Miami Dolphins great Nick Buoniconti dead at 78
Thos Robinson/Getty Images for The Buoniconti Fund(CNN) - Nick Buoniconti, an undersized linebacker who helped lead the Miami Dolphins to the only perfect season in NFL history, died Tuesday. The Dolphins and The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, of which Buoniconti was a driving force, announced his passing on Wednesday. "Today, with a heavy heart and profound sorrow, my family and the entire Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and Buoniconti Fund community mourn the loss of a man who was truly larger than life, my father, NFL Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti," Marc Buoniconti said on the Miami Project website. The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis was founded in 1985 after Marc Buoniconti was paralyzed from the shoulders down after sustaining a hit during a college football game. Buoniconti is survived by his wife, Lynn, two sons, Marc and Nick II, and a daughter, Gina.