| No. 20 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Punter,halfback,tight end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1945-02-14)February 14, 1945 (age 80) Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 214 lb (97 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | William Allen (Allentown) | ||||||||
| College: | Kentucky | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1967: 7th round, 163rd pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Larry Robert Seiple (born February 14, 1945) is an American former professionalfootball player and coach. He playedcollege football for theKentucky Wildcats. He played professionally as apunter for theMiami Dolphins of theAmerican Football League (AFL) from 1967 through 1969, and the NFL's Dolphins from 1970 through 1977. With the Dolphins, Seiple was a part of twoSuper Bowl-winning teams,Super Bowl VII in1972, when the Dolphins posted the only undefeated regular and post-season record to date in NFL history, and inSuper Bowl VIII in1973.
Seiple was born inAllentown, Pennsylvania, where he played football forWilliam Allen High School.
He played collegiate football at theUniversity of Kentucky. Seiple played wide receiver and running back for theWildcats, while also handling punts, kickoffs, and kickoff returns. He was a second-teamAll-Southeastern Conference selection in his junior season, averaging 4.3 yards per carry while also scoring nine touchdowns and gaining 1,081 yards of offense. In three seasons, Seiple gained 2,137 yards from scrimmage and scored 18 touchdowns, while setting school records for average yards per catch, both in a season (23.5 in1965) and in a career (19.8). He had four receptions of at least 70 yards, and once converted a 4th and 41 with a 70 yard touchdown on a fake punt.[1][2]
Seiple entered the1967 NFL/AFL draft and was selected by theMiami Dolphins in Round 7 with the 163rd overall selection. Unlike most punters, Seiple also caught and carried the ball on occasion for the Dolphins. His most prolific year was1969 when he netted 577 yards and scored five touchdowns, leading the Dolphins in both categories that year. Seiple was often able to rush for yards instead of punting. That type of risk paid dividends for the Dolphins in a1972 playoff game against thePittsburgh Steelers in which he ran for a 37-yard gain, keeping a drive alive. Miami would go on to win that game and theSuper Bowl that year, completing aperfect season of 17–0, the only perfect season by an NFL team in the league's history.
Seiple wasoffensive coordinator forFlorida Atlantic University inBoca Raton, Florida under then head coachHoward Schnellenberger, who also played college football at the University of Kentucky.
Seiple was the Dolphins assistant coach for quarterbacks from 1998 to 1999 and their assistant coach for wide receivers from 1988 to 1997. From 1985 to 1986, he was assistant coach for wide receivers for theTampa Bay Buccaneers and for theDetroit Lions from 1980 to 1984.
On June 20, 2014 it was announced that Seiple would be inducted into the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame.