Marlin Briscoe, who turned the primary Black beginning quarterback within the American Soccer League greater than 50 years in the past, died Monday.
His daughter, Angela Marriott, advised The Related Press that Briscoe, 76, died of pneumonia at a hospital in Norwalk, California. He had been hospitalized with circulation points in his legs.
Briscoe, an Omaha, Nebraska, native, was a star quarterback at Omaha College earlier than the Denver Broncos drafted him as a cornerback within the 14th spherical in 1968. Briscoe advised the group he’d return house to change into a instructor if he couldn’t get a tryout at quarterback. Denver agreed to an audition, and the 5-foot-10 dynamo nicknamed "The Magician" made the beginning lineup on October 6.
Briscoe began 5 video games that season. He was runner-up for AFL rookie of the yr after passing for 1,589 yards and 14 touchdowns and dashing for 308 yards and three scores.
Denver didn’t give him an opportunity to compete for the quarterback job in 1969, so he requested to be launched. He turned a Professional Bowl receiver with the Buffalo Payments and received two Tremendous Bowls with the Miami Dolphins. He was a receiver on the 1972 Dolphins group that completed with an ideal season.
Briscoe was inducted into the Faculty Soccer Corridor of Fame in 2016.
--Reporting by the Related Press
