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Jim Kiick, Dolphins' perfect season running back, dies at 73

MIAMI — Jim Kiick, the versatile running back who helped the Miami Dolphins achieve the NFL's only perfect season in 1972, has died. He was 73.

The team announced the death Saturday.

Kiick battled memory issues in recent years and lived in an assisted living home.

The former University of Wyoming star was part of a formidable backfield that included his best friend, Pro Football Hall of Fame fullback Larry Csonka. They earned the nicknames Butch and Sundance, inspired by the popular 1969 movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."

Kiick ("Butch") made the American Football League All-Star team in his first two seasons and played for the Dolphins' back-to-back Super Bowl championship teams in 1972-73.