Jim Kiick James Forrest Kiick ( born August 9 , 1946 ) is a former professional football player , a running back for the Miami Dolphins in the American Football League ( AFL ) from 1968 to 1969 and in the National Football League ( NFL ) from 1970 through 1974 . He was a member of the undefeated 1972 team , and was an integral part of the ball - control running game which characterized the Dolphins under head coach Don Shula in the early 1970s . Kiick played in three Super Bowl s and is the Dolphins ' fourth all - time leading rusher . He and fullback Larry Csonka were known as " Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid , " in 1973 co - wrote a book , " Always on the Run " . They shocked the sports world in 1974 when they signed with the World Football League . Early life . Born and raised in Lincoln Park , New Jersey , Kiick played football , baseball , and basketball at Boonton High School . He made the All - Morris County team , but as a defensive back , not as a running back , and graduated in 1964 . His father , George , a native of Hanover , Pennsylvania , played in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1940 and 1945 . College career . After high school , Kiick went west and played college football at Wyoming from 1965 through 1967 , and was the Cowboys ' leading rusher each of those years . He totalled 1 , 714 yards and ten touchdowns on 431 carries , and 561 yards and five touchdowns on 52 pass receptions . He was the first player ever to earn first - team All - WAC honors three times . As a junior , he was named the Most Valuable Player in the 1966 Sun Bowl win over Florida State , rushing 25 times for 135 yards and two touchdowns , and catching four passes for 42 yards . Kiick was co - captain of the team as a senior and led undefeated Wyoming to the 1968 Sugar Bowl against LSU , where he rushed 19 times for 75 yards and a touchdown and caught five passes for 48 yards . Wyoming led 13 – 0 at halftime , but was outplayed in the second half and lost 20 – 13 . Kiick played in the Senior Bowl , and was selected to play in the 1968 College All - Star Game , where he first met Csonka . ( In a foreshadowing of things to come , they went out drinking every night . ) Although Csonka would be named the All - Stars ' Most Valuable Player , Kiick never got into the game . He showed up at the All - Stars ' training camp out of shape , and the All - Stars ' coach , ex - NFL quarterback Norm Van Brocklin , decided he had a bad attitude and benched him . Professional career . Dolphins . Kiick was selected by the AFL ' s Miami Dolphins in the fifth round ( 118th overall ) of the 1968 Common Draft . Director of Player Personnel Joe Thomas said Kiick was drafted for his " quick feet . " He signed a two - year , no - cut contract for $ 15 , 000 the first year , $ 17 , 000 the second year , plus a $ 7 , 000 bonus . He was the primary halfback for the next four years , and missed only one game in that period . Beginning with the 1972 season , he had to share halfback duties with other players , most notably Mercury Morris , as Shula decided a faster back would better complement Csonka . Kiick started only three of 14 regular season games in 1972 as he became primarily a short - yardage and goal - line specialist , although he did start Super Bowl VII at the end of the season . Although not blessed with breakaway speed , the , Kiick was a versatile player ; in addition to being an effective inside power runner , he was also an excellent blocker and clutch pass receiver . He had over 1 , 000 yards combined rushing and receiving in each of his first four years . He was often compared to such well - known all - purpose backs as Paul Hornung , Tom Matte , and his boyhood idol , Frank Gifford . Teammate Jim Langer described him as " a very heady runner and receiver . " He played hurt and rarely fumbled . Kiick once played with a broken toe , a broken finger , a hip pointer and a badly bruised elbow . He led the Dolphins in rushing in 1968 ( 621 yards ) and 1969 ( 575 yards ) and was selected for the AFL All - Star game both years . His nine rushing touchdowns in 1969 led the AFL , and his 1 , 155 total yards from scrimmage in 1970 ranked fifth in the NFL . In 1971 , he had his best year as a runner , rushing for 738 yards and three touchdown s . He was the only player to rank in the top 15 in both receptions and rushing yardage in both 1970 and 1971 . He led the Dolphins in receiving in 1970 and was second in 1968 and 1971 . Wrote teammate Nick Buoniconti , Kiick negotiated a one - year $ 32 , 000 contract during the 1970 training camp after initially being offered $ 20 , 000 . Kiick and Csonka didn ' t report to training camp in 1971 during contract negotiations . The Dolphins were offering each player less than $ 40 , 000 a year . After two weeks of negotiations , they ended up signing three - year contracts for about $ 60 , 000 a year , which was commensurate with what the other stars on the team , such as Paul Warfield , Bob Griese and Nick Buoniconti , were being paid . ( They were also fined $ 2 , 800 apiece . ) In the longest game in NFL history , the 27 - 24 double - overtime victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1971 AFC playoffs , Kiick rushed 15 times for 56 yards and scored a touchdown . In the 1972 AFC playoff game against the Cleveland Browns , he rushed 14 times for 50 yards and scored the decisive touchdown . In the 1972 AFC championship game against the Pittsburgh