No. 39, 44 | |||||||||
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Position: | Fullback | ||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
Date of birth: | August 7, 1946 | ||||||||
Place of birth: | Salamanca, New York | ||||||||
Date of death: | May 4, 2015 | (aged 68)||||||||
Place of death: | Walnut Creek, California | ||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
Weight: | 225 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
College: | Colgate | ||||||||
AFL draft: | 1968 / Round: 11 / Pick: 277 | ||||||||
Career history | |||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
Rushing Yards: | 4,544 |
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Average: | 4.8 |
Touchdowns: | 23 |
Player stats at NFL.com |
Marvin Ronald Hubbard (May 7, 1946 – May 4, 2015) was a professional American football player. He played fullback for the American Football League's and later National Football League's Oakland Raiders from 1969 through 1976, and the Detroit Lions in 1977. He was a 3 time NFL All-Pro for the Oakland Raiders, and helped lead the team to four consecutive AFC Western Division titles from 1972-1975 and three consecutive AFC Conference Championship Finals from 1973-1975. Hubbard is ranked fourth in NFL history for highest yards per carry (4.82) for a fullback (behind only Hall of Fame fullbacks Marion Motley, Jim Brown, and Joe Perry), and is tied for 13th overall highest yards per carry in NFL history.
Hubbard grew up in Red House, New York; residing in the hamlet of Bay State, Hubbard graduated high school shortly before the state forced most of the private property owners in the town to turn over their land, but he and his family were able to avoid losing their homes and he continued to own their family properties in the town until his death. He attended Randolph High School in rural Randolph, New York, near Jamestown. Following high school, Hubbard attended prep school at the New Hampton School.
After high school, Hubbard attended New Hampton School and then Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. At Colgate, he lettered three years, leading the team in rushing in 1965 with 665 yards and 1966 with 893 yards, at the time the second-highest total in Colgate history. In 1966, he was 13th in the nation in rushing and scored 88 points, sixth-highest in the nation. He ended his career as the second-leading rusher in Colgate history with 1,887 yards and 22 touchdowns. He graduated from Colgate in 1968.
In 1995, Hubbard was inducted into the Colgate University Athletic Hall of Honor.
A fullback wearing the silver and black #44, Hubbard initially signed with the Oakland Raiders in 1968, but was released in preseason cuts, due to an initial inability to adjust to the professional game; an attempt to stick on the Denver Broncos' roster led to a similar result. He then signed with the Hartford Knights of the Atlantic Coast Football League, where, despite not being the team's full-time running back, he still led the league in rushing yards (with his tandem partner, journeyman Mel Meeks, finishing a close second). After Hubbard's success with the Knights, the Raiders exercised a reserve clause in his previous contract and signed him to their active roster.