Comment on Mercury Morris, Dolphins great from perfect 1972 team, dies at 77

Eugene “Mercury” Morris, a great Miami Dolphins running back on their two Super Bowl-winning teams, has died at 77. Morris’ death was first announced by his son on social media platform X and has been confirmed by the Dolphins. Morris was a 1,000-yard rusher on the Dolphins’ undefeated 1972 team and has been one of the more passionate defenders of the team’s title as the NFL’s lone perfect team in league history with his outgoing personality. He led the NFL with 12 rushing touchdowns that season, earning one of three career Pro Bowls, the others in 1973, when the Dolphins defended their Super Bowl crown, and 1971, when Miami made its first Super Bowl but lost to the Dallas Cowboys. Morris was the speedster in a great Dolphins backfield trio in the early 1970s that also consisted of Jim Kiick and Hall of Fame fullback Larry Csonka. Morris is survived by his children Geno, Maceo, Tiffany, Troy and Elliott and his siblings Cynthia, Valerie and Janice. Larry Little, the Dolphins Hall of Fame guard and member of the 1972 Perfect Season team, might have been Morris’ closest friend on the team. Little said he visited Morris in the hospital Tuesday. “I got him to smile,” Little said Sunday.