Post by TheShadow on Dec 20, 2006 20:15:42 GMT -5
seattlepi.nwsource.com/
By DAN RALEY
P-I REPORTER
Marc Wilson is a Bellevue-based real-estate developer who once was a
quarterback. Considering the square footage and yardage on his
résumé, an obvious question in his two identities is this: "What's
the difference?"
Wilson, 49, has made a life of breaking huddles and completing business
deals and passes. He's covered a lot of ground.
Then: Marc Wilson threw for 14,391 career yards in the NFL with the
Raiders and Patriots.
He grew up in North Seattle, using his tall, elastic frame to excel in
three sports at Shorecrest High School, and then pursued his least
favorite -- football -- at Brigham Young University and later with the
Patriots and the Raiders.
"I was best at baseball, next was basketball and, by far, football was
the thing I was least good at," Wilson said. "Football was the one I
liked the least. It was the only game, and I don't want this to sound
wrong, that I felt like I couldn't control. It used to drive me crazy."
At Shorecrest, he was a rare athlete, a first-team All-Metro performer
in every endeavor, though not all in the same year. He earned top
honors at defensive back as a junior and as a pitcher and forward when
he was a senior. Ultimate recognition eluded him as a schoolboy
quarterback only because his jaw was broken against Lincoln in his
third game, ending his senior season.
Wilson played in two Super Bowls and two college bowl games, but the
1975 state baseball championship he won with the Highlanders, lining up
alongside teammates such as Roger Brockway, Nick Valenzuela, Dennis
Morris and Mike Strand, remains one of his most dear athletic moments.
"I will take that team and play any state championship team and we
would beat them," said Wilson, who alternated between first base and
the mound. "Of all things I've done athletically, that was one of my
greatest memories."
Now: Wilson is a Bellevue-based real-estate developer who lives in
Woodinville with his wife, Colleen.
Yet it was hard for football recruiters not to see possibilities for a
6-foot-5 teenager with a rocket arm. Wilson was leaning to USC when the
Trojans received another commitment and canceled his recruiting visit
at the last minute, sending him to BYU. He remembers being invited to
the office of a new Washington coach, Don James, and stepping through a
room full of unpacked boxes, unsure where the hometown program was
headed.
It would be difficult to uncover anyone who enjoyed a more sensational
major college football debut as a starter than Wilson -- he threw seven
touchdown passes against Colorado State. By the end of his career,
Wilson had churned out 7,637 passing yards, broken nine and tied two
NCAA records, and became the school's first consensus All-America
selection. As a senior in 1979, he quarterbacked the Cougars to an 11-1
record, which included a hard-luck 38-37 loss to Indiana in the Holiday
Bowl, though Wilson was co-most valuable player that night.
Following Virgil Carter and Gifford Nielsen and preceding Jim McMahon,
Steve Young, Robbie Bosco and Ty Detmer as BYU quarterback legends,
Wilson was a first-round draft pick of the Raiders, taken 15th overall.
He piled up 14,391 passing yards in the NFL, yet was never more than a
solid pro player and fans grew impatient with him, first in Los Angeles
and then with New England. He played 10 pro seasons, retiring in 1990.
"I think I'd be less than honest if I didn't say I had moments of
sadness over my pro career and wished it had turned out different," he
said. "I don't know what else I could have done. I really felt I did
all I could do."
Wilson made an easier transition to real-estate development, going into
partnership with a mentor, Jim Howton, who has since retired. The
former quarterback lives in Woodinville with his wife, Colleen, and has
four children -- Travis, Katie, Jane and Ryan -- all former or current
BYU students.
He remains in remarkably good shape, even after 12 surgeries, including
four on his left shoulder. For sporting outlets, Wilson plays lots of
golf and walks when he can. He wants to gather together his old
Shorecrest baseball buddies, the ones who shared in an unforgettable
championship, and have a reunion.
Football still remains his least favorite sport, at least the NFL. He
barely watches it on TV. He won't be seated in a pro stadium any time
soon.
"I just don't have a huge desire to go," Wilson said.
This way, with that frustrating yet often exhilarating game, he's
finally in control.