Name: Dan Marino
Position: Quarterback
Born: 9/15/61
College: Pittsburgh '83
NFL: 1983-99
Dolphins: 1983-99
Year Inducted: 2005

Induction Speech
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Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on February 5, 2005, Dan Marino became the ninth member of the Miami Dolphins to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. In his 17-year career, Marino played in 242 games (240 starts) and he completed 4,967 of 8,358 pass attempts (59.4%) for 61,361 yards, with 420 touchdowns and 252 interceptions for an 86.4 passing efficiency rating.

Marino holds 38 Dolphins regular season team records (50 overall, including playoffs) and is tied for four others (six, including playoffs). He holds 17 NFL regular season records and is tied for five others.

With a career passing efficiency of 86.4, Marino currently ranks tenth on the all-time list of passers, behind only Steve Young, Kurt Warner, Daunte Culpepper, Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, Trent Green, Tom Brady, Brett Favre and Jeff Garcia.

Marino also is among the winningest-ever quarterbacks in NFL regular season history, ranking second in all time regular season victories as a starter. Miami’s 16-13 overtime win against Tennessee on September 7, 1997, tied him with Fran Tarkenton for second place on the all-time win list. The Dolphins’ 17-14 victory over Kansas City on October 5, 1997, moved him into sole possession of second place, trailing only Denver’s John Elway. In his career, with 8,358 attempts, Marino ranks first in NFL history in career pass attempts, breaking Tarkenton’s NFL record of 6,467 attempts on December 11, 1995, vs. Kansas City. Marino tied Tarkenton’s record with a two-yard completion to Eric Green in the fourth quarter of that game and broke the record with an incomplete pass intended for Randal Hill later in that quarter.

With 4,967 pass completions, Marino ranks first in NFL history in career completions, topping Tarkenton’s NFL record of 3,686 completions on October 8, 1995, vs. Indianapolis. Marino tied Tarkenton’s record with a five-yard touchdown pass to Irving Spikes in the first quarter of that game and broke the record with a six-yard completion to Keith Byars in the second quarter. With 61,361 yards passing, Marino ranks first in NFL history in career total yards passing, besting Tarkenton’s NFL record of 47,003 passing yards on November 12, 1995, vs. New England on a nine-yard completion to Irving Fryar in the first quarter.

With 420 career touchdown passes, Marino ranks first in NFL history in touchdown passes, breaking Tarkenton’s NFL record of 342 touchdown passes with a six-yard touchdown pass to Keith Byars in the second quarter on November 26, 1995, at Indianapolis. Marino tied Tarkenton’s record with a four-yard touchdown pass to O.J. McDuffie in the third quarter on November 20 vs. San Francisco.

Marino’s 61,361 yards passing rank first on the NFL’s all-time career passing yardage list. On October 17, 1999, at New England, Marino’s eight-yard pass to Tony Martin (his only completion of the game) made him the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for 60,000 career yards. On November 12, 1995, vs. New England, with a nine-yard completion to Fryar in the first quarter, Marino passed Tarkenton (47,003 career passing yards), breaking Tarkenton’s NFL record for most career passing yards and moving into first place on the NFL all-time career passing yardage list.

Marino reached the 50,000, 40,000 and 30,000 yards passing plateaus faster than any quarterback in NFL history. In 1984, Marino’s 5,084 passing yards set the NFL record for most yards passing in a single season. Marino is the only quarterback in NFL history to throw for 5,000 or more yards (once), and he (1984-86, 1988, 1992, 1994) and Manning (1999-2004) are the only quarterbacks in NFL history to have six 4,000-yard seasons. Along with Dan Fouts and Manning, Marino is the only other quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards in three or more straight seasons (1984-86). He passed for 3,000 or more yards 13 times (1984-92, 1994-95, 1997-98) in his 17 seasons in the NFL and is tied with Favre (1992-2004) for the most 3,000-yard seasons in NFL history. When he went over the 3,000-yard passing mark on December 21, 1998, vs. Denver, it marked the 13th time he passed for 3,000 or more yards, breaking his tie with Elway and re-setting the NFL record for most 3,000 yard seasons. Marino originally set the record for most 3,000 yard seasons in 1991, his eighth year of passing for 3,000 or more yards before Elway tied that record in 1996.

