Earl Morrall Earl Edwin Morrall ( born May 17 , 1934 ) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League . Morrall , who also occasionally punted , played 21 seasons in the National Football League as both a starter and reserve . In the latter capacity , he became known as one of the greatest backup quarterbacks in NFL history . Morrall made Pro Bowl appearances following the 1957 and 1968 seasons . Pre - professional career . Morrall led Muskegon High School in Muskegon , Michigan , to a state football championship in 1951 , setting off a determined recruiting effort by the University of Michigan , the University of Notre Dame and Michigan State University . The efforts of the colleges were enough for the principal of Muskegon High , George A . Manning , to complain that Morrall ' s education was suffering . Eventually choosing Michigan State , Morrall played three seasons for the Spartans , leading them to a 9 - 1 regular season record in 1955 . He capped his senior year with a victory over the UCLA Bruins in the 1956 Rose Bowl game . Morrall also played baseball at Michigan State and played in the College Baseball World Series as a shortstop and third basemen . He was offered the opportunity to play professional baseball but chose instead to play NFL football . National Football League career . In his more than two decades on the professional gridiron , Morrall played for six different teams , starting with his rookie year in 1956 as a first - round selection by the San Francisco 49ers . On September 16 , 1957 , he was traded along with guard Mike Sandusky to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for linebacker Marv Matuszak and two first - round draft picks . Despite the high cost of the transaction , the Steelers traded Morrall just over a year later to the Detroit Lions in order to obtain future Hall of Famer Bobby Layne . Morrall would be with the Lions for the next six years , having his best season in 1963 by throwing for 24 touchdowns and more than 2 , 600 yards . The following year , he suffered a season - ending shoulder injury in an October 18 contest against the Chicago Bears . After spending the off - season rehabilitating from his injury , Morrall was dealt to the New York Giants as part of a three - team transaction on August 30 , 1965 . Enduring his role during the Giants ' rebuilding phase , Morrall threw for 2 , 446 yards and 22 touchdowns that season , but found himself seeing spot duty over the course of the next two years . On August 25 , 1968 , he was traded to the Baltimore Colts for an undisclosed draft choice . When regular Colts signal caller Johnny Unitas was injured in the final exhibition game , Morrall became the team ' s starter . Morrall proceeded to lead the Colts to a 13 - 1 record , then added two playoff victories en route to winning the NFL ' s Most Valuable Player award , leading the Colts into Super Bowl III . However , in one of sport ' s greatest upsets , the Colts lost 16 - 7 to the New York Jets , with a second - quarter interception of a pass by Morrall symbolizing the team ' s luck on the day . Wide receiver Jimmy Orr was wide open near the end zone , but Morrall inexplicably didn ' t see Orr ( despite having successfully run the same play earlier in the year ) . His throw down the middle was short and picked off by Jim Hudson to blunt the Colts ' momentum . Two years later , Morrall again replaced an injured Unitas in Super Bowl V , but the occasion proved to be much happier as the Colts won 16 - 13 over the Dallas Cowboys on a 32 - yard field goal by Jim O ' Brien at the end of regulation . On April 25 , 1972 , Morrall was claimed on waivers for $ 100 by the Miami Dolphins , reuniting him with his former Colt head coach , Don Shula . Shula described Morrall as " an intelligent quarterback who ' s won a lot of ball games for me . " Morrall replaced the injured Bob Griese for the Dolphins during the team ' s October 15 win over the San Diego Chargers . The victory gave Miami a 5 - 0 record , with Morrall building on that win to lead the team to the first undefeated regular season in the NFL since 1942 and only undefeated season ever , starting 11 out of 17 games that year . After notching a win in the team ' s first playoff game against the Cleveland Browns , Morrall struggled against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game , leading to the return of Griese . However , Morrall ' s efforts did not go unnoticed when he was named American Football Conference Player of the Year also in 1972 , along with the inaugural NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award . Morrall would remain as a Dolphin quarterback for the next four seasons before finally announcing his retirement on May 2 , 1977 . Until first Doug Flutie and then Vinny Testaverde almost 30 years later , Morrall was the oldest quarterback to start and win a football game in the NFL . In those 21 seasons , Morrall was part of 255 games , completing 1 , 379 passes for 20 , 809 yards and 161 touchdowns . Post - professional career . Earl Morrall became the quarterback coach at the University of Miami in 1979 . During his time there he worked with Jim Kelly , Bernie Kosar and Vinny Testaverde . In 1989 he was elected to the Davie , Florida city council and eventually became mayor .