Bill Stanfill obit

Former UGA, Dolphins legend Bill Stanfill dies

 

 He was not on the list.

Legendary Georgia defensive lineman Bill Stanfill, a consensus All-American in 1968 and member of the College Football Hall of Fame, died Thursday at the age of 69.

Stanfill endured a bad fall recently and complications arose from it after receiving medical treatment. His health had been in decline recently too. Stanfill died in hospice care in Albany.

Stanfill played football for the Bulldogs from 1966-68 and was a part of two SEC title teams. In 1968, Stanfill was awarded the Outland Trophy and named a permanent team captain.

Stanfill was also an All-SEC honoree all three years he saw the field and was earned Academic All-America and Academic All-SEC honors in 1968.

He went on to be selected with the 11th-overall pick in the 1969 NFL draft by the Miami Dolphins.

“Bill was probably the greatest athlete as a lineman I ever coached,” former Georgia football head coach Vince Dooley said. “He could have been a great tight end as well. Against the triple option, he was the only player that could take the quarterback, the dive back, and the pitch man. Bill was a great person, great warrior, and a great Bulldog.”

After a very successful college career with the Bulldogs, Stanfill was the AFL Rookie of the Year runner-up in his first season with the Dolphins. He went on to be a part of two Super Bowl winning teams, which included the 1972 Dolphins squad that went undefeated – the only pro football team in modern history to do so.

Stanfill recorded a sack in Super Bowl VII, with the Dolphins beating the Washington Redskins 14-7.

Born in Cairo on Jan. 13, 1947, Stanfill was a three-sport star in high school, excelling in football, track and field, and basketball.

In addition to the previously mentioned accolades, Stanfill was also inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1984 and the UGA Circle of Honor in 2000. He was named to the 25-Year All-SEC Team from 1961-85, the All-SEC Quarter Century Team from 1950-74 and the 1960's All-SEC team.

Stanfill lived in Albany, Georgia as a real estate broker. He was featured in a Sports Illustrated article that detailed the injuries to former NFL players, which also included Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas, Earl Campbell, Joe Jacoby, Curt Marsh, Harry Carson and others. SI reported that Stanfill had three surgeries, from August 1993 to January 1996, to fuse four vertebrae in his spine, a problem that started when he jammed his neck during an exhibition game in 1975. According to Stanfill, the surgeries on his spine caused a neck pain so severe he could not tip his head back, had little use of his left thumb, and experienced considerable loss of hand and arm strength. He also had surgery to repair a hip condition that was cutting blood flow to the hip bone.

Stanfill was unofficially second on the 17-0 Super Bowl winning Dolphins team with 10 sacks (behind left defensive end Vern Den Herder's 101⁄2) and was voted All-Pro by the Associated Press. He was a consensus All-AFC selection that unofficially led the Dolphins in sacks in 1973 with 18 1⁄2 and was a consensus All-Pro and All-AFC selection as the 12-2 Dolphins won their second straight Super Bowl. His unofficial 1973 sack total still stands as the team record, although All-Pro Jason Taylor tied that mark in 2002. On October 7, 1973, Stanfill set the unofficial single-game sack record versus the New York Jets. Two weeks later, teammate Den Herder tied that mark against the Buffalo Bills.

In 1974, Stanfill unofficially led the Dolphins defense in sacks with 10, and was voted a second team All-Pro by the NEA and Pro Football Writers Association and was an All-AFC selection for the fourth straight season. In November, versus the Buffalo Bills, Stanfill tied his own (and Den Herder's) unofficial game record for sacks, again recording five.

Injuries hampered Stanfill in 1975 and 1976- both knee and neck injured limited his playing time, and marked the end to Stanfill's post-season honors. Still, he unofficially recorded 61⁄2 sacks in 1975 and four in 1976. The mark in 1976 did, however, tie him for the team lead on a 6-8 Dolphins team.

In all, Stanfill unofficially totaled 691⁄2 career sacks, which was the team record until broken by Jason Taylor, who now has 131 career sacks with the club (139.5 overall). He also is unofficially tied for fourth in the Dolphins' playoff record for sacks with four (tied with Bob Baumhower).

Stanfill was mentioned by Football Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti in his induction speech as being an unsung player on the early 1970s Dolphin teams and as being worthy of consideration for the Hall of Fame.

In 2007, Stanfill was voted to the All-Time Miami Dolphins team.