Jan 15, 2023 9 min read

Not many athletes have accomplished as much and been part of so much history than Doug Crusan.

The Monessen native and former starting offensive tackle for the 1972 undefeated Super Bowl champion Miami Dolphins doesn’t take his and his teams’ accomplishments lightly.

He is grateful for a wonderful athletic career and all that has come with it.

“I’ve been blessed to have accomplished a lot with great groups of people,” he said. “At Miami, we accomplished what we set out to do. When we lost to the Cowboys (in Super Bowl VI), our goal immediately was to get back to the Super Bowl and to win the Super Bowl. It was great to be part of it.”

How impressive is Crusan’s resume?

n As a high school sophomore, Crusan was a reserve for the 1961 Monessen Greyhounds’ WPIAL football championship team, which went 11-0 and defeated Wilkinsburg, 7-6, at Forbes Field.

n As a starter in 1962 and 1963, Crusan helped Monessen to records of 7-1-1 and 8-1-1. The Greyhounds’ record in his three seasons was 26-2-2.

“We had a little dynasty going there,” Crusan said.

• He won the 1964 WPIAL shot put championship, setting a record with a put of 60 feet. Crusan, who stood 6-5 and weighed 250, placed second in the state just missing out on the PIAA title when two of his shot puts – more than 60 feet – were disqualified because officials’ ruled that he fouled.

“Coach Jack Scarvel just worked and worked with me on it,” Crusan said. “It was a big deal, the WPIAL title. We spent hours and I got better.”

• He was a three-year starter for the Indiana Hoosiers, and was captain his senior season when the team appeared in its only Rose Bowl appearance in program history. He played defensive line his senior season. Indiana lost to the University of Southern California and running back O.J. Simpson.

• Crusan, 76, was a first-round pick, 27th overall, of the Miami Dolphins in the NFL Draft, Jan. 30, 1968. Miami selected running back Larry Csonka with its first selection in the first round.

• He played in three consecutive Super Bowls, winning championships in 1972 and 1973. In those two seasons, Miami compiled a 32-2 record.

• The Dolphins, who went 17-0 in 1972, are the lone NFL team to complete a season undefeated in league history.

• In 2012, Crusan was listed by www.sbnation.com among the top 100 Dolphins of all time (No. 71). He was a multiple-year starter for Miami and overall played in 82 games, starting 60. He retired following the 1974 season after suffering a leg injury. Crusan played seven seasons for the Dolphins.

• Crusan also played in the NFL’s longest game, which ended in a double-overtime victory over Kansas City on Christmas Day, 1971. The game lasted 82 minutes and 40 seconds. It ended in a 27-24 Miami win on a Garo Yepremian field goal.

“Total exhaustion after the game,” Crusan said. “We were happy to win and happy when the game was over. That was a big win in our development.”

Crusan’s many accomplishments were not a surprise to former Monessen players who followed Crusan and who admired him in their youths.

“Doug was a beast on the field and was a gentleman off it,” sad Gary Tretter, who graduated from Monessen in 1969 and played football at Tulsa before transferring to California University of PA. “He was just a nice person to talk with.

“Because of his size and position, he was intimidating. He was so good to players when he came back to Monessen. I watched him work out a few times. Doug was a people person. Of all the great ones who played here, he was most impressive because of his personality.”

T. Dean Wilkins, a Monessen historian and former Greyhounds’ football player, said Crusan’s results and style of play helped separate him from others.

“He was so dominating,” Wilkins said. “I used to just watch him practice the shot put. People used to go to practice and just watch him. It was a big thing.

“I remember that Rose Bowl. He had a certain way he came out of the huddle, stood at the line and then got in his crouch and stance. Those were the good old days of Monessen football. Doug is a big part of the legacy.”

Times change

The NFL makes such a show of its annual draft, making it a huge television production and going to a host city. The hoopla is amazing. Many of the expected first-round selections travel to the host city for the made-for-TV event.

Even if the top players are not on-site, TV cameras infiltrate homes of other possible picks while teams and players are constantly talking on cell phones.

It wasn’t always that way. Ask Crusan.

He was told of his first-round selection by a local newspaperman in Monessen and not the Dolphins.

