Dan Marino

Hall of Fame quarterback who set numerous NFL passing records and led the Dolphins to Super Bowl XIX.

Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. (born September 15, 1961) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers, earning first-team All-American honors in 1981. Marino was the last quarterback taken in the first round of the famed quarterback class of 1983. He held or currently holds dozens of NFL records associated with the quarterback position, and despite never being on a Super Bowl–winning team, he is recognized among the greatest quarterbacks in American football history.

Quick Facts

Current team: Miami Dolphins
Career position: Quarterback
Career number: 13
Born: 15 September 1961
Birthplace: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
High school: Central Catholic (Pittsburgh)
College: Pittsburgh (1979–1982)
Draft year: 1983

Lore & Background

Best remembered for his quick release and powerful arm, Marino helped the Dolphins become consistent postseason contenders, leading them to the playoffs ten times and one Super Bowl appearance in XIX, although a title victory ultimately eluded him during his career. Marino is considered by many to be one of the greatest players to never win a Super Bowl and has the most career victories of quarterbacks not to win a title at 155. A nine-time Pro Bowl selection, eight-time first (3) or second (5) team All-Pro, and All-AFC six times, Marino was voted NFL Rookie of the Year by Sporting News.

The following season in 1984, Marino was the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Offensive Player of the Year, when he set single-season records of 5,084 passing yards, 48 touchdown passes, nine 300-yard passing games, and four 400-yard passing games. He was voted the 1994 NFL Comeback Player of the Year, and the 1998 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year. Marino threw the most TD passes of the entire decade of the 1980's (220) despite only playing in 7 seasons of the decade (1983–89); and threw for the most passing yards in the entire decade of the 1990's (33,508).

Marino is the only QB in NFL History to lead in either category in back-to-back decades. He is also the only QB in NFL History to lead the league in all three passing categories of completions, passing yards, and touchdown passes for three consecutive years (1984-1986). At the time of his retirement, Marino held more than 40 NFL single-season and career passing records (many of which have since been surpassed), including career passing attempts (8,358), completions (4,967), passing yards (61,361), and touchdown passes (420).

His career passer rating of 86.4 was the fourth-highest in NFL history (fifth when including stats from the AAFC). Marino was the first quarterback in NFL history to reach 5,000 yards passing in a season (1984); 50,000 and 60,000 career passing yards respectively, and also the first quarterback to reach 40-plus touchdown passes in a season (48 in 1984), and 400 career touchdown passes.

Reader's Guide

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Marino is of Italian and Polish ancestry. The oldest child of Daniel and Veronica (Kolczynski) Marino, he has two younger sisters, Cindi and Debbie. His father delivered newspapers for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and Marino grew up on Parkview Avenue in the South Oakland neighborhood. He attended St. Regis Catholic Elementary School and graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1979, where he starred in baseball for the Vikings and won Parade All-American honors in football.

In the 1979 Major League Baseball draft, Marino was selected in the fourth round by the Kansas City Royals, but decided to play college football instead. Marino attended the University of Pittsburgh, and played for the university's Pittsburgh Panthers football team from 1979 to 1982. As a freshman in 1979, Marino led the Panthers in a 24–17 triumph over West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl and a 29–14 win over longtime rival Penn State. Pitt's 1980 Marino-led team finished No. 2 in the season-ending rankings (The New York Times computer poll rated Pitt as No. 1).

Marino was part of an elite team during those two years that included two other future NFL Hall of Fame players: Defensive lineman Rickey Jackson and center Russ Grimm, as well as future Pro Bowl linebacker Hugh Green and future Pro Bowl guard Mark May. In 1980, Pitt added future NFL players Bill Maas, Dwight Collins, and Tim Lewis, while their offensive line got a third future Pro Bowl player: tackle Jimbo Covert. Following the 1981 regular season, Marino led the Panthers, who had been ranked No. 1 most of the season, to a last-minute triumph over the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs in the 1982 Sugar Bowl by throwing a game-winning pass to tight end John Brown with less than a minute remaining in the game.

Marino later cited this as the most memorable pass he'd thrown in his college career. He led the nation with 34 passing touchdowns. Overall, during the three seasons from 1979 through 1981, Pitt garnered 33 wins with only 3 losses (three straight 11–1 seasons) and was constantly ranked in the top 5 of both major media polls.

Did You Know?

Marino threw a game-winning pass to tight end John Brown in the 1982 Sugar Bowl (played January 1, 1982) against Georgia.
Marino set Super Bowl XIX records with 421 passing yards and four touchdowns.