SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Former Omaha University quarterback Marlin Briscoe will be among the class of 2016 inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in December.
The announcement was made in conjunction with the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship weekend in Scottsdale, Ariz.
During Briscoe's career from 1963-67, Omaha had a 27-11 record, including three conference championships. He set 22 records, including 52 touchdown passes, 4,935 yards passing, a 55 percent completion record and a career total offense record of 6,253.
A UNO Athletics Hall of Famer, Briscoe is arguably the most famous and well-remembered player in the program's history, although it's been more than 40 years since Briscoe played his last game in what was the final football game for the school then known as Omaha University.
Briscoe, an Omaha native who starred at South High School, set nearly two dozen school records while playing for Omaha U. (which became UNO in 1968). Drafted 14th overall by the Denver Broncos, he was initially used as a defensive back, but a series of injuries to the team's quarterbacks gave him an opportunity to switch positions. Briscoe made the most of it and stepped in to become the first black starting quarterback in pro football history during his 1968 rookie season.
Briscoe's football career almost came to an end before he ever left Omaha U. Shortly before the 1966 season, he suffered a fractured vertebra while playing basketball. At first, the injury wasn't thought to be serious, however after playing the opener at Idaho State, in which he threw two touchdown passes and rushed for 73 yards, he took a hit and was forced to leave the game. Subsequent X-rays revealed the fracture. At first, he was told he would never play again because of the risk of paralysis.
Briscoe remained in school, studying engineering, and became the first black elected to the student council. He also helped with the football team and took treatments and therapy for his injury. Eventually, his neck began to heal and he was cleared to play by summer.
His senior season, he passed for 2,283 yards and 25 touchdowns and ranked fifth among NAIA schools in total offense. Omaha U. went 7-3 and won the Central Intercollegiate Conference title. He was named an NAIA All-American and also was named to the Michigan Chronicle's All-American black team alongside LeRoy Keyes of Purdue and O.J. Simpson of Southern Cal.
In his final game, he passed for 275 yards and three touchdowns to beat South Dakota, 27-20, in Omaha. It was the final game as Omaha University, as the school became the University of Nebraska at Omaha the following July.
Briscoe took over for Steve Tensi in the middle of Denver's 1968 season. He scored on a fourth-quarter 12-yard run against New England in a 20-17 loss and made pro football history. Against San Diego, he changed a play at the line and scored the winning touchdown on a 10-yard sneak with 1:55 left.
Denver coach Lou Saban told a Miami Herald writer that it “was one of the most amazingly smart checkoff maneuvers I've ever seen.”
He finished the year with a Bronco rookie record 1,897 yards in total offense and 14 touchdown passes. Against Buffalo, he passed for 333 yards and four touchdowns, and several of his rookie records held until being surpassed by John Elway.
But at 5-10, Briscoe was considered by some to be too small to play quarterback in the NFL. He was released and landed in Buffalo, where he was converted to a receiver and earned a trip to the Pro Bowl after his second season in 1970. He was traded by the Bills to Miami after the 1971 season, joining the Dolphins in time to play a key role in their historic 17-0 season that culminated in a Super Bowl win.
Briscoe was one of the inaugural inductees into the UNO Athletic Hall of Fame in 1975. His personal life has sometimes been a roller coaster ride, which he detailed in his book The First Black Quarterback, which was released in 2002.
For several years he has been involved in working with young people in Southern California. As time has passed, Briscoe has been recognized by many as one of the true pioneers of professional football when he became the game's first starting black quarterback.
The induction Briscoe and the rest of the class of 2016 will be held in conjunction with the National Football Foundation's Annual Awards Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City on Dec. 6.
