Bob Heinz, Defensive Tackle on the Dolphins' Perfect 1972 Team, Dies at 79

Bob Heinz, a defensive tackle on the Miami Dolphins’ undefeated 1972 team and a two-time Super Bowl champion, has died. He was 79.

Heinz died of natural causes on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, in Fresno, California, his son John told the Miami Herald. He had been diagnosed with heart failure four years earlier.

“We are saddened to learn of the passing of former Dolphins defensive tackle Bob Heinz, who played for Miami from 1969-77,” the Dolphins said in a post on X, as reported by OutKick. “Bob was a member of the 1972 Perfect Team, a two-time Super Bowl champion and a key part of Miami’s legendary No-Name Defense.”

Bob Heinz and the 1972 perfect season

Wearing No. 72, Heinz started eight games and appeared in 11 during the 17-0 season, playing right defensive tackle, the Miami Herald reported. He lined up with Manny Fernandez, Vern Den Herder and Bill Stanfill on a defense that ranked first in yards and points allowed.

The NFL did not keep tackle statistics then, but Heinz was credited with two sacks and a fumble recovery that season, according to the Herald. Miami won Super Bowl VII over Washington to finish the perfect season, then won Super Bowl VIII the next year.

The Herald said Heinz is the 22nd player from the 1972 team to die.

His NFL career

• Draft: second round, 37th overall, in 1969, out of the University of the Pacific
• Dolphins: 1969 to 1977, with 109 games and 55 starts, per the Herald
• Starter: every game of 1973 and all but one in 1974, before missing 1975 with an injury
• Final season: two games as a reserve with Washington in 1978
• Career sacks: nine, the Herald reported

In 2015, Heinz sold his 1973-season Super Bowl ring to a private investor. It later sold at auction for $68,040, the Herald reported, and was believed to be the first player ring from either championship team offered publicly.

Life after football

Born July 25, 1947, in Wisconsin, Heinz grew up near Milwaukee before moving to California in high school, according to his family’s obituary. He starred in football, basketball and track at Lincoln High School in Stockton and met his wife, Carol Covington, at Pacific.

He worked for many years in advertising and sales in the Palo Alto and Menlo Park area, where the couple raised three children, before moving to Fresno to be near family.

The obituary says he enjoyed “a good cigar and bourbon, the music of Jimmy Buffett, cheering on the San Francisco Giants, and rooting against any NFL team attempting perfection.”

“He was a giant of a person and looked every bit the part of the ‘big tough football player,’” John Heinz told the Herald. “But he was an overwhelmingly kind and caring person.”

Heinz is survived by Carol, his wife of 56 years; their children Julie, Joe and John; and two grandchildren. A private family service is planned. The family asks that donations be made in his memory to the Miami Dolphins Foundation instead of flowers.

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