Jim Kiick didn't like to lose.

Whether in that famous Miami Dolphin backfield, or running the toss sweep for the Wyoming Cowboys.

You name it, he wanted to be the best.  

Turns out he and Wyoming's legendary linebacker Jim House, a Kiick teammate during those great years of the late 1960's, went out with the same girl.

"I told her," says House, "that you can't be going out with me on Friday night and Kiick on Saturday night.  That's just not going to work.  You're going to have to decide, make a choice, I said.  She decided alright, she married Kiick," House chuckles.

Wyoming lost one of its toughest Cowboys of all time last weekend when James Forrest Kiick died in Florida at the age of 73.

To the nation, he was part of the legendary Miami Dolphin backfield with Larry Csonka who helped Miami win two Super Bowls, and fashion the only undefeated season in league history.

To Wyoming fans, number 21 turning the corner on that famous toss sweep was the embodiment of Cowboy tough.  He was the first player ever to earn first team All-Western Athletic Conference honors three consecutive years.  He was the only player ever to lead the league in rushing three straight seasons.  The Cowboys never lost a home game during his three seasons (13-0), while winning consecutive conference championships and becoming the only school in WAC history to play in a bowl game on New Year's Day. 

In the 1966 Sun Bowl, Kiick rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns and earned the bowl's Most Valuable Player award honors as Wyoming defeated Florida State, 28-20.  

That time truly was the Golden Era of Cowboy football, and Kiick was the offensive crown jewel.  

Defense won games for Wyoming in those days because it was tough, talented and prepared. Kiick brought that same toughness and preparation to the offensive side of the ball.

I had a great visit with House—it's always a treat to talk to him—the other day about his teammate during those years. He came out of Laramie High School to become a UW Hall of Fame 'backer for the Pokes. He now lives in Reno, Nev., after a long career as a collegiate football coach.

"I believe Kiick was one of the toughest Cowboys ever to play," says House.  "He was double tough, period.  I remember him playing games with broken ribs when it killed him to even breath.  But he had Jack (trainer Aggers) rig up a make-shift girdle and tape it to those ribs so he could play.

"I can tell you whoever got in the way of that toss sweep was going to get punished.  He had the mentality of a defensive player.  He attacked.  He was the ultimate competitor.  He was just a very special football player.

"Even though he stole my girlfriend," Jim continues tongue-in-cheek, "I had a tremendous amount of respect for him.  We all did."

Wyoming lost just six games in three seasons with Kiick at tailback.  His rushing numbers weren't the glittering statistics we are used to with today's backs.  Lloyd Eaton's plan in those days was to play conservatively on offense, and win with defense.

Kiick's greatest rushing season came during his junior year of 1966 when he gained 597 yards.  He gained 534 yards as a sophomore, and another 583 during his senior year of 1967.  All conservative numbers by today's standards. But those yards helped the Cowboys to consecutive WAC titles, and appearances in the 1966 Sun Bowl, and the Sugar Bowl following the 1967 campaign.

"We were a great defensive team in those days," says House.  "But Jim was our bread-and-butter on offense.  We'd pound opposing defenses with him.  Not only was he tough, but he never fumbled, and  he was one of our most effective pass receivers.

"To me, and this certainly played out in the NFL, he also was one of the most devastating blockers I've ever seen.  He did a lot of that for us, and he did a lot of that for Czonka.

"I remember we had a drill called 'backs and ends'.  I was a young linebacker then.  The drill called for backs to block the ends and linebackers.  It was a very tough, difficult drill.  I remember all of us standing there hoping our turn didn't come up when his did.  You just didn't want to take him on."

Besides his toughness, Kiick had great patience and vision, qualities of all great running backs.  

"Our offensive linemen would all say he was so much fun to block for," says House, "because he was the best at setting up blocks.  When I think about him, I think about him running that toss sweep with his hand on the shoulder of one of our pulling offensive lineman, usually a guard, and then making a cut at just the right moment."

That NFL backfield of Kiick and Csonka was one of the most famous in NFL history.  They earned the nicknames Butch and Sundance which was inspired by a popular movie of the time "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman.

Jim ("Butch") was selected to the American Football League (AFL) All-Star team in his first two seasons and played in the Dolphins' back-to-back Super Bowl championship appearances of 1972 (the undefeated season) and 1973.  He scored two touchdowns in the '72 AFC championship game, and also scored in that season's Super Bowl victory that capped the 17-0 season.

Kiick and Csonka roomed together at an all-star game following their senior seasons and that's when they became best friends.  They were both drafted by the Dolphins in 1968.  Kiick was drafted in the fifth round by the Dolphins.  In his first year he led the AFL in rushing touchdowns.  There would be little argument that he helped Csonka become an NFL Hall of Famer. Those great hands served him well in the NFL too.  He finished his career with 233 receptions for 2,302 yards.

Jim battled memory loss near the end of his life, and lived in an assisted-living home in Florida.

When Kiick was inducted into our Hall of Fame in 1996, I had a nice visit with him.  Even though I was two years behind him in school during our college days, he was still a hero of mine.  He told me that one of his proudest accomplishments was being named co-captain with Mike Dirks during the Sugar Bowl season of '67.  Of all his accolades, that was the biggest to him.

"He was a quiet, reserved type of a guy," says House. "But he was one of those natural leaders. When we'd (defense) come off the field after a series, the first guy to greet us, to tell us what a great job we were doing was Jim.  He wasn't a big rah-rah guy, he simply led by example.  It was inspiring to watch him play.  There's no way you couldn't play your best after watching him.

"He had a struggle during the latter stages of his life, but he's in a better place now. Wyoming has lost one of its all-time greats."