Marvin Harrison

Harrison attended Syracuse University, where he was a three-year starter for the Syracuse Orange football team, playing with quarterback Donovan McNabb in his final year.[1] Harrison set a school record with 2,718 career receiving yards, which stood until 2017, when it was broken by Steve Ishmael in the final game of his career. Harrison also returned 42 punts for 542 yards and two touchdowns[2] and ranked second to Rob Moore in school history with 20 receiving touchdowns. Harrison graduated with a degree in retail management.[3]

Harrison was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the first round as the 19th selection in the 1996 NFL Draft,[7] a selection which was obtained in a trade that sent Jeff George to the Atlanta Falcons.[8] Harrison went on to become one of the most productive receivers from that draft class, which included Keyshawn Johnson, Eric Moulds, Bobby Engram, Muhsin Muhammad, Eddie Kennison, Terry Glenn, Amani Toomer, Joe Horn, and Terrell Owens among others.[7][9][10]

Harrison with the Indianapolis Colts in 2007.

Harrison made his NFL debut in Week 1 of the 1996 NFL season against the Arizona Cardinals with six receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown reception from quarterback Jim Harbaugh in the 20–13 victory.[11] In Week 15 against the Philadelphia Eagles, he had six receptions for 106 yards and touchdown in the 37–10 victory.[12] In the following game, a 24–19 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, he had six receptions for 103 yards and three touchdowns.[13] He finished his rookie season with 64 receptions for 836 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns in 16 games and 15 starts as the Colts went 9–7.[14] In his playoff debut, Harrison had three receptions for 71 yards in a 42–14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card Round.[15]

In the 1997 season, Harrison recorded 73 receptions for 866 yards and six touchdowns as the Colts went 3–13.[16][17]

The 1998 NFL Draft saw the arrival of Peyton Manning as the future franchise quarterback for the Colts.[18] Manning and Harrison over their careers became one of the most productive quarterback-wide receiver duos in NFL history.[19] In the Colts' 1998 regular season opener, Harrison had five receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown against the Miami Dolphins.[20] In Week 7, against the San Francisco 49ers, he had three receiving touchdowns.[21] In Week 11, against the New York Jets, he had nine receptions for 128 yards and a touchdown in the 24–23 victory.[22] Harrison missed the Colts' final four regular season games after going on Injured Reserve. In the 1998 season, he had 59 receptions for 776 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games and starts.[23]

In the 1999 season, Harrison had a breakout season. He totaled 115 receptions for 1,663 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns in 16 games and starts.[24] He earned Pro Bowl and first team All-Pro honors.[25][26]

In the 2000 season, Harrison had 102 receptions for 1,413 receiving yards and 14 receiving touchdowns in 16 games and starts.[27]

In the 2001 season, Harrison had 109 receptions for 1,524 receiving yards and 15 receiving touchdowns in 16 games and starts.[28]

In 2002, Harrison broke Herman Moore's single-season receptions record by 20 receptions. He finished with 143 catches, and he also had 1,722 yards receiving.[29] Harrison receiving yardage marked the fourth most in NFL history for a single season at the time.[30] That record stood until December 22, 2019, when Michael Thomas of the New Orleans Saints broke that record with 149.[31]

In the 2003 season, Harrison recorded 94 receptions for 1,272 receiving yards and ten receiving touchdowns in 15 games and starts.[32]

In the 2004 season, Harrison recorded 86 receptions for 1,113 receiving yards and 15 receiving touchdowns in 16 games and starts.[33]

In 2005, Harrison had five 100+ yard receiving games in a seven-game stretch late in the season.[34] During Week 15, he passed Isaac Bruce to become 10th in all-time career receiving yards, and also the leader among active players. He maintained this title for exactly two seasons, until Bruce retook the lead in Week 15 of 2007. Harrison had injured his knee against the Denver Broncos while attempting a block and was lost for the season, making only a small appearance in their lone playoff game that season. It marked only the second time Harrison had missed regular-season action due to injuries and the first since 1998.

