The countdown to the start of the 2024 regular season has begun now that we’re under 100 days away, so we’ll honor every day the best players to wear the corresponding number for the Dolphins.
Today, we’re at number 61.
The top players at each number so far have been Jason Taylor at 99, Jared Odrick at 98, Phillip Merling at 97, Paul Soliai at 96, Tim Bowens at 95, Randy Starks at 94, Trace Armstrong at 93, John Denney at 92, Cameron Wake at 91, Marco Coleman at 90, Nat Moore at 89, Keith Jackson at 88, Andre Tillman at 87, Oronde Gadsden at 86, Nick Buoniconti at 85, Bill Stanfill at 84, Mark Clayton at 83, Brian Hartline at 82, O.J. McDuffie at 81, Irving Fryar at 80, Jon Giesler at 79, Richmond Webb at 78, A.J. Duhe at 77, Branden Albert at 76, Manny Fernandez at 75, Mark Dennis at 74, Bob Baumhower at 73, Terron Armstead at 72, Todd Wade at 71, Kendall Langford at 70, Keith Sims at 69, Robert Hunt at 68, Bob Kuechenberg at 67, Larry Little at 66, Jeff Dellenbach at 65, Ed Newman at 64, Mark Dixon at 63, and Jim Langer at 62.
As a reminder about the ground rules, the top three will be determined only by what the players did while wearing that uniform for the Dolphins.
G Ernie Park (1966), G-DL Freddie Woodson (1967-69), C Bob DeMarco (1970-71), T Cleveland Green (1979), G Thom Dornbrook (1980), G Roy Foster (1982-90), T Greg Cleveland (1987), G Gene Williams (1991-92), C Tim Ruddy (1994-2003), T J’Marcus Webb (2019), C Austin Reiter (2021)
The battle for the top spot at 61 is a tight one and it involves two players, Roy Foster and Tim Ruddy. Foster played 132 games with 95 starts over nine years with the Dolphins after arriving as a first-round pick and was a two-time Pro Bowl selection. Ruddy was a second-round pick who had more games (156) and more starts (140), though he had one Pro Bowl selection. Ernie Park started 11 games for the Dolphins in their inaugural season in the middle of a six-year pro football career. Woodson played 27 games for the Dolphins and made eight starts at guard in 1967. Bob DeMarco was a 32-year-old two-time NFL All-Pro when he arrived in Miami in 1970 and he started for two seasons before being traded when future Hall of Famer Jim Langer took over at center. Cleveland Green had a seven-year career with the Dolphins, but 76 of his 92 career games and all 32 of his starts came when he was wearing 74.
1. C Tim Ruddy
2. G Roy Foster
3. C Bob DeMarco
Curley Culp and Bill George are the two Hall of Famers who wore mostly 61 and other notables at that number would include Nat Newton and Jesse Sapolu. This isn’t a number with a ton of memorable players, and it wouldn’t be out of line to put both Ruddy and Foster among the top 15 here.
