Garo Yepremian, Former NFL Kicker, Dies at Age 70

Former Miami Dolphins kicker Garo Yepremian passed away Friday at age 70. His wife confirmed the news, per Steven Wine of the Associated Press.

Chris Sciria of the Citizen in Auburn, New York, believes Yepremian will always occupy a special place in Dolphins history:

Of course, Yepremian is arguably most known for his failed attempt to make the most of a blocked field goal in Super Bowl VII against the Washington Redskins. The ball bounced to Yepremian, who attempted to throw for a first down, only to have Washington cornerback Mike Bass pluck the ball out of of the air and return it for a touchdown.

The Dolphins still won 14-7 and completed their perfect season.

"I took a negative and I turned it into a positive," said Yepremian years later, per Brian DAmbrosio of the Huffington Post. "That happened in 1972, and I played 10 years after that. I could have taken it as a negative, and I could have then made a failure of out myself. But I persevered, and I was voted kicker of the decade of the 70s."

Yepremian played 14 years in the league, with the bulk of his time coming in Miami. He also had short stints with the Detroit Lions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints.

He was a first-team All-Pro in 1971 and 1973 and made two Pro Bowl appearances in 1973 and 1978. Yepremian also led the league in field-goal percentage in 1970, 1975 and 1978. His 210 made field goals are the 55th-most all time.