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Marion Motley

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Football Player

The Resume

    (June 5, 1920-June 27, 1999)
    Born in Leesburg, Georgia
    Fullback and linebacker for the Cleveland Browns (1946-53) and Pittsburgh Steelers (1955)
    4,720 rushing yards
    31 touchdowns
    Pro Bowler (1950)
    Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame (1968)

Why he might be annoying:

    While driving in Fairfield, California, he passed a car and ran head-on into another vehicle, resulting in the death of a passenger in the other car (1940).
    He dropped out of the University of Nevada at Reno after suffering a knee injury (1942), a decision which came back to bite him in the ass when NFL teams used his lack of a degree as an excuse not to hire him for coaching positions.
    He suspected that the only reason he was allowed to try out for the Browns was that the team was interested in another African-American athlete, Bill Willis, and 'I think they felt Willis needed a roommate.'
    The only coaching job he ever got was with the Cleveland Dare Devils in a short-lived women's football league.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He said about the prejudice he and Willis faced from opponents, 'They found out that while they were calling us niggers and alligator bait, I was running for touchdowns and Willis was knocking the shit out of them.'
    He averaged 5.7 yards per carry, which remains (as of 2021) the career record for running backs.
    In 'The Thinking Man's Guide to Pro Football,' sportswriter Paul Zimmerman made a case for him as the greatest player in NFL history.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying