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7 months ago
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Former Miami Dolphins linebacker Mike 'Captain Crunch' Kolen has passed away at the age of 76.
His alma mater, Alabama's Auburn University, said the linebacker passed away on Wednesday, though details about how he died are not currently known.
Kolen joined the big leagues upon enrolling at Auburn, where he twice earned ALL-SEC honors during his junior and senior years.
He also led the team in tackles in 16 of the 25 games he started between 1967-1969. as a result, he was given his nickname by fellow Auburn linebacker Robert Margeson for being a hard hitter.
Kolen was also the first ever recipient of the National Christian Athlete of the Year Award.
Former Miami Dolphins linebacker Mike 'Captain Crunch' Kolen (pictured, centre) has passed away at the age of 76
Kolen's role as a linebacker for the Miami Dolphins led to them winning two Super Bowls as part of a dynasty that went undefeated in the 1972 season and won back-to-back Super Bowls
Kolen joined the big leagues upon enrolling at Auburn, where he twice earned ALL-SEC honors during his junior and senior years
Kolen's role as a linebacker for the Miami Dolphins led to them winning two Super Bowls as part of a dynasty that went undefeated in the 1972 season and won back-to-back Super Bowls.
He stayed there for eight seasons, before retiring in 1977 and venturing into real estate. He also owned several of his own businesses, including fitness centers and financial services firms.
Despite his prowess on the field, he had admitted on several occasions that playing American Football at the highest level for years on end took its toll on his body.
In 2014 he said during an interview: 'I never tried to hurt anybody, but football is a physical game. I enjoyed that part of it. I'm not really enjoying it so much now, because it's all coming home for me.
'In the last year and a half I've had a couple of joint replacements. When you start playing in the first grade and play all the way through college and eight years in the NFL, that's going to happen.'
Threes year later, he revealed that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
Despite his prowess on the field, he had admitted on several occasions that playing American Football at the highest level for years on end took its toll on his body
Kolen revealed in 2017 that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease
He told the Miami Herald that he believed his long football career was the cause of it.
'I think that’s about the only way I’d have cognitive issues', Kolen, who didn't have a family history of dementia or Alzheimer's, told the newspaper.
The sports world has already started mourning Kolen's passing.
The Alabama Sports Hall of Fame said on X: 'We mourn the passing of 1985 Inductee Mike Kolen. Kolen was the leading tackler in 16 of 25 games that he started in at Auburn University from 1967-1969.
'Kolen was one of the toughest linebackers in the “no-name defense” of the Miami Dolphins for eight years.'
'Mike Kolen is one of the finest men I've ever known,' said former Auburn athletics director and sports information director David Housel. 'Being a football player was secondary to Mike Kolen. He's one of the greatest football players Auburn ever had, but he was much more. A rock, a beacon.
'When I think of Mike Kolen, I think of toughness, competitiveness, and a quality of goodness. He was a great football player but he was a better man.'
Mike is survived by his wife, Nancy, and two children, Kelly and John, and his five grandchildren.
English (US)