Earl Morrall threw for over 20,000-yards during his 21-year NFL career. He was a part of three teams that won championships and was named NFL MVP in 1968 and he played a HUGE role in the Miami Dolphins perfect season of 1972. Not bad for a backup quarterback. In fact, Morrall played backup for guys like Fran Tarkenton, Johnny Unitas and Bob Griese. When Unitas went down in 1968, the Baltimore Colts didn’t lose a beat and Morrall led them to the NFL Championship. In 1972, after Bob Griese went down, Morrall picked up the slack and went 9-0 to help the Dolphins complete the NFL’s only perfect season. Joe Gibbs, who led the Washington Redskins to three Super Championships, once said the second most important position on a football team is backup quarterback and Morrall just might be considered the greatest backup ever. Morrall, who passed away in 2014, went 63-36-3 when he was called upon to step in and lead his team. The legendary Don Shula, who coached Morrall with the Baltimore Colts, knew the value of having a great backup, and when the Colts waived him, Shula who had moved on to the Miami Dolphins, quickly claimed Morrall despite the fact that Earl was 38-years old and had already played 16-years. Mark Sullivan, who grew up a fan of the Baltimore Colts and later became a member of the Professional Football Researcher’s Association, the PFRA, has conducted hour upon hour of research, and has written several articles on his favorite sport – football . Recently, Mark authored an article about Morrall for the Coffin Corner, the PFRA’s publication. In that article, Sullivan detailed the career of Morrall and now he joins Sports’ Forgotten Heroes for an in-depth discussion about Earl.
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