of the 1970s was, too.

In an era when great defenses earned nicknames -- with Steel Curtain, Doomsday, Purple People Eaters, Fearsome Foursome among the most famous -- there was one that perfectly characterized a bunch of unknowns: The Dolphins' "No Name " defense. There were no Mean Joe Greenes, Carl Ellers, Deacon Joneses; just a group of accomplished players who bordered on the anonymous.

Yet it was one of the league's best. During Don Shula's first five years in Miami, only one team allowed fewer points per game (the Minnesota Vikings) and only four allowed fewer yards.

But, to this day, one only player -- linebacker Nick Buoniconti -- is in the Pro Hall of Fame. He's the "Name" of the No-Names, so to speak. No one else made it past the Hall's preliminary phase for consideration, and that should change -- not because most of the other defenses have multiple players with Gold Jackets; but because, at his peak, Bill Stanfill was the best member of that defense.

Even so, most fans today couldn't name many of those players, including Stanfill. But they're not alone. Still overlooking the "No-Names" are Hall-of-Fame voters. At one time, they valued longevity in careers, and that penalized Stanfill and teammate Dick Anderson (also on the list of 60 seniors) when they were modern-era candidates. Injuries forced Stanfill to retire after eight seasons, which wasn't long enough to attract the attention of voters a generation ago.

But he should attract it now. Why? Let's get started:

-- For openers, he was a five-time Pro Bowler, and was first-team All-Pro in 1972 (AP) and 1973 (PFWA and NEA). Plus, former Hall-of-Fame voter Paul Zimmerman, then writing for the New York Post, named him to his personal All-Pro team in 1974, noting his pass-rush ability and success at stuffing running plays.

-- He was All-AFC every year from 1971 through 1974.

-- The 6-foot-5, 252-pounder was the Dolphins' pass rush.  Consider that in 1969 the Dolphins had 25 sacks, with Stanfill producing eight of them, or 32.1 percent of the team's total. One year later, the Dolphins' pass rush was anemic, recording just 18 sacks. Except Stanfill did his job by bagging six (33.3 percent) of them. In 1971, he had 19.1 percent of the Dolphins' 34 sacks.

-- The year the Dolphins had the NFL's No. 1 defense, they sacked the quarterback 33 times, and Stanfill's share was 30.3 percent (ten individual sacks). In 1973, the Dolphins had 45 sacks, with Stanfill producing a career-high 18-1/2 (41.1 percent). According to Pro Football Reference, no one in the league had more. Stanfill had similar production the next season, totaling 10 of the club's 31 sacks -- 32.2 percent.  That's five of six years with over 30 percent of the "No Name" sacks. 

-- From 1969-74, Stanfill had 59 sacks. For those six years, only four players had more, and three are in the Hall -- Elvin Bethea, Claude Humphrey and Carl Eller. 

-- In his prime, he was responsible for almost one-third of the club's sacks and who knows how many hurries.

But that's what the Dolphins envisioned when they chose Stanfill with the 11th overall pick in the 1969 AFL-NFL draft. At the University of Georgia, he'd been a star, (All-American, Academic All-American, Outland Trophy winner, three-time All-SEC and SEC Lineman of the Year) on a team that won or tied for the conference championship twice. 

He'd been a defensive tackle in college, but the Dolphins wanted to move him to defensive end ... and it was a wise decision.  As a rookie, Stanfill not only produced eight sacks; he intercepted two passes and returned both for touchdowns. He was also named to his first Pro Bowl, chosen as much for his versatility as his intensity.

In defensive coach Bill Arsnparger's famed "53 defense," Stanfill spent considerable time at his collegiate position because the unit's namesake, linebacker Bob Matheson (No. 53), would rush from Stanfill's side of the line much of the time.

Arguably the highlight of Stanfill’s career occurred in 1972 when the Dolphins achieved the only perfect season in NFL history (17-0). In addition to his 10 regular-season sacks that season, he had 3-1/2 more in the playoffs as the Miam defense led the league in points allowed (171) and yards allowed (3,680).

While the next year was challenge, with Stanfill playing the first part of the season 10 pounds underweight because of a viral illness, he had a career year -- recording nearly 20 sacks (including the playoffs). The following season he was the AP Defensive Player of the Week in Week 5 when he sacked Jets' quarterbacks five times. 

The year ended with a 24-7 win over Minnesota in Super Bowl VIII, making the "No-Names" back-to-back champions and the Dolphins one of the best teams of all time.

In 1974, Stanfill had another five-sack game, this time against Buffalo, but that would be his last season as a star. Neck injuries affected him so seriously his last two years that he twice was sent to a hospital and forced to retire after the 1976 season.

However, that would not be the last we heard of Bill Stanfill. After the Dolphins tried to renege on the last two years of his contract, alleging that Stanfill had been deemed healthy by their team physicial, he filed a grievance with the NFLPA. He won the case and collected the money he was owed. 

"I wanted to play," he said then, "but when my doctors (some from the Mayo Clinic) are talking about the possibility of death or paralysis, it makes you stop and think."

Which is what the Hall's voters should do with Stanfill's candidacy -- stop and think. When they do, they will see someone who gave everything to a game ... and a team ... he loved. Stanfill had to use a walker before turning 45 because of multiple complications from injuries his last two seasons, and he passed away at the age of 69.

Stanfill was named to the All-Time Miami Dolphins' team in 2007 and is part of the team's Honor Roll. He's also in the University Georgia Hall of Fame and was voted to the College Football Hall of Fame. Perhaps it's time for the Pro Football Hall of Fame to hear his case because its screening committee just did.

And it thought he's worthy of Canton.