Joseph "Joe" Robbie (July 7, 1916 - January 7, 1990) was an American entrepreneur, politician and lawyer.
In March 1965, Joe Foss, the commissioner of the American Football League, met with Robbie in Washington, DC. Foss attended the University of South Dakota and served in the Navy with Robbie. Foss recommended that Robbie look into Miami as a potential site for an expansion franchise. Robbie formed a partnership with comedian Danny Thomas, a fellow Lebanese-American, and raised the $7.5 million expansion fee.
The Miami Dolphins first took the field in 1966. Robbie's Dolphins achieved a perfect season (17–0) in 1972 and two consecutive Super Bowl wins. Additionally, he built the $115 million Joe Robbie Stadium (1987–1996) with private funds in 1987. It was later renamed Pro Player Park (1996), then Pro Player Stadium (1996–2005), then Dolphins Stadium (2005–2006), then Dolphin Stadium (2006–2009; 2010), then LandShark Stadium (2009–2010) and is now called Sun Life Stadium (2010–present).
Robbie had a small part playing himself in the film Black Sunday, in which he is interviewed about security for Super Bowl X (1976).
Robbie also owned the Miami Toros and the Fort Lauderdale Strikers (later the Minnesota Strikers) soccer teams of the North American Soccer League. Joe Robbie Stadium was one of the first major stadiums in the US designed with soccer in mind.
For his contributions to the Miami Dolphins, and being the founder of the team, Joe Robbie became the inaugural inductee into The Miami Dolphin Honor Roll on September 16, 1990 (eight months after his death).