MIAMI, FL (WTVB) – Hall of Fame linebacker Nick Buoniconti, a captain on the Dolphins’ undefeated 1972 team, has died at his New York home at the age of 78.
Buoniconti played 15 professional seasons with the Dolphins and the AFL’s Boston Patriots and was a six-time AFL All-Star and the leader of Miami’s famed “No-Name Defense” of the 70s.
The Massachusetts native had been suffering from symptoms of the degenerative brain disease CTE in his later years and had been recently battling pneumonia, according to Dolphins vice president Nat Moore.
