Marshall Jon Fisher is the author or coauthor of five previous books, including Tube: The Invention of Television, which he wrote with his father; A Terrible Splendor: Three Extraordinary Men, A World Poised for War, and the Greatest Tennis Match Ever Played, which won the inaugural PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing, and A Backhanded Gift: A Novel. His work has appeared in The Atlantic, Harper’s, and Best American Essays. In Seventeen and Oh: Miami, 1972, and the NFL’s Only Perfect Season (Abrams Press), Fisher traces the arc from a ragtag bunch of overlooked, underappreciated, or just plain old players – losers in the previous Super Bowl – to an unbeatable team. Led by Don Shula, a genius young coach with a reputation that he couldn’t win the big game, the Miami Dolphins headed into only their seventh season with a team marked by generational and cultural divides. It featured party animals such as the late Jim “Mad Dog” Mandich; outspoken, flamboyant characters such as Mercury Morris; and conservative, straight-laced men like Bob Griese and the crew cut savior, 38-year-old backup Earl Morrall. With a fractious society as a backdrop, this racially and culturally diverse group found a way to become a perfect team.
