MIAMI -- Pro Football Hall of Fame center Jim Langer, who was literally in the middle of the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season, has died at the age of 71, his wife said.
Langer died Thursday at a Coon Rapids, Minnesota, hospital near his home of a sudden heart-related problem, Linda Langer said.
Jim Langer was a first-year starter and played every offensive down for the NFL's only unbeaten, untied team that went 17-0. The following year, he helped the Dolphins repeat as Super Bowl champions while beginning a stretch of six consecutive Pro Bowl seasons where he played 128 games in a row.