In December 2006, Harrison became just the fourth player in NFL history to record 1,000 receptions, joining Jerry Rice (1,549), Cris Carter (1,101), and Tim Brown (1,094).[35] He is also one of only seven wide receivers in NFL history to reach 100 touchdowns. He finished the 2006 season with 95 receptions for 1,366 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns in 16 games and starts.[36] in Super Bowl XLI, Harrison had five receptions for 59 yards as he won his first Super Bowl with a 29–17 win over the Chicago Bears.[37]

In the 2007 season, Harrison appeared in only five games due to a knee injury.[38][39]

On December 14, 2008, in a game against the Detroit Lions, Harrison caught his 1,095th career reception, passing Tim Brown for third all time. He passed Cris Carter to become second on the all-time NFL reception record list with 1,102 receptions during a 23–0 Colts victory over the Tennessee Titans on December 28, 2008. He finished the 2008 season with 60 receptions for 636 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns in 15 games and starts.[40]

Following the 2008 NFL season, Harrison asked for and was granted his release by the Colts.[41] After sitting out the entire 2009 season, Harrison quietly retired from the NFL.[42]

Harrison was inducted into the Indianapolis Colts Ring of Honor during the week 12 game against the Carolina Panthers on November 27, 2011.[43] He is widely considered one of the greatest wide receivers in NFL history and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.[44][45][46][47]

Harrison was sued in a civil lawsuit by Dwight Dixon, a convicted drug dealer, after Dixon was shot outside Chuckie's Garage, a North Philadelphia business owned by Harrison, on April 29, 2008.[48][49] The two men had been in a fight minutes prior to the shooting over an issue that happened a few weeks earlier when Dixon and Harrison got into a verbal argument when Harrison denied Dixon entry into Playmakers, a sports bar owned and operated by Harrison. Dixon alleged that Harrison was the gunman who shot at him. On January 6, 2009, Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham confirmed the gun that fired shots at Dixon was the same model as Harrison's gun but they had been unable to determine who pulled the trigger.[50]

Abraham also stated she was not going to pursue charges in this case due to conflicting witness statements. In fact, within a week of the first shooting, Marvin Harrison was not considered a suspect.[51] Dixon, who had initially given the police a false name and claimed he was robbed by two men when interviewed at the hospital,[52] was subsequently convicted of filing a false report for this incident on January 28, 2009. Dixon was sentenced to six months probation. His attorney reportedly sought a new trial as the conviction violated Dixon's parole in an unrelated case.[53] Harrison was also sued by Robert Nixon, a victim caught in the crossfire of the shooting who identified Harrison as the shooter in a statement to the police.[54]

Dixon died on July 21, 2009 after he was shot several times while in his car outside a building two blocks away from Harrison's sports bar. At the hospital after the shooting, detectives questioned Dixon before surgery and he stated that it stemmed from the Harrison incident a year prior and that Harrison had hired a gunman to shoot him. An informant also made a statement asserting the gunman who killed Dixon was Lonnie Harrison, Marvin Harrison's cousin. On June 16, 2010, Shaun Assael of ESPN The Magazine reported that police confiscated a 9mm handgun from Harrison during a routine traffic stop on Wednesday in Philadelphia. They tested the gun to see if it matched three spent 9mm shell casings that ended up inside the truck driven by Dwight Dixon at the scene of an April 2008 shooting. Dixon, who eventually was shot and killed after filing a civil lawsuit, claimed that the casings came from a second gun that Harrison fired. Authorities already have matched other bullets to a separate gun that Harrison owns—and that he stated was in his home on the day the shooting occurred. They found the gun during a search of Harrison's Escalade. The stop occurred as Harrison drove the vehicle the wrong way on a one-way street. Harrison claimed he did not have a gun. But the police believed they saw Harrison put what appeared to be a weapon in the console between the two front seats. They concluded that they had probable cause to search the vehicle and they found the gun but Harrison was not charged.[55] Another incident occurred in 2014 when Harrison narrowly escaped a Philadelphia shooting.[56]

Harrison's son, Marvin Harrison Jr., plays college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes.[57]

• Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · ESPN · Yahoo! Sports · Pro Football Reference
• Pro Football Hall of Fame bio