Marino, Daniel C.
Football
b. Sept. 15, 1961, Pittsburgh, PA
Named to some All-American teams as a junior quarterback at the University of Pittsburgh in 1981, Marino was considered a major candidate for the Heisman Trophy the following year, but had a disappointing season. Nevertheless, he set a school career record for total offense with more than 8,500 yards.
Although chosen in the first round of the 1983 NFL college draft, there were five quarterbacks selected ahead of him. He went to the Miami Dolphins, who had the twenty-seventh pick.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Marino became Miami's starter for the last eleven games of his rookie season and was so impressive that he became the first rookie quarterback ever to start in a Pro Bowl.
Gifted with a strong arm and an amazingly quick release, Marino was very difficult to sack, although he lacked mobility. During a period from 1988 to 1989, Marino threw 759 consecutive passes without being trapped for a loss.
Marino was awarded the Bert Bell Trophy as the NFL player of the year in 1984, when he completed 362 of 564 passes for 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns. He was the first quarterback to pass for more than 5,000 yards in a season and he shattered the old record of 36 touchdown passes. In a 38-16 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XIX after that season, Marino completed 29 of 50 passes, both records at the time.
In 17 seasons, Marino started 242 of the Dolphins' 272 regular-season games. He suffered only one serious injury, in 1993, when he ruptured an Achilles tendon in Miami's fifth game and was placed on the injured reserve list for the rest of the season.
The Dolphins made the playoffs in each of Marino's first three seasons. After they lost to New England in the 1985 AFC championship game, though, they made the playoffs only seven times in 14 seasons. Their only other appearance in the AFC championship came in 1992, when they lost to Buffalo, 29-10.
In 1999, his final season, Marino missed five games with a neck injury. When he returned to action, the Dolphins were 8-2 and apparently bound for the AFC East championship. However, they lost five of their last six and had to settle for a wildcard spot. After winning their first playoff game, the Dolphins were devastated, 62-7, by Jacksonville. Marino announced his retirement shortly afterward.
After retiring, he worked as a television analyst until January of 2004, when he was named senior vice president of football operations by the Dolphins. He resigned from the Dolphins' job soon afterward, though.
Named to the Pro Bowl nine times, Marino holds virtually all of the NFL's important career passing records: Most attempts, 8358; most completions, 4967; most yards, 61,361; most touchdown passes, 420; most games with 400 or more passing yards, 13; most games with 300 or more passing yards, 60; and most games with four or more touchdown passes, 21.
