All Dolphins

Marino Throwing Again (For One Day)

Miami Dolphins Hall of Famer Dan Marino Opened the Baseball Season for the Miami Marlins
Alain Poupart|
Former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino on the field before a game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium last season.
Former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino on the field before a game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium last season. | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

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Miami Dolphins

As some Miami Dolphins fans might know, long before Dan Marino became a Hall of Fame quarterback, he was a pretty good baseball player.

Good enough, in fact, to be selected in the Major League Baseball draft after going 23-0 as a pitcher at Central Catholic High in Pittsburgh.

Marino was back on the mound Thursday to signal the beginning of the Miami Marlins' 2025 season with the ceremonial first pitch.

And, appropriately enough, the man chosen to catch that pitch was South Florida media personality Joe Rose, who more pertinently was on the receiving end of Marino's first NFL touchdown pass on a Monday night against the Los Angeles Raiders in 1983.

Along with his pitching record, Marino played shortstop at Central Catholic and he was a fourth-round pick of the Kansas City Royals, but bypassed a baseball career in favor of playing football at the University of Pittsburgh.

The rest, of course, is history.

Marino is among many famous NFL quarterbacks with a baseball background, a group that includes Patrick Mahomes, John Elway and Tom Brady.

Marino played for the Dolphins from 1983 through 1999 and ended his career holding NFL all-time records for passing yards, passing touchdowns, completions and attempts.

He remains with the organization as a special advisor to the vice chairman, president and CEO.

The 25-year anniversary of his retirement happened exactly two weeks ago.

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Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of Miami Dolphins On SI and host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press and the Dolphins team website. In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books, such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.

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