 Anderson in 2014 | |||||||||
| No. 40 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Safety | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1946-02-10)February 10, 1946 (age 79) Midland, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 196 lb (89 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Boulder (Boulder, Colorado) | ||||||||
| College: | Colorado (1965-1967) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1968: 3rd round, 73rd pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Richard Paul Anderson (born February 10, 1946) is an American former professionalfootball player who was asafety for theMiami Dolphins of theAmerican Football League (AFL) andNational Football League (NFL) for nine seasons during the 1960s and 1970s. He playedcollege football for theColorado Buffaloes and was recognized as a consensusAll-American. He was selected inthird round of the1968 NFL/AFL draft, and he played for his entire professional career for the Dolphins.
Anderson made an immediate impact with the Dolphins during his rookie year of 1968 with 8 interceptions (his first of three seasons where he recorded at least 8 interceptions), which resulted in him winning theAP AFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award along withGeorge Atkinson.[1] In 1970, with the addition of drafting safetyJake Scott, the two would make up one of the most dynamic safety tandems in the NFL throughout the 1970s, on the Miami Dolphins famed "No-Name Defense". He won back-to-backSuper Bowl championships in1972 during Miami's infamous "perfect season", and the following year in1973. During their 1973 Super Bowl championship run, Anderson was voted theNFL Defensive Player of the Year where he recorded another 8 interceptions, including a record 4 in one game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Anderson finished his career as Miami's 2nd all-time leading interceptor with 34 career interceptions (one behind Jake Scott's 35). He was a three-timePro Bowl selection, a three-time first (2) or second (1) teamAll-Pro, and was also selected to theNFL 1970s All-Decade Team.
In 1993, Anderson was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame. Despite numerous NFL accolades, Anderson has yet to make thePro Football Hall of Fame. It's possibly due to his short tenure, only playing 10 seasons.
Anderson was born on February 10, 1946, inMidland, Michigan. He attendedBoulder High School inBoulder, Colorado.
Anderson was named a consensus first-teamAll-American in hissenior season at theUniversity of Colorado, and set a school record with 14 career interceptions.
Anderson was selected by the Dolphins in the 1968 NFL/AFL Draft, and was named the AFL defensive rookie of the year. He was a three-timePro Bowler in 1972, 1973 (in which he wasNFL Defensive Player of the Year), and 1974, in which he was one of the leaders of the Dolphins well knownNo Name Defense. Anderson was also the president of theNational Football League Players Association from 1975 until he retired.
Although primarily a safety, he also served as the team's backuppunter.[2] In 1969 Miami's regular punter separated his shoulder late in the season and Anderson took over the punting duties for the Dolphins' last game of the season against theNew York Jets.[2][3] In Miami's undefeated season of 1972, Seiple injured his knee in a late season game against the Jets and Anderson had to punt late in that game.[2][4] The Dolphins signed punterBilly Lothridge, who punted the next two games, but the Dolphins had to deactivate Lothridge for their next to last game against theNew York Giants in order to activate quarterbackBob Griese, who had missed much of the season with an injury, and so Anderson had to take over the punting duties for that game.[2][4] Seiple returned for the Dolphins' last game of the season and for the playoffs.[5]
In his nine AFL/NFL seasons, Anderson recorded 34 interceptions, which he returned for 792 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also recovered 15 fumbles, returning them for 100 yards and a touchdown. On special teams, he gained 430 yards returning kickoffs and punted the ball nine times for 335 yards.
After retirement, Anderson became a successful businessman and a Florida state senator. In 1993, he was enshrined in theCollege Football Hall of Fame. His brother isBobby Anderson, anAll-American running back atColorado and the eleventh overall pick of the1970 NFL draft, selected by theDenver Broncos. His son, Blake Anderson, played wide receiver for the University of Colorado.
On December 3, 1973, Anderson had perhaps his greatest personal effort in his career, becoming the 7th player to intercept 4 passes in a single game in NFL history in the Dolphins 30–26 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since that date, another six players have tied that mark.[6]
On December 3, 2006, Anderson was inducted into theMiami Dolphins Honor Roll during halftime of the Dolphins-Jaguars game. He is one of two players inducted that year, the other beingRichmond Webb, who was inducted December 25 against theJets. Anderson was the first individual defensive back inducted into the Honor Roll. The entire1972 Dolphins roster is a part of the Honor Roll, including Anderson.
In 2018, theProfessional Football Researchers Association named Anderson to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2018.[7] He is noted for being one of four players from theNFL All-Decade team from the 1970s to not eventually have been inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| NFL Defensive Player of the Year | |
| Won theSuper Bowl | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Interceptions | Fum | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Int | Yards | TD | Lng | Fmb | FR | Yards | TD | ||||||
| 1968 | MIA | 14 | 12 | 8 | 230 | 1 | 96 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 0 | ||||
| 1969 | MIA | 14 | 14 | 3 | 106 | 0 | 40 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 1970 | MIA | 14 | 14 | 8 | 191 | 0 | 86 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 1971 | MIA | 14 | 14 | 2 | 33 | 0 | 33 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 0 | ||||
| 1972 | MIA | 14 | 14 | 3 | 34 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 5 | 35 | 1 | ||||
| 1973 | MIA | 14 | 14 | 8 | 163 | 2 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 1974 | MIA | 14 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 0 | ||||
| 1975 | MIA | 0 | 0 | Did not play due to injury - (Knee) | |||||||||||
| 1976 | MIA | 9 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 1977 | MIA | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Career | 121 | 100 | 34 | 792 | 3 | 96 | 5 | 16 | 100 | 1 | |||||
Anderson has competed at theAmerican Century Championship, an annual golf competition to determine the best players among American sports and entertainment celebrities. He won the tournament in 1994 and has a total of 11 top ten finishes.[8] The tournament, televised by NBC in July, is played at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course inLake Tahoe,Nevada.[9]