Marino led the NFL in passing yards five times during a season, having accomplished that feat in 1984-86, 1988 and 1992, and he tied the NFL record for most seasons leading the league in passing yardage (five) with Sonny Jurgensen (1961-62, 1966-67, 1969). Marino had 13 career 400-yard games (15, including playoffs) and the Dolphins were 8-5 in those 13 games (9-6 overall, including the playoffs). Marino had 63 career regular season 300-yard games (67, including playoffs), and the Dolphins were 37-26 in those 63 300-yard games (38-29 overall, including playoffs). His 63 career 300-yard passing games extended his own NFL record for most career 300-yard passing games. Marino broke Fouts’ former NFL record of 51 career 300-yard games on Dec. 3, 1995, vs. Atlanta when Marino had 343 yards passing, the 52nd regular season game of 300 or more yards passing in his career. Entering the 2005 season, Marino owns the top 11 and 42 of the top 50 passing yardage games in Dolphins history as well as 67 of the 83 300-yard passing games in club history.

Marino’s first touchdown pass on November 26, 1995, at Indianapolis, a six-yard touchdown pass to Byars with 13:54 elapsed in the second quarter, was Marino’s 343rd TD pass of his career, breaking Tarkenton’s former NFL record of most career touchdown passes (342), making Marino the league’s all-time leader in career touchdown passes. On November 29, 1998, vs. New Orleans, Marino’s seven-yard touchdown pass to McDuffie was the 400th touchdown pass of his career, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to throw 400 touchdown passes. Marino concluded his career with 420 touchdown passes, and reached the 300 and 200 touchdown passes plateaus faster than any quarterback in NFL history.

In his career Marino threw at least one touchdown pass in 203 of his 242 regular-season games as well as in 16 of his 18 playoff games (219 of 260 overall). The Dolphins were 16-23 in the 39 regular season games in which Marino failed to throw a touchdown pass (and 16-25 in his 41 overall games, including the playoffs). Marino did not throw a touchdown pass in consecutive games only six times in his career, and he never went three games in a row in his career without a touchdown pass. Marino had six career games of throwing five or more touchdown passes, and the Dolphins were 4-2 in those contests. He had 21 career games passing for four or more touchdowns, and he was 16-5 in those 21 contests. When Marino threw for five touchdowns on September 4, 1994, vs. New England, it was the 18th time he threw for four or more touchdowns, breaking an NFL record he had shared with Johnny Unitas for most career games (17) throwing four or more touchdown passes. Overall, he threw three or more touchdowns in 62 games (67, including playoffs), and he was 41-21 in those contests (44-23 including post-season games).

Marino threw for 20 or more touchdown passes in 13 of his 17 years in the NFL. The only seasons when he failed to reach 20 touchdown passes came in 1999, 1997, 1996 and in 1993, a season when he played only five games due to injury. By throwing for 20 touchdown passes in 1998, he extended his own NFL record for most years throwing for 20 or more touchdown passes to 13 seasons. In 1991, Marino became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw 20 or more touchdown passes nine different times. He and Unitas had been tied for the old record as the only NFL quarterbacks ever to throw 20 or more touchdown passes in eight different seasons before Marino broke that mark with his ninth season of 20 or more touchdown passes. Marino accomplished his record-setting feat in his first nine seasons in the league, while Unitas played 18 seasons in the NFL. Marino also is the only player in NFL history to throw 20 or more touchdown passes in his first ten NFL seasons and is one of two players (along with Brett Favre) to throw 20 or more touchdown passes in ten consecutive seasons. Four times in his career (1984-86, 1994) Marino threw for 30 or more touchdowns, and he is second to Favre (eight, 1994-98, 2001, 2003-04) for the NFL record of most seasons throwing 30 or more touchdown passes. Marino is the only quarterback to throw 40 or more touchdowns in two different seasons (1984, 1986), and in 1984, Marino threw 48 touchdown passes, breaking the former NFL record of 36 TD passes that was set by George Blanda of the Houston Oilers in 1961 and tied by Y.A. Tittle of the New York Giants in 1963. Marino’s record was broken by Manning of the Indianapolis Colts, who threw 49 touchdown passes in 2004.