He was a member of the undefeated 1972 team and was an integral part of the ball-control running game which characterized the Dolphins under head coach Don Shula in the early 1970s.

Born and raised in Lincoln Park, New Jersey, Kiick played football, baseball, and basketball at Boonton High School.

[5] After high school in New Jersey, Kiick went west and played college football at Wyoming from 1965 through 1967, and was the Cowboys' leading rusher each of those years.

Beginning with the 1972 season, he had to share halfback duties with other players, most notably Mercury Morris, as Shula decided a faster back would better complement Csonka.

Although not blessed with breakaway speed, the 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m), 214 lb (97 kg) Kiick was a versatile player; in addition to being an effective inside power runner, he was also an excellent blocker and clutch pass receiver.

He was often compared to such well-known all-purpose backs as Paul Hornung, Tom Matte, and his boyhood idol, Frank Gifford.

Wrote teammate Nick Buoniconti, Kiick negotiated a one-year $32,000 contract during the 1970 training camp after initially being offered $20,000.

After two weeks of negotiations, they ended up signing three-year contracts for about $60,000 a year,[12] which was commensurate with what the other stars on the team, such as Paul Warfield, Bob Griese and Nick Buoniconti, were being paid.

In the longest game in NFL history, the 27-24 double-overtime victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1971 AFC playoffs, Kiick rushed 15 times for 56 yards and scored a touchdown.

In the 1972 AFC playoff game against the Cleveland Browns, he rushed 14 times for 50 yards and scored the decisive touchdown.

[14] A TV movie was made of their exploits, showing them riding horseback into the sunset on Miami Beach, and they even posed for a poster dressed in western garb.

(A second edition, with an additional chapter covering the 1973 season, Super Bowl VIII, and their signing with the World Football League was published in 1974.)

In March 1974, Kiick was selected by the Toronto Northmen who became the Memphis Southmen in the third round (27th overall) of the WFL Pro Draft.

Following his brief, disappointing, but lucrative detour to the WFL, Kiick stated that he wanted to join Csonka with the New York Giants, but Giants coach Bill Arnsparger, who had been Miami's defensive coordinator, was opposed because he was concerned Kiick would be a bad influence on Csonka.

Kiick was released during the 1977 regular season and missed out on the Broncos' playoff run to Super Bowl XII.

[25] He developed dementia and as of 2017 was living at the Independence Hall assisted care facility in Wilton Manors, Florida.

[27] He was one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is caused by repeated hits to the head.