The Pro Football Hall of Fame contacted Dan Marino during the 1999 season as he was closing in on reaching the 60,000 career passing yardage mark. The Hall wanted the ball that he would throw when eclipsing the milestone. The future Hall of Famer wanted to keep that football but agreed to give the ball he threw on the very next pass after reaching 60,000 yards to the Hall of Fame.
Marino stayed true to his word. As it turned out, Marino only completed one pass against the New England Patriots on Oct. 17, 1999 because a shoulder injury forced him out of the game. His eight-yard completion to Tony Martin put him over the 60K career mark. The next pass he threw was intercepted by rookie linebacker Andy Katzenmoyer who returned it for a score. An alert equipment man, who knew about the football that needed to go to Canton, alertly retrieved it from the end zone. This is that football.
