MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The late Bob Kuechenberg is among 24 finalists for next year's Pro Football Hall of Fame class.
A six-time Pro Bowl selection who played guard, tackle and center for the Miami Dolphins from 1970-83, Kuechenberg died in 2019 at the age of 71.
He joins 11 other former players on the seniors list, including four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Ken Anderson and five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Sterling Sharpe.
Kuechenberg missed just five regular-season games throughout the first 14 years of his NFL career. He was a part of Miami's first-ever playoff game, the 1972 undefeated season and Miami's back-to-back Super Bowl wins, starting Super Bowl VIII while wearing a cast on his arm.
A fourth-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1969 draft, Kuechenberg quit during training camp and spent the season playing for the Chicago Owls of the Continental Football League.
Kuechenberg came to Miami with future Hall of Fame coach Don Shula as a free agent in 1970 and spent his entire NFL career with the Dolphins. He sat out the 1984 season with an eye injury suffered during training camp and retired in 1985.
Other finalists announced by the NFL on Wednesday are former coaches Mike Holmgren (Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks), Dan Reeves (Denver Broncos, New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons) and Mike Shanahan (Los Angeles Raiders, Broncos and Washington Redskins) and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.