 Anderson in 2014 | |||||||||
| No. 40 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Safety | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | February 10, 1946 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 / round: 3 / pick: 73 | ||||||||
| 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 professional football player who was a safety for the Miami Dolphins of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons during the 1960s and 1970s. He played college football for the Colorado Buffaloes and was recognized as a consensus All-American. He was selected in third round of the 1968 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 the AP AFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award along with George Atkinson.[1] In 1970, with the addition of drafting safety Jake 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-back Super Bowl championships in 1972 during Miami's infamous "perfect season", and the following year in 1973. During their 1973 Super Bowl championship run, Anderson was voted the NFL 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-time Pro Bowl selection, a three-time first (2) or second (1) team All-Pro, and was also selected to the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team.
In 1993, Anderson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Despite numerous NFL accolades, Dick Anderson has yet to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It's possibly due to his short tenure, only playing 10 seasons.