Doug Marsh Douglas Walter Marsh ( born June 18 , 1958 ) is a former professional American football player who played tight end for seven seasons for the St . Louis Cardinals from 1980 to 1986 . He also played college football at the University of Michigan from 1976 to 1979 . He was selected as a first - team All - Big Ten Conference tight end at the end of the 1979 season . Early years . A native of Akron , Ohio , Marsh played high school football for Akron East High School . In August 1976 , he played for the Ohio all - star team in the Big 33 Football Classic , known as the " Super Bowl of High School Football , " against the Pennsylvania all - stars . Michigan . Marsh accepted a football scholarship from the University of Michigan and played for the Michigan Wolverines football team under head coach Bo Schembechler from 1976 to 1979 . During his time at Michigan , Marsh caught 57 passes for 947 yards and 10 touchdowns . His longest reception at Michigan was a 71 - yard reception against Wisconsin in 1979 . He also scored two touchdowns on passes from Rick Leach in Michigan ' s 1978 victory over defending national champion Notre Dame in the first game between the two schools since 1943 . As a senior in 1979 , Marsh was regarded as one of the two best tight end in the Big Ten Conference . started all 12 games at tight end for Michigan and was the Wolverines leading receiver with 33 receptions for 612 yards ; Anthony Carter was the second - leading receiver with 17 catches for 462 yards . At the end of the 1979 season , Marsh was selected as a first - team All - Big Ten player , a third - team All - American , and a player in the January 1981 Hula Bowl . Professional football . Marsh was selected by the Cardinals in the second round ( 33rd overall pick ) of the 1980 NFL Draft . He signed with the Cardinals in May 1980 . His contract was for seven years and was " estimated to be worth $ 1 . 3 million . " As a rookie in 1980 , Marsh was the Cardinals ' starting tight end in all 16 regular season games . In his first three NFL games , he caught nine passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns . Marsh ' s playing time was limited in his second year in the NFL . On August 29 , 1981 , he sustained an injury to knee ligaments during the last preseason game and missed the first four games of the 1981 season . Marsh returned to the Cardinals as their starting tight end in early October 1981 , but he dislocated a hip while pursuing an onside kick during the Cardinals ' 30 - 17 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on October 25 , 1981 . As a result of the injuries , Marsh missed 12 games during the 1981 season . He returned in 1982 as the team ' s starting tight end and held that position for the next five seasons . His best year was 1984 when he caught 39 passes for 608 yards and five touchdowns . In June 1987 , Marsh was released by the Cardinals . The team ' s head coach Gene Stallings noted that Marsh was the only quarterback , tight end or receiver who did not attend the entirety of an eight - day passing game school conducted by the team and added , " When that happened , I just could not go to bat for him . " Marsh noted at the time that he had felt that for the prior two years he had been " in between a rock and a hard place with the Cardinals . " Marsh played a total of seven season for the Cardinals from 1980 to 1986 . He appeared in 92 games , 90 of them as the team ' s starting tight end . Over the course of his NFL career , he caught 167 passes for 2 , 140 yards and 19 touchdowns . Marsh signed a contract with the Atlanta Falcons in July 1987 , reuniting with former Cardinals head coach Jim Hanifan who had taken over as the Falcons ' offensive coordinator . Marsh was released by the Falcons after the first week of September 1987 , and he did not appear in any regular season games for the team . In November 1987 , he tried out for the New England Patriots . Marsh signed with the Indianapolis Colts in the spring of 1988 and played with them through the preseason , but he was cut at the end of August .