Former NFL quarterback Earl Morrall passed away yesterday morning. He was 79.
As my NFL interest and passion developed in the 1970s, I found Earl Morrall to be one of the more remarkable football players in the league. He played for the Miami Dolphins at the time and it seemed to provide that team with unfair riches at quarterback. Bob Griese was the starter. He was an all-star and future Hall of Famer. Morrall was the backup. Whenever I saw him play he looked like a star. If the Dolphins ever needed a miracle, Morrall would come off the bench and provide it. He was also about 40 years old at the time. He'd been playing in the NFL since the 1950s. He seemed timeless. He always seemed to have the answers.
Earl Morrall was an All-American at Michigan St. He led the Spartans to two Rose Bowl victories. He was the second overall pick in the 1956 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. His NFL career immediately became one of the most puzzling NFL careers that I've ever seen. He played for 21 seasons and six teams. He was always considered a top NFL quarterback but was never a consistent starter. In those 21 seasons he started more than ten games only four times. He won the MVP when he was with the Baltimore Colts in 1968. He played in 1968 because John Unitas didn't. The Colts were 13-1 that season. Some football people thought that Morrall was leading one of the greatest teams in league history. That thought changed when the New York Jets upset that Colts team in Super Bowl III. The 1972 Miami Dolphins won every game that they played, including Super Bowl VII. Earl Morrall did most of the work at quarterback that season and led them to the Super Bowl. Bob Griese returned for that game. Morrall was rewarded with the inaugural Comeback Player of the Year award that season. The highlights of Earl Morrall's career read like those of a long-time starter. MVP, All-Pro, and Pro Bowl recognition. Six teams. He's best known for his years with the Colts and Dolphins. He played for the San Francisco 49ers(1 year), Pittsburgh Steelers(1+years), Detroit Lions(6+ years), and New York Giants(3 years) before that. He was given one year to start with the Steelers, Lions, and Giants and then each team moved on from there. The Steelers to Hall of Famer Bobby Layne. The Giants to Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton. He often sat on the bench while a future Hall of Fame quarterback was on the field. He never received a sustained opportunity to start. He had his longest stint with the Lions. The one team that couldn't find a Hall of Famer to replace him. Perhaps the Lions should have found more time for Morrall. Fair or unfair, he found his niche as a spot starter or reliever. His play in 1968 and 1972 showed that he could be fantastic in the short term. There's no way of knowing for sure if he could be that effective for more than a year. He never had the chance. It's a little difficult to wrestle the starting quarterback job from Unitas and Griese. Or Layne. Or Tarkenton.
After Earl Morrall retired from the NFL he coached quarterbacks at the University of Miami. It wasn't a stretch for him as he seemed to be a coach on the field in all the years that I watched him play. With the Hurricanes he coached Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar, Vinny Testaverde. All went on to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.
In the 1970s, Earl Morrall was the wise, old quarterback that could always save the day for the Miami Dolphins. As a kid, I couldn't understand why he spent most of his time wearing a cap, holding a clipboard, standing on the sideline. He was too good to not be under center for some team in the NFL.
RIP Earl Morrall.
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