Some remember him best for his record-setting career as a college football running back. Others recall him as a member of the Minnesota Vikings in the 1970s. If you watched Hill Street Blues, you know him as Officer Joe Coffey. Maybe you remember him from dozens of other films and TV shows over the last 40+ years. For most of his 71 years, Ed Marinaro has been busy.
Born in New York City and later a high school football and basketball standout for the Knights of New Milford High School in New Milford, New Jersey, Marinaro took his talents to Cornell University where he became one of the greatest college football players of the 20th century.
A durable and dependable running back, he set nearly 20 NCAA records and became the first running back in NCAA history to rush for over 4,000 career yards–in only three seasons. He led the nation in rushing in 1971 and finished as the Heisman Trophy runner up. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1991 and in January of 2020 he was named by ESPN is one of the “150 greatest players in college football’s 150 year history” ranking 126th on the prestigious list.
I chatted with him recently about collecting New York Yankees baseball cards as a kid, his impressive memorabilia collection and eventually rubbing elbows with some of his biggest childhood heroes.
Tony Reid-Your Rookie Card appeared in the 1974 Topps Football set. Do you remember what it was like to see yourself on a card for the first time?
Ed Marinaro- I remember having grown up collecting baseball cards. I was excited to have my own card, knowing what it was like as a young kid to get my favorite player’s card. I was hoping that would be the case. Once that card came out that it wasn’t long before I would get that card sent in the mail for me to sign. That was pretty cool for a young guy like me.
TR– What did your childhood collection look like?
EM– The packs of cards were a nickel when I was growing up. They were baseball cards. You got five cards and a stick of gum. I would take a quarter out of my mother’s purse every day and I would go to the local candy store and buy packs of baseball cards. I grew up in New Jersey, so I was a big Yankees fan, so any New York Yankee card was a get. Obviously Mickey Mantle was a big deal. Roger Maris, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, these were all guys I got to meet later on in life, which was pretty cool. All of my friends collected cards. All of the guys that weren’t very popular I would take a clothes pin and put the card on my bike tire. It was cool. That is part of Americana and part of my generation, for sure.
TR- After growing up idolizing these great players, to then rub elbows and be in the same company as such legends, had to be special.
EM– It was certainly memorable. I will never forget meeting these guys. The first commercial I ever did when I was with the Vikings was with Harmon Killebrew, who was a great player for the Minnesota Twins. When I was in sixth or seventh grade, I sent away for Harmon Killebrew’s autograph. He sent me back a signed postcard which I think I still have somewhere. That is a real turnaround in my life. You go from idolizing these guys to doing commercials with them. It was pretty cool.
TR– You mentioned that you may still have that Harmon Killebrew autograph somewhere. Do you have a collection of memorabilia displayed anywhere?
EM –In my office I have my first NFL helmet. I have my New York Jets helmet. I have my Cornell jersey, which is retired, hanging up. I have my Vikings jersey hanging up. I have the shirt that I got shot in on Hill Street Blues. That is in a frame. A little bloody shirt, which is pretty cool. I have framed pictures of people that I admire. I have a picture of myself and Joe DiMaggio. I have a shot of me and Arnold Palmer. I have my Sports Illustrated covers up there. I have my trophies, my Maxwell Trophy is in the room.
TR–What has the autograph experience been like for you as you receive items in the mail?
EM– I get stuff in the mail. It’s a little weird when people send you stuff to your own personal address. I don’t encourage that. I just remember when I was doing the same thing. I would send stuff to the New York Yankees. I knew the office address where you could send requests to. I didn’t send anything to anyone’s home, at least I don’t think I did anyway (laughs). That was before memorabilia became such a big business. People would just send cards to me and I would sign them and send them back. I don’t think a lot of the current players need to do that for the money but for guys from my era these cards were worth money to these players and they would sell autograph cards. I never really did that.
TR–Speaking of meeting all-time greats, you met and became friends with Joe Namath. How did you meet and how did you stay in touch over the years?
EM– I met Joe when I was a senior in college. I was invited to the College Football Hall of Fame dinner in New York City by a Cornell Alum. I was coming off a pretty good senior season. I was an All American. I was sitting there and somebody comes up and says ‘Hey Ed, I want you to meet Joe Namath.’ It was crazy. He is the guy we all looked up to. He was everything that every young guy wanted to be. He was good looking. He had all the girls, all the money and all the fame. It was awe inspiring. For whatever reason, we became friends.
That year was the first year of the Joe Namath Football Camp. He invited me to be one of the instructors. This was before my first year playing with the Vikes. We just stayed friends. I still talk to Joe. I will see him in a few weeks down in Florida. We are playing some golf down there. He was special. He was the coolest guy I have ever known. I still think he is. Her was cool before people knew what cool was. Then I got to play with him my one year with the Jets. That was his last season on the Jets, so that was a cherry on top of the cake.
TR–On the gridiron or on the set, what are some of your fondest interactions with fans?
EM– I have been fortunate enough that I’ve had two different careers that were very public careers. The most fun I’ve had with fans has been in the last ten or twelve years. I did a show called Blue Mountain State. For someone who has been around as long as I have to have these twenty-something kids wanting to take pictures with me and wanting autographs, there aren’t many guys my age that have a fan base that young. It’s cool. It keeps me feeling a little bit relevant. Those kids freak out when they see me. It has a cult following. It was a bit perverse in a lot of ways. They see me and they think I am coach Marty Daniels and I illicit all kinds of crazy response from that, which is funny.
We’ll have a Card Back Q&A with Ed Marinaro in the coming days.
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