Two-time Super Bowl Champion. Two-time Second-Team All-Pro. Eight-year NFL career. Thirty-five career sacks and six fumbles recovered in 103 career games played. A member of the Miami Dolphins’ Silver Anniversary Team, All-Time Team, Honor Roll, and Walk of Fame. Named to Pro Football Weekly’s All-Time Super Bowl team in 2001, and USA Today’s All-Time Super Bowl team in 2006. Those are the accolades and accomplishments for Miami Dolphins nose tackle Manny Fernandez.
Fernandez missed out on being named
Super Bowl MVP for his 17 tackles and one sack performance in Super Bowl VII. Dick Schaap named safety Jake Scott the game’s top player, a deserving selection, but Schaap admitted later that he had not realized Fernandez had dominated as much as he had.
On Sunday, Fernandez passed away at age 79.
Dolphins release statement on Fernandez’s passing
“We are saddened by the passing of Manny Fernandez, a member of the 1972 Perfect Team, a two-time Super Bowl champion, Ring of Honor member and an anchor of the Dolphins’ legendary No-Name Defense,” the Dolphins said in a statement released Tuesday morning. “His consistent and selfless contributions on the field were instrumental to the Dolphins’ success through the early 1970s, particularly in the team’s three consecutive Super Bowl appearances, in which he produced some of the most memorable defensive performances in the history of the game. Our thoughts are with his family, loved ones and teammates as we remember one of the best players in Dolphins history.”
Fernandez dominated
Fernandez is third all-time on the Dolphins for sacks by a defensive tackle, trailing just Bob Baumhower (39) and Zach Sieler (35.5).
Just how dominant was Fernandez in the middle of the field? During a game in the 1972 season, Buffalo Bills quarterback Dennis Shaw attempted a fairly straightforward handoff to running back Jim Braxton, only for Fernandez to accept the handoff instead:
Fernandez background
Born in Oakland, California on July 3, 1946, Hernandez graduated from San Lorenzo High School. After attending Chabot Junior College in Hayward, California, Fernandez moved to Utah, where he played three seasons. He went undrafted in 1968 before signing with the Dolphins.
Rest in peace, Manny.
