1. Earl Edwin Morrall was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League for 21 seasons, both a starter and reserve.
26 Facts About Earl Morrall
1. 2.
Earl Morrall was the last remaining player from the 1950s still active in NFL football.
3.
Earl Morrall started for six teams, most notably with the Baltimore Colts and the Miami Dolphins.
4.
Earl Morrall 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.
5.
Two years later, in Super Bowl V, Earl 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.
6.
Earl Morrall led Muskegon High School in Muskegon, Michigan to a state football championship in 1951 and state baseball championship in 1952.
7.
Earl Morrall attended Michigan State University, where he played under head coaches Biggie Munn and Duffy Daugherty.
8.
Earl Morrall capped his senior year with a victory over the UCLA Bruins in the 1956 Rose Bowl.
9.
Earl Morrall played baseball at Michigan State and played in the College World Series as a shortstop and third baseman.
10.
Earl Morrall was offered the opportunity to play professional baseball but chose instead to play football.
11.
Earl Morrall went 7-of-12 for 148 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
12.
Earl Morrall started the next three games before appearing sporadically in two further games.
13.
Earl Morrall started the first two games of the 1958 season before being traded to the Detroit Lions, for which he would appear sporadically in six games.
14.
Earl Morrall was with the Lions for the next six years, having his best season in 1963 by throwing for 24 touchdowns and more than 2,600 yards.
15.
Earl Morrall was traded to the Baltimore Colts for an undisclosed draft choice on August 25,1968.
16.
Earl Morrall would go 7-of-15 while throwing an interception with 147 yards.
17.
Earl Morrall started the AFC Championship Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
18.
Earl Morrall went 7-of-11 for 51 yards while throwing a touchdown and an interception.
19.
Until first Doug Flutie and then Vinny Testaverde almost 30 years later, Earl Morrall was the oldest quarterback to start and win a football game in the NFL.
20.
Earl Morrall made Pro Bowl appearances following the 1957 and 1968 seasons.
21.
Earl Morrall was named the NFL MVP in 1968, and finished 2nd in MVP voting in 1972.
22.
Earl Morrall led the league in passing in 1968 and the AFC in 1972.
23.
Earl Morrall became the quarterback coach at the University of Miami in 1979.
24.
Earl Morrall resigned as mayor to run for the Florida House of Representatives District 97 seat as a Republican in 1992 but lost the election.
25.
Earl Morrall died on April 25,2014, at his son's home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
26.
Earl Morrall is one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with this disease, which is caused by repeated hits to the head.