Marlin Briscoe, who became the first Black starting quarterback in the American Football League more than 50 years ago with the Broncos, died Monday.
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“There were 44,000 fans out there who thought Briscoe was great,” Dolphins head coach George Wilson told The Denver Post after Briscoe’s performance on Oct. 27, 1968. “Now you can make that 44,001, counting me.” He was a Pro Bowler for the Bills in 1970 after posting a career-high 57 catches for 1,036 and eight touchdowns, and also went on to play for the Dolphins, Lions, Chargers and Patriots before retiring after the 1976 season. In Miami, he was a member of the undefeated 1972 Super Bowl team and also the Dolphins’ 1973 championship team.
“I felt like what I did all those years ago helped Doug,” Briscoe told The Undefeated in 2016. “It was the best feeling I had had in a long time.”“For what he did in 1968, he deserves way more recognition than he gets,” Williams told DenverBroncos.com last year. “As a Black man playing quarterback, he knew in 1968 it wasn’t two times better than the guy behind you. He had to be five times better.”