Former USC star Marv Marinovich dies at 81
Marv Marinovich might have been best known to the masses as the father of former USC and Raiders quarterback, Todd Marinovich. However, he had his own great football career.
Marv Marinovich died on Thursday of natural causes at the age of 81.
Marinovich went to Santa Monica College, where the team went undefeated and won the 1958 national junior-college championship. From there he transferred to the University of Southern California. Marinovich was a two-way lineman and a captain of the USC team that won the 1962 national championship.
Marinovich entered professional football during the era of NFL and AFL competitive drafts and was chosen in the 12th round of the 1962 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams and in the 1962 AFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders. After a three-year career, where he over-trained himself based on weight and bulk with little time for recovery, Marinovich left to focus on sports training.
#FightOnForever, Marv Marinovich.
A captain on USC's 1962 national championship team, Marinovich went on to play for the Oakland Raiders before becoming a noted strength and conditioning coach.
He died on Thursday of natural causes at the age of 81. pic.twitter.com/vy78Me94ZD
— USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) December 4, 2020
Per USCTrojans.com:
Marv lettered for the Trojans in 1959, 1961 and 1962 as a two-way lineman. The 1962 USC team that he captained went 11-0, including a 42-37 victory over Wisconsin in the 1963 Rose Bowl. As a 1962 senior, he won USC’s Most Inspirational Player award, was named Troy’s Player of the Game Versus UCLA and was chosen to play in the Hula Bowl.
He came to USC from Watsonville (Calif.) High and Santa Monica (Calif.) Community College, which he helped win the 1958 junior college national championship.
After a brief career with the Raiders, Marinovich became the team’s strength and conditioning coach. He also held similar roles with the St. Louis Cardinals and the World Football League’s Hawaii franchise.
He then opened his own sports performance, training and research center in Orange County. His philosophy was based on Eastern Bloc training methods that focused on speed and flexibility. Among the professional athletes he trained, in addition to son Todd, were Troy Polamalu, Jason Sehorn, Tyson Chandler, Steve Finley and BJ Penn.
The complex relationship between Marv and Todd Marinovich was examined by Sports Illustrated last year.
Todd Marinovich was a heralded recruit at USC — “In Todd We Trust” who was a first-round pick of the Raiders but had his career derailed by drug abuse issues.
Todd Marinovich has gone on to become an accomplished artist.