Steelers , he rushed only eight times for 15 yards , but those 15 yards produced two touchdowns , including the decisive one . Kiick played in three consecutive Super Bowl s with the Dolphins . In Super Bowl VI , he rushed 10 times for 40 yards , and caught three passes for 21 yards , but the Dolphins failed to score a touchdown and were trounced by the Dallas Cowboys , 24 – 3 . In Super Bowl VII , he caught two passes for six yards , and rushed 12 times for 38 yards , scoring the decisive touchdown , a one - yard blast , as Miami defeated the Washington Redskins 14 – 7 , completing their perfect 17 - 0 season . In Super Bowl VIII , he rushed seven times for ten yards and scored the second of Miami ' s three touchdowns , diving in headfirst from the one yard line ( his only touchdown of the 1973 season ) . It was , said Kiick , " my specialty - - the one - yard gallop . " Miami dominated the Minnesota Vikings , 24 – 7 . Celebrity . Kiick and Csonka were roommates at training camp and on the road . Their hell - raising typically included consuming large quantities of alcohol . In 1969 sportswriter Bill Braucher of the Miami Herald , upon hearing of their exploits on and off the field , dubbed them " Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid " ( Csonka was Sundance , Kiick was Butch ) . A TV film was made of their exploits , showing them riding horseback into the sunset on Miami Beach , and they even posed for a poster dressed in western garb . The " Sports Illustrated " issue of August 7 , 1972 , featured a profile of Kiick and Csonka . This issue has become a collector ' s item because of the cover photograph of Kiick and Csonka by famed SI photographer Walter Iooss , with Csonka making an obscene gesture with the middle finger of his right hand across his left shin . Kiick was such a celebrity in South Florida by the summer of 1972 that a petty criminal who bore a passing resemblance to Kiick was able to rent a luxury home on Key Biscayne , make public appearances , and get engaged , passing himself off as Kiick , before being caught . In 1973 , Kiick and Csonka , in collaboration with sportswriter Dave Anderson , published a book , " Always on the Run " . ( A second edition , with an additional chapter covering the 1973 season , Super Bowl VIII , and their signing with the World Football League was published in 1974 . ) Kiick and Csonka discuss their childhoods , their college football careers , their sometimes stormy relationship with Don Shula , their experiences as pro football players , and the sometimes outrageous behavior of their teammates . There is an extensive discussion of how Kiick lost his starting role to Mercury Morris at the 1972 training camp . The book provides insight into the history of the Dolphins and the state of professional football in the late Sixties and early and mid Seventies . The book was excerpted in the September 1973 issue of " Esquire " magazine , with Kiick and Csonka on the cover of the magazine , dressed as Old - West dandies . WFL . In 1975 , Kiick and teammates Csonka and Warfield played for the Memphis Southmen of the World Football League . Kiick had wanted out of Miami ever since he lost his starting role . The March 1974 press conference announcing what was then the richest three - player deal in sports was national news and shocked the sports world . The Miami Trio had signed three - year guaranteed contracts beginning in 1975 with a total value , including perks , of $ 3 . 5 million . Csonka ' s salary was $ 1 . 4 million , Warfield ' s $ 900 , 000 , Kiick ' s $ 700 , 000 . Each player would also receive a luxury car every year and a three - bedroom luxury apartment . Twelve games into its eighteen - game schedule , the league failed in October 1975 . The Southmen finished 7 – 4 , in second place in the Eastern Division behind the 9 – 3 Birmingham Vulcans . Kiick led the team in touchdowns ( ten ) , action points ( five ) , and points scored ( 75 ) . He finished second on the team in rushing , with 121 carries for 462 yards and nine touchdowns , and tied for second with Warfield in receiving , with 25 catches for 259 yards and one touchdown . Broncos and Redskins . Following his brief , disappointing , but lucrative detour to the WFL , Kiick returned to the NFL and played 17 games in a back - up role for the Denver Broncos in 1976 and 1977 . He rushed 32 times for 115 yards and one touchdown , and caught 12 passes for 92 yards and a touchdown . Kiick was released during the 1977 regular season and missed out on the Broncos ' playoff run and appearance in Super Bowl XII . ( On the same day he was released by the Broncos , his house burned down and he got divorced . ) He played one game for the Washington Redskins in 1977 and then retired . Kiick ended his NFL career with 1 , 029 rushing attempts for 3 , 759 yards and 29 touchdowns , and 233 pass receptions for 2 , 302 yards and four touchdowns . He fumbled only 15 times , completed two passes for 38 yards , and ran back a kickoff for 28 yards . After football . Kiick has worked as a private investigator for the Broward County Public Defenders Office , and has been president of Kiick Sports Promotions in Fort Lauderdale . He was inducted into the University of Wyoming ' s Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996 . Personal . His father , George Kiick , was a running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1940 and 1945 . See also . Other American Football League players