Dan Marino. Need I say more? Well, yes. Some Dolphin fans may not remember that he wasn’t the only Dolphins great to wear that number.As we tick the days off to the season opener against the Patriots on Sept. 7, each day we highlight the players who wore that particular jersey number during their tenure in Miami. In some cases, the player and jersey number are synonymous. In other cases, the jersey number represents sustained greatness at a particular position. Whatever the case may be, jersey numbers are an important part of the fabric of professional football.
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Dan Marino. Need I say more? Well, yes. Some Dolphin fans may not remember that he wasn’t the only Dolphin great to wear that number. It was also worn by one other player, who actually wore it before Marino - safety Jake Scott (1970-75). He was one of the key performers on the “No-Name” defense of the early 1970s, helping lead the Dolphins to three Super Bowl berths and two World Championships. Scott had a short but brilliant career with the Dolphins, making the Pro Bowl in four of his six seasons in Miami. He teamed with Dick Anderson to give the Dolphins probably the best safety combination in team history. Scott had 35 interceptions with the Dolphins, which remains the team’s career INT record. He also was the Most Valuable Player in the Dolphins’ win in Super Bowl VII that capped their Perfect Season, picking off Redskins quarterback Billy Kilmer twice, including once in the end zone that he returned 55 yards. He was inducted into the Dolphins Honor Roll in 2010. Dan Marino (1983-99) then made the jersey famous during his record setting tenure as the Dolphins’ quarterback. Generally regarded as the best player in team history, Marino ranks among the NFL’s all-time great passers. In his 17-year career, Marino threw for 61,361 yards and 420 touchdowns, and when he retired he held the NFL all-time record for most passing attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns. He holds 31 Dolphin regular season team records and is tied for three others. He rewrote the NFL record book in his otherworldly 1984 season when he threw for 5,084 yards (the first player to break the 5,000 yard plateau) and 48 touchdowns (the first over 40 TDs) while winning the AFC Championship and leading the Dolphins to a berth in Super Bowl XIX. He was named to nine Pro Bowls and was named as the 1998 NFL Man of the Year in recognition of his outstanding community service involvement. He was named to the Dolphin Honor Roll in 2000 immediately after his retirement, and that season his #13 jersey became the second Dolphin uniform to be retired. As a final tribute, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005, his first year of eligibility. There is an interesting story why Marino started to wear # 13 in the first place. He first wore it when he was playing youth league football back in Pittsburgh. His father was the coach of Dan’s team, and even though Dan was the best player, Mr. Marino didn’t want anyone to think that he was showing his son any favoritism. So Mr. Marino decided to let all the other kids pick the uniform number they wanted to wear before Dan, who would get whatever number was left over. Well, obviously none of the other players wanted # 13, so Dan was stuck with it. He played well wearing it and because he thought that # 13 brought him good luck, he decided to stick with it as he progressed up the football ladder all the way to the NFL. Two other notes about the number - after 1983, Marino’s rookie season, Scott said, “It took a while, but glad to see my jersey is selling like hotcakes.” And along with # 85 (Nick Buoniconti and Mark Duper), # 13 remains one of only two jersey numbers worn by two different members of the Dolphins Honor Roll.
The complete list of Dolphins who have worn #13 includes Jake Scott (1970-75); and Dan Marino (1983-99).
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Tomorrow: Who was the quarterback voted by the fans to the Dolphins’ Silver Anniversary team in 1990?
