Marlin Briscoe "The Magician"

[Capt. Jack]

https://apnews.com/article/denver-br...de841621077df1

[samparnell]

https://apnews.com/article/denver-br...de841621077df1

Requiescat in pace, Marlin "the magician" Briscoe.

[Capt. Jack]

It's time to make the Movie

[jazzbodog]

Excellent/cool name for a football player.

[Capt. Jack]

I am surprised he's not getting any love here???
Rest in peace,
Marlin

[lvbronx]

He's an important part of Broncos history as the first black QB to play Pro football. He never really got a fair chance to play QB here. He was a little ahead of my time as a Bronco and I remember him mostly as a Dophins WR playing opposite Paul Warfield in the Fins dominate run in the 70s.

[samparnell]

My family moved to Aurora in 1964, the year after Frank Tripucka retired. My Dad and I became Bronco fans then.

There were twelve QBs who started games for the Broncos during the ten years between Frank Tripucka and Charley Johnson. Of them all, the only one many of us at the time thought had the ability to quarterback the Broncos to their first winning season was Marlin Briscoe.

There were coaches in the AFL at the time who had the possibility of seeing what "The Magician" could do at the QB position. Unfortunately Lou Saban wasn't one of them. He was ultra-conservative even by NFL standards at the time.

Marlin was a different kind of quarterback than most other pro QBs at the time, Fran Tarkenton being an exception. However, the other different thing about him which kept owners and coaches from trying him as a QB was being African-American. During and before the Sixties, quarterback, middle linebacker and center were positions for which many coaches, owners and fans thought black players didn't have the intelligence. Black players had been effectively banned from the NFL before WWII as per George Preston Marshall's "gentlemen's agreement".

My Dad and I were so disappointed when Saban wouldn't allow Marlin to be an AFL QB. Denver had a decent roster at the time, but lacked an effective QB. What might have been.

[Capt. Jack]

My family moved to Aurora in 1964, the year after Frank Tripucka retired. My Dad and I became Bronco fans then.

There were twelve QBs who started games for the Broncos during the ten years between Frank Tripucka and Charley Johnson. Of them all, the only one many of us at the time thought had the ability to quarterback the Broncos to their first winning season was Marlin Briscoe.

There were coaches in the AFL at the time who had the possibility of seeing what "The Magician" could do at the QB position. Unfortunately Lou Saban wasn't one of them. He was ultra-conservative even by NFL standards at the time.

Marlin was a different kind of quarterback than most other pro QBs at the time, Fran Tarkenton being an exception. However, the other different thing about him which kept owners and coaches from trying him as a QB was being African-American. During and before the Sixties, quarterback, middle linebacker and center were positions for which many coaches, owners and fans thought black players didn't have the intelligence. Black players had been effectively banned from the NFL before WWII as per George Preston Marshall's "gentlemen's agreement".

My Dad and I were so disappointed when Saban wouldn't allow Marlin to be an AFL QB. Denver had a decent roster at the time, but lacked an effective QB. What might have been.

That's a great post Sam!

[BroncoFanDK]

My family moved to Aurora in 1964, the year after Frank Tripucka retired. My Dad and I became Bronco fans then.

There were twelve QBs who started games for the Broncos during the ten years between Frank Tripucka and Charley Johnson. Of them all, the only one many of us at the time thought had the ability to quarterback the Broncos to their first winning season was Marlin Briscoe.

There were coaches in the AFL at the time who had the possibility of seeing what "The Magician" could do at the QB position. Unfortunately Lou Saban wasn't one of them. He was ultra-conservative even by NFL standards at the time.

Marlin was a different kind of quarterback than most other pro QBs at the time, Fran Tarkenton being an exception. However, the other different thing about him which kept owners and coaches from trying him as a QB was being African-American. During and before the Sixties, quarterback, middle linebacker and center were positions for which many coaches, owners and fans thought black players didn't have the intelligence. Black players had been effectively banned from the NFL before WWII as per George Preston Marshall's "gentlemen's agreement".
.....

Projecting the what if, when you have a QB that has substantial success for a short while is easy to do, but the thing with Marlin Briscoe is that he was small and he never played QB again, so it is really hard to judge. Briscoe is an interesting story that seems like he should have had the chance to fail on the field, but he did switch successfully to WR.

[Peanut]

RIP, Marlin.

[Sophia23]

RIP, Marlin