They called him Captain Crunch, and the name was fitting. Mike Kolen packed a punch.
Now, 45 years after the Dolphins' No-Name Defense ran through the 1972 season undefeated, Kolen and his perfect teammates are tied together again. But instead of celebration, there’s heartache.
South Florida’s most legendary team has become a cautionary tale, a poignant symbol of the concussion saga that threatens the future of America’s favorite sport.
“Within the last month or so, I've been diagnosed with the initial stages of Alzheimer's,” Kolen, a starting linebacker on Miami’s two Super Bowl-winning teams, told the Miami Herald.