“Ron Paglia called me and congratulated me when he informed me I was selected by Miami in the first round,” Crusan recalled. “I didn’t hear from the team.

“The Dolphins called my dorm room at Indiana. It’s probably the only number they had. I was in Monessen. We weren’t at school at that time,on break. I didn’t hear from them for a while.”

Another difference was NFL teams played six exhibition games in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

According to Crusan, the pay was minuscule compared with current contracts and league minimums.

“We received $100 for the first (exhibition) game, $200 for the second, $300 for the third, $400 for the fourth, $500 for the fifth and $500 for the sixth) – a total of $2,000 if you made it through six games.”

For several years through 1977, the NFL season consisted of 14 regular season games and six exhibition games, usually three at home and three away, with some played at neutral sites. Starting in 1978, the regular season was expanded to 16 games, and the exhibition season was cut from six to four games.

“Six exhibition games are a haul,” Crusan said. “Back then, we’d practice two or three times a day. Teams are not allowed to practice that much anymore. It was a different NFL back then.”

Undefeated Dolphins

The Dolphins’ 1972 undefeated season was celebrated throughout the latter part of 2022, a huge indoor celebration and the team was recognized at a Miami home game against the Steelers.

Crusan has been involved in the private sector as a senior business manager since retiring from the NFL and has been active with the NFLPA (Players’ Association) for more than 38 years. He said he and his teammates never get tired of talking about their unprecedented accomplishments.

He resides with his wife Dianne in Fishers, Indiana. The two relish their get-togethers with members of that 1972 team.

Crusan credits the late Don Shula, the Dolphins’ head coach, for putting it all together and providing the leadership and motivation to make it all happen.

Crusan was part of a talented and bruising offensive line, that included guard Larry Little and center Jim Langer, both Hall of Famers and guard BobKeuchenberg.

Crusan threw several key blocks during the season, helping to open holes for Miami’s trio of outstanding running backs including Hall of Famer Larry Csonka, speedy Mercury Morris and versatile Jim Kiick. The Dolphins were a ball-control team that relied on its running game and the “No-Name” defense to carry them to greatness.

“When you look at that (’72) team, there were awesome skill players,” he said. “The other thing was when (defensive coordinator) Bill Arnsparger came up with the 53 defense. Nobody played with three down linemen. Everyone played a four-man front. The 53 was unique. Opponents didn’t know if one our backers standing there would rush or drop back in coverage.

“When I see how defense has evolved, that was a throw-off to opposing teams. Bill Arnsparger was way ahead of his time with that scheme. It gave us a big advantage.”

Finishing perfection

The 1972 Dolphins built a 10-0 record against a relatively soft schedule. The combined record of the Dolphins’ first 10 opponents was 50-87-3. They only played five teams with winning records all season. Miami won all five of its final five games, including three playoff games, against teams with a combined record of 48-25.

The Dolphins clinched their division championship in Week 10. They could have coasted the last four games but they didn’t.

Their three postseason games were not their best performances of the season. But they found a way.

Against Cleveland in the AFC semifinals, they rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit. With the aid of a Mike Babb blocked kick, Miami topped the Browns, 20-14.

A week later in the AFC Championship game, which they had to play on the road in Pittsburgh because of an unorthodox NFL rule, they had to rally.

A Larry Seiple fake punt in the second quarter changed the game and Miami won, 21-17, defeating the upstart Steelers.

In the Super Bowl, just a little more than 50 years ago in Los Angeles, Miami dominated Washington and was leading 14-0 when Yepremian had a field goal attempt blocked and he misguidedly tried to throw the ball, which ended in a fumble return for a touchdown, leaving the score 14-7.

In Super Bowl VII, Crusan was one of four local players to participate in the game, Bill Malinchak – also a Monessen graduate – Myron Pottios (Charleroi graduate) and Ted Vactor (Washington graduate) all played for the Redskins.

Crusan and Miami thwarted the favored Redskins for its coronation.

While the postseason was tense and tough, the Dolphins prevailed and made history.

“We probably didn’t play our best in those (playoff) games,” Crusan said. “We found a way to win and to reach our goal and be perfect in doing so.

“We were confident from the start we could do it. To accomplish that goal without a loss just brought us all closer together.”