From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nick Buoniconti
Date of birth	December 15, 1940 (age 66)
Place of birth	Springfield, Massachusetts
Position(s)	Middle linebacker
College	Notre Dame
AFL Draft	1962 / Round 13/ Pick 102
Career Highlights
Pro Bowls	AFL All-Star 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1970 NFL Pro Bowl 1973, 1974
Stats
Statistics	Pro Football Reference DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1962-1968 1969 1970-1976	AFL Boston Patriots AFL Miami Dolphins NFL Miami Dolphins
Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2001

Nicholas Anthony Buoniconti (born December 15, 1940) is a former AFL and NFL Hall of Fame middle linebacker, who played for the Boston Patriots and Miami Dolphins.

Born on December 15, 1940 in Springfield, Massachusetts, Buoniconti graduated from Notre Dame, and was drafted by the Patriots in the thirteenth round of the 1962 AFL draft. He made an immediate impact with the Patriots helping the team capture the 1963 AFL Eastern Division title. With Boston, he appeared in five AFL All-Star Games, and recorded 24 interceptions, which is still the seventh-most in team history. He was traded to the Miami Dolphins in 1969.

He continued to play well with the Dolphins, in 1969-1974 and 1976, and made the AFL All-Star team in 1969 and the NFL Pro Bowl in 1972 and 1973. His leadership made him a cornerstone of the team's defense. During his years there, the team advanced to three consecutive Super Bowl appearances, one of which was the team's 1972 undefeated season. In 1973, he recorded a then-team record 162 tackles (91 unassisted). He was named to the Pro Bowl in 1972 and 1973.

Buoniconti got his law degree during his years with the Patriots, and although he was never a practicing attorney, he was briefly President of the US Tobacco Company during the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was a leading critic of studies which showed that smokeless tobacco caused cancer of the mouth as well as other types of cancer.

In recent years, he has become the most outspoken member of the 1972 Undefeated Season team. It is rumored that he leads a champagne toast every year after the last remaining undefeated team loses for the first time.

Nick put his verbal talent to use as a co-host of the HBO series Inside the NFL until 2001. That same year, Nick was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In 1985, after his son Marc suffered a paralyzing spinal cord injury making a tackle for The Citadel, Nick became the public face of the group that founded the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, now one of the world's leading neurological research centers.

• Other American Football League players

• Pro Football Hall of Fame Bio Page: Member profile