Jesse Powell, a linebacker who spent five seasons with the Dolphins and played in every game for the perfect 17-0 team of 1972, has died at the age of 65.
Powell grew up in the Texas Panhandle and was a star at West Texas State, was the Dolphins’ ninth-round pick in the 1969 NFL draft. His career was cut short by a knee injury in 1973.
Unlike some of his 1972 Dolphins teammates, Powell would later say he wanted to see another team go undefeated, and that he thought more recent teams had a tougher path to perfection than his Dolphins had, because the media hype surrounding any team that went unbeaten deep into the season was so great.
“I hope somebody does it,” Powell told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal in 2005. “I was part of a great team and a great organization, and the stars just haven’t lined up since.”
Photo via MiamiDolphins.com.