Deerfield-News. com-Deerfield Beach, Fl-Reprinted with permission from “Ghosts of The Orange Bowl”, Facebook Group-Jay Rao-Thank you!
Updated 12-3-2023
To Lee Ofman who after decades finally got the credit he deserved. It may have taken The Dolphins longer than it should have to recognize Lee Ofman, but they finally did. Like many Fins fans I have been singing that song since 1972.
The NFL just published a video yesterday about the Lee Ofman and Miami Dolphins’ number one fight song you can find it on YouTube NFL Films.
In 1972 Lee Ofman, a musician from Houma, Louisiana, wrote the song “Miami Dolphins Number One”. The corny song with a banjo and snare drum would later become the team’s fight song. After writing the song, Ofman made 10,000 copies and hired an agent to promote it. After hearing nothing, Ofman assumed his song would disappear forever. But after the Dolphins won Super Bowl VII, fans began singing Ofman’s song. A friend called him in Louisiana to tell him the news. Apparently nobody knew Ofman wrote the song. He even called a Miami Top 40 radio station which played his song to tell them he was the songwriter. The program director laughed and hung up on him.
Angered at the time, Ofman wrote another version of the song for the Houston Oilers and changed the lyrics. It became a huge hit in Houston during the Earl Campbell and Bum Phillips era. He made more money on the Oilers version. But his song was still popular in Miami. Miami Dolphins Number One is still played after every Dolphins score. A few years ago, hip hop artist T-Pain performed a techno-version of the song. Owner Stephen Ross wanted the new version played. But it received poor reviews from fans and even players. “That (T-Pain version) sounds terrible,” said former linebacker Channing Crowder. “The old one, it’s classic. It’s not the greatest song in the world, but I like the classic one better than that.”
