Fifty years ago today, the National Football League wrapped up its exhibition slate in preparation for a September 15 start to the 1974 season.
On the plus side, it had survived a strike that lasted from July 1 to August 10, losing only the College All-Star Game to the work stoppage. However, the labor dispute opened the door for the fledgling World Football League, which began its inaugural season on July 10.
And while the WFL was starting to look shaky by September, it had already shaken up the senior circuit by signing Larry Csonka, Paul Warfield and Jim Kiick to 1975 contracts.
That trio helped the Miami Dolphins log a perfect season in 1972, and win a second consecutive Super Bowl in 1973. But they’d be lame ducks as Miami tried for a three-peat, lured away to the Memphis Southmen for 1975.
Actually, they were signed by the Toronto Northmen on March 31, 1974. The franchise, owned by Canadian businessman John Bassett, moved to Tennessee just over a month later. Bassett received pushback from some of that country’s government offcials – who wanted to protect the Canadian Football League – and opted to take his team south of the border.
The three-year, $3.86-million deal (Csonka got $1.4 million) was far and away the WFL’s biggest splash.
“I’m not a kid coming out of college anymore,” Csonka told the Tampa Bay Times for a September 8, 1974 story. “I’m not leaving a million dollars on the table. My dad didn’t raise any stupid kids.”
The contracts, as you might expect, were a hot topic of conversation among the Dolphins as they entered their final season before the band broke up.
“We are professionals,” Csonka said. “We will play like professionals no matter what city we’re in. We’re extremely anxious to leave the Dolphins and NFL winners.”
Csonka, at 28, was the NFL’s top fullback and coming off his second consecutive 1,000-yard season. He was named MVP of Super Bowl VIII, scoring two touchdowns and racking up 145 yards in Miami’s 24-7 victory over Minnesota.
Warfield wasn’t targeted a lot due to the Dolphins’ run-heavy attack in 1973, but he made his catches count. He closed the year with 29 receptions for 514 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Kiick was entering his sixth season with Don Shula’s juggernaut, and had added incentive to jump leagues after playing behind Mercury Morris for much of 1973. The result was a career-low 257 yards on 76 carries and no regular season touchdowns.
Yet, a sampling of other Dolphins suggested there were no hard feelings.
“There isn’t a player in professional football who wouldn’t jump to the new league for the kind of money they got,” safety Dick Anderson told the Times. “I can’t blame them. You can only play this game so long. And if you take a beating like Csonka does every game, you’d understand.”
Added guard Larry Little, “I’m glad for them. It’s an opportunity. I’m just sorry I’m not going up there with them.”
Shula, for his part, seemed unconcerned about any short-timers attitude, especially from his workhorse.
“I had a long talk with Larry after he got back from Toronto and he said he was going to give it everything he had to win a third Super Bowl,” he said.
While it had to be tough for Miami faithful to know the three would be gone once the season ended, they obviously gave their best to their future former team.
Csonka played in 12 games with 11 starts in 1974, picking up 749 yards and scoring nine touchdowns. Those stats are even more impressive considering he had to deal with shoulder and foot injuries.
Warfield, meanwhile, earned Pro Bowl honors, snagging 27 passes for 536 yards and two touchdowns.
Kiick finished with 274 ground yards and scored once, bettering his numbers from the previous campaign.
In their final game before becoming Bassett’s employees – a 28-26 loss to the homestanding Oakland Raiders in the AFC playoffs – Csonka rumbled for 114 yards, while Warfield had three catches for 47 yards and a TD.
“Until I get back to Miami, I’m still very much a Dolphin,” Csonka told the Miami Herald after the game. “I think we had the best football dynasty ever and they’ll be chasing that one for a long time. See this ring on my finger? Nobody can take that from me.
“But football is a ‘now’ game. The past means a lot to individuals, but to the fans it’s next week that’s important. The Miami fans are a great group … I sure hate to leave them.”
Alas, there would be no repeat in the Dolphins’ swan song.
In fact, the franchise hasn’t won a Super Bowl since.
As for Csonka, Warfield and Kiick’s WFL days, they were short (the league folded after 12 games) and hardly dazzling from a statistical standpoint.
Kiick was the second leading rusher on the Southmen with 462 yards on 121 carries and nine touchdowns; Csonka was third with 421 yards on 99 totes and one score; and Warfield had 25 catches for 422 yards and three TDs.
Csonka played four more NFL seasons in his Hall of Fame career, three with the New York Giants (1976-78) and a last hurrah with Miami.
Warfield – also a Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee – suited up for Cleveland in 1976 and 1977, finishing his playing days in the place he started before joining Miami in 1970.
Kiick spent the 1976 season with Denver and played four games with the Broncos in 1977 before being traded to Washington where he appeared in just one game and then retired.
Starting every game with the Dolphins in 1979, Csonka had 837 yards and a career-high 12 touchdowns.
In 2017, Csonka wrote this on his larrycsonka.com blog:
“I do not regret my decision to jump to the WFL. It was a business decision. We all had families and the money offered would help secure our futures after football. None of us wanted to leave Miami but there was too big a gap in salary and (Miami owner Joe) Robbie wouldn’t even consider discussing our current contracts. I am happy Coach Shula and I were able to come to terms in 1979 and I was able to end my career with him and the Miami fans.”