Dolphins lost an all-time great guy

[Dr. Jack]

RIP Jim Mandich. Going to miss him on the radio and his "alright Miami" phrase.

sun-sentinel.com/sports/fl-jim-mandich-dolphins-dies-0427,0,2085937.story

South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Dolphins treasure Jim Mandich, 62, dies after long cancer battle

Former player and broadcaster was associated with the franchise for more than 40 years

By Mike Berardino

South Florida Sun Sentinel

10:27 PM EDT, April 26, 2011

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Jim Mandich, revered by Dolphins fans as both a player and broadcaster over the past four decades, died Tuesday after a long bout with bile-duct cancer.

He was 62.

A reserve tight end on the Perfect Season team of 1972, the man affectionately known as "Mad Dog" was the first Dolphins draft pick of the Don Shula era.

Since 1992, Mandich was part of the team's radio crew for all but two years (2005-06). His signature "All right, Miami!" accompanied many of the team's more uplifting moments during that period, and when the team struggled his disappointment and frustration were evident.

A member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Mandich was highly recruited as a multisport star out of Solon, Ohio. He became an All-American at the University of Michigan in the late 1960s, where he led the Wolverines to the Rose Bowl as a senior.

Drafted in the second round (29th overall) to Shula's first Dolphins team in 1970, Mandich quickly became an integral part of a turnaround that resulted in three straight Super Bowl appearances and back-to-back titles.

Mandich made just 20 starts over an eight-year span with the Dolphins, half of them coming in 1974, but he was a dangerous weapon near the goal line. He made 23 touchdown catches during his Dolphins career, including a team-leading six in 1974.

Cut by the Dolphins, Mandich hooked on with the Pittsburgh Steelers for one last season in 1978.

Mandich spent more than a quarter century on South Florida radio, eventually developing into one of the area's most popular talk-show hosts.

Starting at WIOD in 1983, Mandich developed an acerbic and erudite on-air style that served him well, especially after moving to WQAM in 1997.

Meticulously prepared and breezily confident, Mandich rarely insulted callers and had a way with the language that made listeners smile.

"Ridin' around with the windows down," became part of his lexicon, and he delighted in references to the "green lizards" (Heinekens) he enjoyed drinking at Ziggie and Mad Dog's, his restaurant in Islamorada.

Thousands of callers asked Mandich how he was doing over the years. Almost every time he would say, "Never better" in that clipped accent of his northern Ohio upbringing.

Juggling his responsibilities as owner of Lotspeich, a Hialeah-based Miami construction company, Mandich initially resisted a drive-time role. But once he accepted the late afternoon slot, his ratings took off.

With Mandich's commitment, the Miami Touchdown Club was revived over the last decade. Proceeds from the monthly business luncheons were distributed to retired NFL players in need.

Mandich's broadcast career was thriving when he felt a "stabbing sensation" during the 2009 football season. He ignored the problem to get through his color commentary responsibilities, but in late January 2010 he took a leave of absence from his talk show and was diagnosed with cancer that February.

The bile duct is a tube that runs from the liver to the small intestine.

He underwent aggressive chemotherapy at the University of Miami's Sylvester Center, and for a time the cancer abated. Mandich worked the 2010 Dolphins broadcasts, but at least once he had to leave early when he became ill.

He is survived by his wife Bonnie and sons Michael, Nick and Mark.

mberardino@tribune.com

Dolphins treasure Jim Mandich, 62, dies after long cancer battle - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

[be47320]

rip

[vikesfan]

Rip jim mandich

[Mendoza Line]

Rip

[sjmartin57ca]

rip

[grzftbl]

RIP


cancer sucks, lost many relatives to cancer.

[Quiksilver]

Rest in Peace sir

[Victor]

RIP Jim Mandich