Earl Morrall
Earl Morrall was born in Muskegon, Michigan, United States on May 17th, 1934 and is the Football Player. At the age of 79, Earl Morrall biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 79 years old, Earl Morrall has this physical status:
Earl Morrall (May 17, 1934-April 25, 2014) was an American football player who played quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for twenty-one seasons.
Morrall, a former kicker, spent 21 seasons in the National Football League as both a starter and reserve.
He was named as one of the best backup quarterbacks in NFL history in his previous roles.
He played in nine games for an injured Johnny Unitas during the 1969 Baltimore Colts season, which culminated in an NFL championship shutout win and a Super Bowl III loss to the New York Jets.
He appeared in for 11 games for an injured Bobby Griese leading to Super Bowl VII and the first perfect season in NFL history for the 1972 Miami Dolphins (both under coach Don Shula).
Following the 1957 and 1968 seasons, Morrall made Pro Bowl appearances.
Morrall, Griese, and Dan Marino were selected to the top performers in the Miami Dolphins' 50-year history in 2015.
Pre-professional career
In 1951 and 1952, Morrall led Muskegon High School in Muskegon, Michigan to a state football championship and state baseball championship (where he stole home). He attended Michigan State University, where he worked with head coaches Biggie Munn and Duffy Daugherty. He spent three seasons with the Michigan State Spartans football team, leading them to a 9–1 record in the 1955 season. In the 1956 Rose Bowl, he capped his senior season by defeating the UCLA Bruins. Morrall also played baseball at Michigan State and appeared in the College World Series as a shortstop and third baseman. He was invited to play professional baseball but decided instead to play football.
National Football League career
Morrall spent more than two decades on the professional gridiron, beginning with his rookie year in 1956 as a first-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers. He appeared in the first four games before being scheduled to start the year's fifth game on October 28. With a touchdown and an intercept, he went 7-of-12 for 148 yards. He began playing in the next three games before appearing in two more sporadically in two new games. He went 38-of-78 for 621 passing yards, with a touchdown and six interceptions. He kicked 45 of them for 1,705 yards (he'll make occasional appearances as punter in seven seasons to total 106 for 3,995 yards with one block). He was traded by guard Mike Sandusky and the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for linebacker Marv Matuszak and two first-round draft picks on September 16, 1957. He'll be in all twelve games for the Steelers this year (with eleven starts), assisting them in their 6–6 record while throwing for 1,900 yards and twelve interceptions. Despite the high price of the sale, the Steelers traded him to the Detroit Lions just over a year later in order to get future Hall of Famer Bobby Layne. He started the first two games of the 1958 season (both losses) before being traded to the Detroit Lions, in which he would play sporadically in six games. Morrall was with the Lions for six years, scoring for 24 touchdowns and more than 2,600 yards in 1963. In a December 18 game against the Chicago Bears, he sustained a season-ending shoulder injury.
Morrall was traded by the Lions to the New York Giants for Mike Lucci, who had been acquired from the Cleveland Browns, Darrell Dess, and a draft pick as part of a three-team trade on August 30, 1965. Morrall spent the offseason recovering from his injury. To complete the transaction, the Browns acquired defensive back Erich Barnes from the Giants. Morrall, who was playing for 2,446 yards and 22 touchdowns in the Giants' rebuilding process, ruled with the Giants in 1966, but he found himself on spot duty for the next two years. On August 25, 1968, he was traded to the Baltimore Colts for an undisclosed draft pick. Butch Wilson was sent by the Giants to complete the transaction eight days later on September 2.
He appeared for the entire season for an injured Johnny Unitas, which culminated in the Colts winning only one game in the regular season; he had threw for 2,909 yards while leading the league with 26 touchdowns to 17 interceptions in 1968 Baltimore, Maryland. They won the NFL Championship in a shutout victory, but they were disappointed in Super Bowl III against the New York Jets, where Morrall was forced to leave early for Unitas. Morrall had a chance to fix his mistakes with Super Bowl V, with the Colts trailing 13–6 in the second quarter, and he was tasked to step in for Unitas, who was forced to leave the game due to a rib injury. With an intercept of 147 yards, he would go 7-of-15. However, the Colts managed to remain in the game after a string of turnovers and chance (Craig Morton, his cousin, went 12-of-26 for 127 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions, with the last two resulting in potential Colt points). Jim O'Brien would kick a field goal from 32 yards out to win by 16.13. In 1971, he was the first nine games of the Colts' season, with one more appearing in one more game. The Colts went on to a 10–4 record with Unitas handling the playoffs, with him throwing for 1,210 yards with seven touchdowns and twelve interceptions.
He went on to the Miami Dolphins in the following year (coached by Don Shula, who had been with Baltimore until 1970). Morrall was supposed to start for the team after starting quarterback Bob Griese was injured against the San Diego Chargers on October 15, and he went 8-of-10 for 86 yards with two touchdowns, while Miami took the game. With Miami already a 5–0 record, he decided to start the nine remaining games of the season, for which he would win all of them while throwing 11 touchdowns to seven interceptions on 1,360 yards as the team's offensive offense led the team's offense, which included two touchdowns and two others didn't have an interceptor). The 1972 team was unbeaten on the first regular season in the NFL since 1942. He started the Divisional Round game against the Cleveland Browns and went 6-of-13 for 88 yards, while the Dolphins beat 20-14 (on the strength of a blocked punt return by Charlie Babb, two field goals, and a Jim Kiick touchdown). He appeared in the AFC Championship Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. When throwing a touchdown and an intercept, he went 7-of-11 for 51 yards. Griese was dismissed later in the game, but the Dolphins carried on to win 21-17; Griese would start Super Bowl VII, resulting in victory and a Super Bowl championship for the Dolphins. He appeared in eleven games for an injured Bob Griese, winning all of them. Morrall and Griese also won three postseason games (including Super Bowl VII) to conclude the only undefeated season in NFL history.
He will make occasional appearances in games, beginning three times as the Dolphins won another Super Bowl with Griese at the helm over the next four seasons. On May 2, 1977, he announced his resignation. Morrall was the first quarterback to start and win a football game in the NFL until first Doug Flutie and then Vinny Testaverde nearly 30 years ago. He appeared in 255 games, totaling 1,379 passes for 20,809 yards and 161 touchdowns while starting with a 63-36-3 record as starter. Morrall, Griese, and Dan Marino were named to the 50 best players in the Miami Dolphins' 50-year history in 2015.
Morrall made Pro Bowl appearances in the 1957 and 1968 seasons, and he was named NFL MVP in 1968 and 1972 in AFC Football. In 1968 and 1972, he dominated the league and then the AFC.
Morrall was selected by the Professional Footballers Association in 2018 to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2018.
Post-professional career
Morrall was the quarterback coach at the University of Miami in 1979. He worked with Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar, Vinny Testaverde, and Mark Richt during his time there. In 1989, he was elected to the Davie, Florida city council and later became mayor. Morrall ran for the Florida House of Representatives District 97 seat as a Republican in 1992 but lost.
Morrall was asked what it was like to come off the bench and be a good quarterback and team leader during a 1989 interview. "You must do the job if you want to do it," the respondent said. That's all there is to it."
He died in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on April 25, 2014. He was 79 years old. He had grade 4 (the most severe stage) persistent traumatic encephalopathy after death, according to an examination of his brain.