Richard Paul Anderson (born February 10, 1946 in
Midland, MichiganMidland is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of the state. It is the county seat of Midland County. Most of the city's area is incorporated from Midland Township....
) is a former
American FootballAmerican football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, and often as Gridiron or Tackle football outside North America, is a competitive team sport known for combining strategy with physical play. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the...
safety for the
American Football LeagueThe American Football League was a major Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when it merged with the established National Football League . The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
's and NFL's
Miami DolphinsThe Miami Dolphins are a professional football team based in the Miami, Florida metropolitan area. They play home games at Land Shark Stadium, in the suburb of Miami Gardens. They are headquartered at the Miami Dolphins Training Facility in Davie, Florida. The Dolphins belong to the Eastern...
, where he played for his entire ten year career from 1968 to 1977 missing one of those seasons with a knee injury.
Anderson played
college footballCollege football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies. It was the venue through which American football first gained popularity in the United States...
at the
University of ColoradoThe University of Colorado at Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the University of Colorado system and was founded five months before Colorado was admitted to the union in 1876...
in which he was named an
All-AmericaAn All-American "team" is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific All-America and typically referred to as All-American athletes, or simply...
n in his senior season and set a school record with 14 career interceptions. He was drafted by the Dolphins in the 1968 AFL Draft in which he was named the league defensive rookie of the year.
Richard Paul Anderson (born February 10, 1946 in
Midland, MichiganMidland is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of the state. It is the county seat of Midland County. Most of the city's area is incorporated from Midland Township....
) is a former
American FootballAmerican football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, and often as Gridiron or Tackle football outside North America, is a competitive team sport known for combining strategy with physical play. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the...
safety for the
American Football LeagueThe American Football League was a major Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when it merged with the established National Football League . The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
's and NFL's
Miami DolphinsThe Miami Dolphins are a professional football team based in the Miami, Florida metropolitan area. They play home games at Land Shark Stadium, in the suburb of Miami Gardens. They are headquartered at the Miami Dolphins Training Facility in Davie, Florida. The Dolphins belong to the Eastern...
, where he played for his entire ten year career from 1968 to 1977 missing one of those seasons with a knee injury.
Anderson played
college footballCollege football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies. It was the venue through which American football first gained popularity in the United States...
at the
University of ColoradoThe University of Colorado at Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the University of Colorado system and was founded five months before Colorado was admitted to the union in 1876...
in which he was named an
All-AmericaAn All-American "team" is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific All-America and typically referred to as All-American athletes, or simply...
n in his senior season and set a school record with 14 career interceptions. He was drafted by the Dolphins in the 1968 AFL Draft in which he was named the league defensive rookie of the year. He was a three time
Pro BowlIn professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
er in 1972, 1973 in which he was NFL Defensive Player of the Year and in 1974 in which he was one of the leaders of the Dolphins well known
No Name Defense. Anderson was also the president of the National Football League Players Association from 1975 until he retired.
In his 9 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 9 times for 335 yards.
After retirement, Anderson became a successful businessman and a Florida state senator. In 1993, he was enshrined in the
College Football Hall of FameThe College Football Hall of Fame, located in South Bend, Indiana, USA, is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. It is situated in the renovated downtown district, near convention centers and not far from the campus of Notre Dame...
. His brother is
Bobby AndersonRobert Conrad Anderson is a former American football halfback in the National Football League for the Denver Broncos, the New England Patriots and the Washington Redskins. He played college football for the Colorado Buffaloes and was drafted in the first round of the 1970 NFL Draft...
, who was a running back for Colorado.
On December 3, 2006, Anderson was inducted into the Miami Dolphin's Honor Roll during halftime of the Dolphins-
JaguarsThe Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team located in Jacksonville, Florida. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
game. He is one of two players being inducted this year, the other being
Richmond WebbRichmond Jewel Webb is a former National Football League offensive tackle with the Miami Dolphins and the Cincinnati Bengals. Webb played college football for Texas A&M University...
, who was inducted December 25 against the
JetsThe New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the Northeastern New Jersey part of the tri-state New York metropolitan area. They are members of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays its home games in East...
. Anderson will be the first individual defensive back inducted into the Honor Roll. The entire 1972 Miami Dolphins roster is a part of the Honor Roll, including Anderson.
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