The Miami Dolphins finally will get the chance to properly honor Don Shula this fall.
The team announced Friday it will hold the Don Shula Celebration of Life on Saturday, October 2 at 4:30 p.m. at Hard Rock Stadium.
This will serve as the first public ceremony honoring Shula since he died May 4, 2020 because of restrictions related to COVID-19. The event October 2 is free and will be open to the public, and attending fans will receive a special commemorative Don Shula 347 patch.
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Registration is now open at https://www.miamidolphins.com/don-shula/. This event will take place the day before the Dolphins Alumni Weekend game against the Indianapolis Colts on October 3 at 1 p.m. ET.
The event will feature remarks from the Shula family with panel discussions from several former Dolphins players, including Hall of Famers Larry Csonka, Bob Griese, Larry Little, Dan Marino and Dwight Stephenson, as well as Bob Baumhower, Kim Bokamper, John Offerdahl and Joe Rose.
Shula coached the Dolphins from 1970 through 1995 and ended his legendary career with a recored of 347-173-6. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997.
He remained a Vice Chairman of the Dolphins organization until his death. A statue depicting Shula getting carried off the field after Super Bowl V was placed in 2010 in front of Hard Rock Stadium, whose corporate address is 347 Don Shula Drive.
Shula became head coach of the Dolphins on Feb. 18, 1970 after seven years coaching the Baltimore Colts.
He guided the Dolphins to their first playoff appearance in his first year and had them in the Super Bowl the following year. The Dolphins then won back-to-back Super Bowl titles in 1972-73, amassing a 32-2 record over that span. In 1972, the Dolphins went 14-0 in the regular season before defeating the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC playoffs and then capping things off with a 14-7 victory against the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII.
Shula broke George Halas' all-time coaching victories record Nov. 14, 1993 when the Dolphins defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 19-14, with current Eagles head coach Doug Pederson coming off the bench to play quarterback after starter Scott Mitchell was injured.
Shula is one of only six coaches in NFL history to have coached the same team for 20 or more consecutive seasons. Shula completed 26 seasons with the Dolphins. Green Bay’s Curley Lambeau (1921-49) and Dallas’ Tom Landry (1960-88) share the record with 29 seasons each; Pittsburgh’s Chuck Noll (1969-91) and the N.Y. Giants’ Steve Owen (1931-53) coached 23 years with their teams, and Bill Belichick just finished his 20th season with the New England Patriots.
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