As the 1972 season progressed, the players sensed that Shula was becoming increasingly tense. A practical joke, outdoorsman fullback Larry Csonka felt, was in order. The prank has to go down as one of the NFL’s most bizarre ever, and one that could easily have led to serious repercussions.
With the help of teammate Manny Fernandez, they managed to deposit a live three-foot-long alligator in Shula’s private shower stall. Upon discovering it, Shula sprinted away and ordered an assistant coach to grab the gator, a job ultimately handled by the team’s equipment manager. Csonka confessed when the furious Shula demanded to know who was behind the prank. The coach’s anger quickly subsided, however, as he he broke into laughter. “It was a remarkable moment,” Mike Freeman writes.
