Marino, Dan (Daniel Constantine Marino, Jr.) [key], 1961–, American football player, b. Pittsburgh. After starring as an All-American quarterback at the Univ. of Pittsburgh, he joined (1983) the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League and was the NFL Rookie of the Year. In the 1984–85 season, when he passed for 5,084 yards (a record that was not surpassed until 2011), he was the league's most valuable player. One of the game's most proficient passers, the durable Marino, who played his entire career with the Dolphins, broke (1995) the lifetime records held by Fran Tarkenton for total passing yardage, completions, and touchdown passes. (Brett Favre surpassed Marino's marks more than a decade later.) Despite his excellence as a quarterback, Marino never led Miami to a Super Bowl championship. He retired in 2000 and since has worked as a sportscaster.
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