Former Bucs linebacker Eugene Marve dies at age 60

TAMPA — Eugene Marve, who spent four of his 11 NFL seasons in the middle of the Bucs defense, has died. He was 60.

Mr. Marve died Monday after a short hospital stay for an undisclosed medical issue, according to a release by Saginaw Valley State, where he played collegiately.

Mr. Marve is the father of former Plant High School quarterback Robert Marve, who won the Florida Mr. Football Award in 2007 and started for the Miami Hurricanes before transferring to Purdue.

Mr. Marve was the first player from Saginaw Valley State to be drafted by an NFL team. He was a third-round pick of the Bills in 1982 and played with Buffalo six seasons. He arrived in Tampa Bay in 1988, one year after Ray Perkins took over as head coach.

The Bucs didn’t have much success when Mr. Marve was there, going 19-45 in four seasons. Mr. Marve went on to play one season (1992) for the San Diego Chargers.

Mr. Marve has a plaque inside the Saginaw Valley State Ryder Center commemorating his achievements there and in the NFL. He was inducted into the school’s athletic Hall of Fame in 2010.

“I think it paved the way for recruitment,” Mr. Marve recently said of his NFL career. “For Saginaw Valley to produce a professional football player, its first professional football player, but more than that a third-round pick is a feather in the hat for the institution.”

Mr. Marve is survived by his wife, Stacey, son, Robert, and daughter, Rebecca.

“The SVSU Football family is deeply saddened by the passing of Eugene Marve,” said SVSU coach Ryan Brady. “Eugene is and always will be a dear friend and an all-time great of SVSU Football.

“I feel blessed, fortunate and grateful to have developed a such a strong bond and relationship with Eugene in my short time as head football coach at SVSU. I will always remember the inspirational speech he delivered to the team in my first fall camp as head coach. Also, he traveled with the team to Texas and served as team chaplain in my first game and first win at SVSU! I will forever cherish those moments and memories of prayer and football with Eugene.”

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