Marv Hubbard, Former Raiders FB, Remembered by John Madden

Marv Hubbard, who played eight seasons in the NFL, died on Monday at the age of 68, the Oakland Raiders announced on their website. He spent seven seasons as a member of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1975 at the same time John Madden took over as head coach of the franchise.     

Madden spoke about Hubbard's stint with the Raiders on KCBS in San Francisco, recalling the unique running style the fullback had and how the team implemented him into the offense.

"Marv was a tough guy and a tough runner," Madden said. "You think back now, people don’t do things like this, but we used to run him early to kind of wear the defense down and then when we got ahead, we would run him to finish the game."

Hubbard once talked about his running style in colorful fashion to the Salamanca Press in 2007, via Jerry McDonald of The San Jose Mercury News.

"My running style was pretty much, 'Get the (expletive) out of my way.' But there was a method to my madness," Hubbard said. "I would intentionally hit tacklers. By the final quarter, defensive backs knew I was head-hunting."

In McDonald's article, Madden notes that Hubbard was a runner who "didn't have a lot of wiggle, but he had some quickness though" and "didn't spend a lot of time in the hole."

The style Hubbard describes is emblematic of what a runner like Marshawn Lynch uses today. The Seattle Seahawks star running back has made a career out of bowling over defenders, regardless of how big or small they might be, and wearing them down to pick up huge chunks of yardage late in games. 

Hubbard was an impactful runner in his day, averaging 4.8 yards per carry and scoring 23 rushing touchdowns. His best season was 1972, when he had 1,100 yards on 219 carries. The New York native made three consecutive Pro Bowls from 1971 to 1973. 

After sitting out 1976 due to injuries, Hubbard returned to the NFL with the Detroit Lions. He played sparingly in 13 games, getting 38 carries for 150 yards, before retiring.