This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2024) |
No. 57 | |
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Position: | Linebacker |
Personal information | |
Born: | Opelika, Alabama, U.S. | January 31, 1948
Died: | April 3, 2024 76) | (aged
Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
Weight: | 220 lb (100 kg) |
Career information | |
High school: | W. A. Berry (Hoover, Alabama) |
College: | Auburn |
NFL draft: | 1970 / round: 12 / pick: 289 |
Career history | |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats at Pro Football Reference |
John Michael Kolen (January 31, 1948 – April 3, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for eight seasons with the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). [1] Because of his hard-hitting style, he was nicknamed "Captain Crunch." He played for Berry High School in Hoover, Alabama, and collegiately for the Auburn Tigers.
Kolen was involved in one of the most famous plays in NFL history. On the December 21, 1974 playoff game between the Dolphins and the Oakland Raiders is The Sea of Hands game. With 35 seconds to play and the Dolphins leading 26-21, the Raiders had the ball 1st and Goal at the Miami 8-yard line. Quarterback Ken Stabler dropped back to pass and was flushed out of the pocket and nearly sacked by defensive end Vern Den Herder. As he went down, Stabler wristed a weak pass toward running back Clarence Davis in the end zone. Davis was surrounded by three Dolphins, including Kolen. Kolen got his hands on the ball and nearly knocked it away, but somehow Davis, amidst a "sea of hands," ended up with the ball and the touchdown, giving the Raiders the win and ending the Dolphins' dynasty.
Kolen lived in Birmingham, Alabama, with his wife Nancy. He had two children, Kelly and John, and five grandchildren. He owned Kolen Financial Team and worked with his son. He later released a book The Greatest Team: A Playbook for Champions.
Kolen died on April 3, 2024, at the age of 76. [2]
The Immaculate Reception is one of the most famous plays in the history of American gridiron football. It occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game of the National Football League (NFL), between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 23, 1972.
Kenneth Michael Stabler was an American professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Raiders. Nicknamed "Snake", he played college football at Alabama and was selected by the Raiders in the second round of the 1968 NFL/AFL draft. During his 10 seasons in Oakland, Stabler received four Pro Bowl selections and was named Most Valuable Player in 1974. Stabler also helped the Raiders win their first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XI. He was posthumously inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
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The National Football League playoffs for the 1973 season began on December 22, 1973. The postseason tournament concluded with the Miami Dolphins defeating the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl VIII, 24–7, on January 13, 1974, at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas.
The National Football League playoffs for the 1974 season began on December 21, 1974. The postseason tournament concluded with the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IX, 16–6, on January 12, 1975, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Ronnie G. Brown Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). After graduating from Cartersville High School in Georgia, Brown attended Auburn University to play college football for the Auburn Tigers. He and Cadillac Williams shared carries at running back, while he had 1,008 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2002, 446 yards and five touchdowns in 2003, and 913 yards and eight touchdowns in 2004. Brown finished seventh in school history with 2,707 rushing yards and fifth with 28 rushing touchdowns. He twice earned second-team All-Southeastern Conference honors in 2002 and 2004.
Mike Shula is an American football coach who is the Offensive Analyst for the South Carolina Gamecocks of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He played college football as a quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide and was the school's head coach from 2003 to 2006. He was the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996 to 1999, the Carolina Panthers from 2013 to 2017, and the New York Giants from 2018 to 2019.
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The 2001 AFC Divisional Playoff game, also known as the Tuck Rule Game or the Snow Bowl, and sometimes referred to as Snow Bowl 2, was a National Football League (NFL) playoff game between the New England Patriots and the Oakland Raiders. Part of the second round of the 2001–02 NFL playoffs, the game was played on January 19, 2002 at Foxboro Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, at the time the Patriots' home stadium. There was a heavy snowfall during the contest, which was the last game ever played at Foxboro Stadium.
Daniel Joseph Conners was an American professional football linebacker who played 11 seasons for the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League (AFL) from 1964 through 1969, and later in the National Football League (NFL) from 1970 through 1974. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes and is enshrined in their Hall of Fame.
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The Sea of Hands refers to a significant play during the 1974–75 NFL playoffs. The Miami Dolphins were facing the Oakland Raiders in an American Football Conference (AFC) Divisional playoff game on December 21, 1974 at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. The game was ultimately decided in the final seconds by a now-iconic play in which Oakland quarterback Ken Stabler launched an 8-yard touchdown pass to running back Clarence Davis, who seemed tightly covered but somehow wrestled the ball away from multiple Miami defenders to secure victory for the Raiders, thus ending Miami's historic run of Super Bowl appearances.
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Raekwon Davis(Pronounced: RAY-kwon) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He is under contract through the end of the 2025 NFL season in a two-year deal paying him $14 million, of which $7 million is guaranteed.
The Dolphins–Raiders rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Miami Dolphins and the Las Vegas Raiders.