Earl Morrall

Earl Morrall

Morrall in 1965
No. 11, 10, 14, 15
Position:	Quarterback
Personal information
Born:	(1934-05-17)May 17, 1934 Muskegon, Michigan, U.S.
Died:	April 25, 2014(2014-04-25) (aged 79) Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:	205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:	Muskegon (MI)
College:	Michigan State
NFL draft:	1956 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2
Career history
As a player:
San Francisco 49ers (1956) Pittsburgh Steelers (1957–1958) Detroit Lions (1958–1964) New York Giants (1965–1967) Baltimore Colts (1968–1971) Miami Dolphins (1972–1976)
As a coach:
Miami (FL) (1979–1982) Quarterbacks coach
Career highlights and awards
3× Super Bowl champion (V, VII, VIII) NFL champion (1968) NFL Most Valuable Player (1968) NFL Comeback Player of the Year (1972) 2× First-team All-Pro (1968, 1972) 2× Pro Bowl (1957, 1968) NFL passer rating leader (1972) NFL passing touchdowns leader (1968) Dolphins Walk of Fame (2012) National champion (1952) Consensus All-American (1955) First-team All-Big Ten (1955)
Career NFL statistics
Passing attempts: 2,689 Passing completions: 1,379 Completion percentage: 51.3% TD–INT: 161–148 Passing yards: 20,809 Passer rating: 74.1
Player stats at PFR

Earl Edwin Morrall (/ˈmɔːrəl/; May 17, 1934 – April 25, 2014) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons, both a starter and reserve. He was the last remaining player from the 1950s still active in NFL football. He started for six teams, most notably with the Baltimore Colts and the Miami Dolphins. He became known as one of the greatest backup quarterbacks in NFL history, having served in the capacity for two Hall of Fame quarterbacks in Johnny Unitas and Bob Griese. An injury to Unitas in 1968 saw Morrall step in to start the season that saw the Colts to a 13–1 record (along with an MVP for Morrall) that saw them win their first NFL Championship in nine years before ineffective play in Super Bowl III saw him benched for Unitas. Two years later, in Super Bowl V, Morrall came off the bench for an injured Unitas and kept the Colts in the game before they ultimately won on a last-second field goal. In his first season with Miami in 1972, he came off the bench when Griese became injured early in the year, with Morrall winning all nine starts; Morrall started the first two playoff games, with Griese playing in each game before being named the starter for Super Bowl VII, where the Dolphins completed the only perfect season in NFL history.