- Mike Kolen has passed away at the age of 76
- The two-time Super Bowl-winning linebacker retired from playing in 1977
- But he announced his Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2017
Former Miami Dolphins linebacker Mike ‘Captain Crunch’ Kolen has died at the age of 76.
His alma mater, Alabama’s Auburn University, said the linebacker died Wednesday, although details about how he died are currently unknown.
Kolen joined the major leagues when he enrolled at Auburn, where he earned ALL-SEC honors twice during his junior and senior years.
He also led the team in tackles in 16 of the 25 games he started between 1967 and 1969. As a result, he got his nickname from fellow Auburn linebacker Robert Margeson because he was 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 (photo, center) has died 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 through the 1972 season and won consecutive Super Bowls.
Kolen joined the major leagues when he enrolled at Auburn, where he earned ALL-SEC honors twice 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 through the 1972 season and won consecutive Super Bowls.
He stayed there for eight seasons before retiring in 1977 and venturing into the real estate business. He also owned several of his own businesses, including fitness centers and financial services companies.
Despite his prowess on the field, he had admitted on several occasions that playing American Football at the highest level for years was taking its toll on his body.
In 2014, he said during an interview: ‘I have never tried to hurt anyone, but football is a physical sport. I enjoyed that part of it. I’m not really enjoying it that much right now because it’s all coming home for me.
‘Over the past year and a half I have had a number of joint replacements. When you start playing in freshman year and play all the way through college and eight years in the NFL, that’s going to happen.”
Three years 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 years of playing American Football at the highest level was taking its toll on his body
Kolen revealed in 2017 that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease
He told the Miami Herald he believed his long football career was to blame.
“I think that’s about the only way I’m going to have cognitive problems,” Kolen, who had no family history of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, told the newspaper.
The sports world is already starting to mourn Kolen’s death.
The Alabama Sports Hall of Fame said on
“Kolen was one of the strongest linebackers in the no-name defense of the Miami Dolphins for eight years.”
“Mike Kolen is one of the best men I have ever known,” said former Auburn athletic director and sports information director David Housel. ‘Being a footballer was secondary to Mike Kolen. He is one of the best football players Auburn has ever had, but he was much more. A rock, a beacon.
‘When I think of Mike Kolen, I think of strength, competitiveness and good quality. 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.