Ed Marinaro (born March 31, 1950) is an American actor and former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

who played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Cornell Big Red The Cornell Big Red is the informal name of the sports and other competitive teams that represent Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. The university sponsors 37 varsity sports, and several intramural sports, intramural and club teams. Cornell ...

, where he was a

unanimous All-American The College Football All-America Team is an honorific college football all-star team compiled after each NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) season to recognize that season's most outstanding performers at their respective positions. ...

and won the

Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best all ...

in 1971. From 2010 to 2011, Marinaro starred in the football comedy series ''

Blue Mountain State ''Blue Mountain State'' is an American television sitcom that premiered on Spike (now Paramount Network) on January 11, 2010. The series was created by Chris Romano and Eric Falconer, and produced by Lionsgate Television. The series is about a ...

''. He is also known as a regular cast member of ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the Metropolitan Police Department staff ...

'', playing Officer Joe Coffey for five seasons (1981–1986).

Career

Football

Marinaro played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

New Milford, New Jersey New Milford is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 16,923, an increase of 582 (+3.6%) from the 2010 Unit ...

, for the New Milford High School Knights. Marinaro played

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, where he was a three-time All-American, and set over 16

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

records. He was the first

in NCAA history to run for 4,000 career rushing yards, and led the nation in rushing in 1971. Marinaro was runner-up to Pat Sullivan for the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

in 1971, the highest finish for an

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

player since the league de-emphasized football in the mid-1950s.

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

Dick Kazmaier Richard William Kazmaier Jr. (November 23, 1930 – August 1, 2013) was an American businessman and naval lieutenant. He played college football as a halfback for the Princeton Tigers from 1949 through 1951 and was the winner of the 1951 Hei ...

won the award in 1951 when the Ivy was still considered a major football conference. Marinaro won the 1971

and the

UPI College Football Player of the Year The United Press International (UPI) College Football Player of the Year Award was among the first and most recognized college football awards. With the second bankruptcy of UPI in 1991, along with that of its parent company, the award was discon ...

as the top player in college football. He holds fou
NCAA records
most rushes per game in a season (39.6 in 1971), career average carries per game (34.0, 1969–71), most rushing yards per game over an entire career (174.6, 1969–71), and earliest game reaching 1,000 rushing yards (5th, 1971). While at Cornell, Marinaro was a member of

Psi Upsilon Psi Upsilon (), commonly known as Psi U, is a North American fraternity,''Psi Upsilon Tablet'' founded at Union College on November 24, 1833. The fraternity has chartered fifty chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America, some ...

and was selected for membership in the Sphinx Head Society. He went on to play professional football for six seasons with the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

and

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

, appearing in

Super Bowl VIII Super Bowl VIII was an American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular Ameri ...

and

Super Bowl IX Super Bowl IX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 1974 Minnesota Vikings season, Mi ...

with the Vikings. He scored 13 touchdowns over his career.

Acting

After leaving football, Marinaro became an actor. He has been a cast member on a number of television series, including ''

Laverne & Shirley ''Laverne & Shirley'' is an American television sitcom that ran for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 27, 1976, to May 10, 1983. A spin-off of ''Happy Days'', ''Laverne & Shirley'' stars Penny Marshall and Cindy Wi ...

'' and ''

Sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

''. He joined the regular cast of ''

'' in 1981, playing officer Joe Coffey until 1986. Furthermore, he co-presented the Crystal Light USA National Aerobic Championship. He also appeared in the 2006 film '' Circus Island''. Marinaro played the head football coach for three seasons on Spike TV's comedy, ''

''. In September 2019, Marinaro was a guest on

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

. With Ben Mankiewicz, he appeared in wraparounds and provided introductions for films in a college football-themed series.

Personal life

Marinaro is married to fitness expert Tracy York and has one son.

Honors

Marinaro was inducted to the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

in 1991. In January 2020, Marinaro was named by ESPN as one of the "150 greatest players in college football's 150-year history", ranking at number 126. He was one of only three Ivy League players on the list. ESPN wrote of Marinaro, "It is up for debate as to whether Marinaro is the last great running back produced by the Ivy League. What is not up for debate are the numbers that illustrate his production."

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marinaro, Ed 1950 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors All-American college football players American football running backs American male film actors American male television actors American people of Italian descent College Football Hall of Fame inductees Cornell Big Red football players Male actors from New Jersey Male actors from New York City Maxwell Award winners Minnesota Vikings players New Milford High School (New Jersey) alumni New York Jets players People from New Milford, New Jersey Players of American football from Bergen County, New Jersey Players of American football from New York (state) Seattle Seahawks players Actors from Bergen County, New Jersey