Amos Marsh, Jr. (May 7, 1939 – November 2, 1992) was a professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

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 handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

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and Detroit Lions. He played college football at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering c ...

Early years

Marsh was the starting

at Wallowa High School, contributing to the team's Tu-Valley football co-championship in 1957. Which was a three-way tie with

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and

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, but only Wallowa advanced to the state playoffs after a vote by the league's school superintendents. As a sprinter and

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

er in track, Marsh helped Wallowa win the 1957 State Class "B" title. During those years, he developed a famous rivalry with Jim Puckett from Cove High School. The two raced in the 100 yard dash competition, with Puckett winning every contest, making Marsh the 100-yard dash state runner up three times (1956–1958). The 100-yard dash is no longer practiced and was run from 1927 to 1977.

College years

Marsh accepted an

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

scholarship, where he competed as a sprinter,

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

and a

broad jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

er. In college, he repeatedly beat Puckett, who ran representing the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. He also played football as a wingback, halfback, split end and

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...

. He was part of the 14–0 upset to the No. 6 ranked

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

at the

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on September 16, 1960. The

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were ranked No. 1 in the preseason by

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and it was the last time an OSU team experienced victory at USC until 2021. As a senior, he was moved to split end but did not have much success, catching only 10 passes. He was selected to be a part of the

North-South Shrine Game ''North-South'' ( hy, Հյուսիս-Հարավ) or ''Four Buddies and the Bride'' is an Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNb ...

. In 1960, he was the Northwest sprint champion in both the 100 and 220.

Professional Football

Dallas Cowboys

Marsh was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

after the

1961 NFL Draft The 1961 National Football League draft took place at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia on December 27–28, 1960. The league would later hold an expansion draft for the Minnesota Vikings expansion franchise. This draft was also the first reg ...

, because they were impressed by his speed. He also was a powerful player, earning the nicknames "Moose" and "Forward Marsh". He started his career as a wide receiver and

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

player. He was eventually moved to fullback to take advantage of his size and speed, while splitting time with J. W. Lockett. He led the team in kickoff and punt returns. He set franchise records with a 71-yard run from scrimmage and a 79-yard kickoff return. In

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

, he played fullback alongside Don Perkins, ranking seventh in the NFL with 802 yards and a 5.6-yard average per carry. That year, he set a franchise record with an 85-yard

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

reception against the Los Angeles Rams and also broke his franchise record for the longest

kickoff Kickoff or kick-off may refer to * Kick-off (association football) * Kickoff (gridiron football) * ''Kick Off'' (series), a series of computer association football games * ''Kick Off'' (album), a 1985 album by Onyanko Club * ''Kick Off'' (mag ...

return with 101 yards, which was broken by Alexander Wright 29 years later in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

. The play came against the

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, when the Cowboys became the first NFL team in history to produce two 100-yard plays in the same game: a 100-yard

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...

return for a

by strong safety Mike Gaechter and the 101 yard

return for a

by Marsh. In

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

, he was moved to halfback, with Perkins taking over the fullback position. Marsh's production regressed during the following years, while alternating with Jim Stiger. On September 9, 1965, he was traded to the Detroit Lions, after the team acquired fullback J.D. Smith. The Cowboys selected

Walt Garrison Walter Benton Garrison (born July 23, 1944) is a former American football fullback in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Oklahoma State University. Early years Born in Denton, Texas, Garrison atte ...

with the fifth round draft choice they obtained in the transaction.

Detroit Lions

Playing as a fullback in 1965, he led the Detroit Lions in rushing (405 yards) and

s (8). On August 19,

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

, he was traded to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for a conditional

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

draft pick (not exercised).

Atlanta Falcons

On September 2,

, he was waived by the Atlanta Falcons before the start of the season.

Personal life

His brother

Frank Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

also went on to play professional football and then into professional basketball. Marsh died on November 2, 1992, after suffering a series of strokes, because of his diabetes condition.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marsh, Amos 1939 births 1992 deaths People from Wallowa County, Oregon Players of American football from Oregon American football running backs American male sprinters American male long jumpers Oregon State Beavers men's track and field athletes Oregon State Beavers football players Dallas Cowboys players Detroit Lions players