Passed away today on the same date we acquired him. Was a key player for that undefeated 1972 team taking over at QB after Griese got hurt.
The Dolphins would never have had a perfect season once Griese went down with injury without the best backup QB in the game at the time stepping up and showing the leadership he did during that season. Football aside, I had the great pleasure of getting to play golf in a charity tournament with Mr. Morrall several years ago. He was just as classy off the field as he was on the field. He was a true gentleman and the Dolphin organization as well as Dolphin fans have lost a gem from their past. May he rest in peace.
Earl Morrall, who helped quarterback Dolphins to perfect season, dies at 79 http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/s...-who-helped-quarterback-dolphins-to-pe/nfhhH/
RIP, Mr Morrall... You certainly made some fine memories for me as a Dolphan... My condolences to your family... Thank you again...
RIP Earl Morrall He stepped up when we needed him and he delivered. He will always be remembered by Dolphins fans for that 1972 season and all he accomplished
RIP. I have always viewed him as the unsung hero of the 1972 season. Griese made the HOF partly because of the 1972 season that Mr. Morrall had more to do with winning then Griese himself. He was always a class act/team first guy.
Without him there would never have been the perfect season .Quiet unassuming player who quietly went about his business.RIP
He played behind two Hall of Fame QB's, and had to step in in relief of both of them. He displayed class in all three of those situations, two with Unitas, and of course, 72 with Griese. When I first started watching football in 1960, at 11 (when Mom would let me watch) I remember Morrall being a QB, along with LeBaron, Jurgenson, and, of course, I had a Genuine Bobby Layne football for my first football. And, when the AFL started, my favorite was Blanda! I remember a lot of people in the Navy wondering why the Dolphins picked up Morrall, but most of us who followed the game (usually through ARFRATS and in print) were glad that the Phin's had picked up a good backup. Never heard a bad word either from or about him. Good Man!!!! Lord, I feel old!
Prayers and thoughts for his family and a big thank you for the vital role he played in the only perfect season ever. He was integral to that championship and we can only hope Mandich has a cold one waiting for him and they guide this years team .
Here's to Earl, and here's also to the family and friends he leaves behind. Peace and strength to those folks. It's a great legacy when all you hear are great things about a man. Even at the sad time of a man's passing, it's nice to know he was beloved. I was only a kid when he led the Dolphins, after Griese got hurt, to the playoffs in the Perfect Season. The only thing I knew at the time (I was 5 years old and only have faint memories), was he made me happy because the Dolphins won games. But it's great, in retrospect, to hear he was a good and classy man.
39 years old leading our team to wins, the guy was a field general, age didn't affect his leadership abilities. RIP Earl.
Earl Morrall was the second best thing to ever come to Miami from the Baltimore Colts. He provided veteran leadership and a steady hand to a team who had lost their franchise quarterback early in the season. Without Earl Morrall 1972 might have been the season that never was. Also as great a job as Earl Morrall did during that season he never griped or complained when Bob Griese stepped back in the lineup and that seamless, quiet transition without distractions helped to make that a legendary season. Thank you Earl Morrall for the memories, RIP.
I was scrolling Facebook before and saw a post from the Dolphins titled "Remembering Earl Morrall" or something like that, and didn't even think to stop and read what it was about. Sad, man. R.I.P. Mr. Morrall.
My earliest memories of being a Dolphin fan have Earl Morrall in them. Great memories of a relief pitcher in football, as was my memories of Don Strock.
Guess who had the longest TD run for the Dolphins in 1972? Earl Morrall, that's who! http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197211190mia.htm