JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Dan Marino stood tall in the pocket yesterday and waited for the oncoming rush, as he did thousands of times on a football field.

	Amy Sancetta, Associated Press Dan Marino kisses his wife, Claire, while holding his daughter, Niki, after being elected into the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame. Click photo for larger image.

"File right in," he gently instructed his mom and dad, his wife and their six children.

As he waited patiently from a podium on a stage before hundreds as his family scooted to its seats, Marino turned sideways, looked at Steve Young and smiled, "Pretty good feeling, huh?"

Not bad at all.

Marino, whose golden right arm carried him from Oakland's St. Regis Elementary to Central Catholic to Pitt and then to 17 record-breaking years with the Miami Dolphins, was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2005 yesterday in his first year of eligibility.

"Growing up, wanting to be a professional football player, wanting to be a quarterback -- the streets of Pittsburgh, playing little league and now to have an opportunity to go into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, it's really, really special," Marino said.

Young, a left-handed quarterback who played most of his 15 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, also was selected on his first try. Joining them, posthumously, were two early pioneers in the National Football League -- quarterback Benny Friedman, who played from 1927 through 1934, and Fritz Pollard, a former coach and player (1919-1926) who paved the way for African-Americans to participate before an unofficial color barrier was put in place in the sport.

The four-man class will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, Aug. 7.

Two other candidates from Pittsburgh were not successful yesterday. Former Steelers defensive end L.C. Greenwood and former Redskins offensive guard Russ Grimm, who played at Southmoreland High School and Pitt, made the first cut yesterday from 15 finalists to 10 before they were eliminated.

Amy Sancetta, Associated Press Dan Marino talks about his life after his election into the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame yesterday. Click photo for larger image.

Marino will become the sixth quarterback from Western Pennsylvania to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The others are Jim Kelly, Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas, George Blanda and Joe Namath.

Even though Marino, 43, was considered a shoo-in as the NFL's all-time passing leader, he clearly reveled in the moment.

"Today I feel blessed to be able to be in the Hall of Fame and to be introduced in front of my family. It's pretty special. Mom and Dad, a long way from Parkview Ave., huh?"

He became emotional once, tears forming and his voice cracking when he talked about a visit to Pittsburgh he made two weeks ago as part of the CBS-TV studio crew for the AFC championship. He and his wife, Claire, and two of their six kids visited his old haunts in South Oakland.

"I went back to the neighborhood where I grew up," Marino said. "It was pretty awesome to go back to the church I went to and thinking about playing football there as a kid. I went to the field where I grew up playing on, by my high school and I went to the University of Pittsburgh -- all within walking distance -- to now being in the Hall of Fame. It was a great day for me to do that.

"I think Claire and I appreciated that opportunity to be able to go back to the old neighborhood and see friends and see the church and the field. It brings back great memories."

Marino's 61,361 yards passing are nearly 10,000 more than John Elway, who is in second place. He threw 420 touchdown passes, more than anyone. Elway's fourth-quarter comeback victories are legendary; he had 43. Marino is second with 37.

The 27th player chosen in the 1983 draft -- the fifth quarterback to be taken -- Marino played 17 seasons. He announced his retirement March 13, 2000, and later that year resisted Steelers coach Bill Cowher's efforts to talk him into unretiring to play for the Steelers.

He holds 17 NFL records and is tied for six others. He played in 242 games.

Marino ranks second in NFL history with 147 victories as a starter, one behind Elway. He still holds the single-season passing record (5,084 yards) in 1984, his second year in the league.

Most of his 17 years with the Dolphins came under Hall of Fame coach Don Shula, who also attended the news conference yesterday at the Prime Osborn Convention Center in Jacksonville.

"Coach Shula, thank you so much," Marino said. "The greatest coach in the history of football is sitting right there, and I had an opportunity to play for him. The thing I do remember is he taught me as a young man how to be a professional, a certain work ethic that I carried with me in my 17 years.

"And most of all, coach, thank you for just letting me turn it loose and just throwing it as much as I wanted to throw it."

Among Marino's six children are two they adopted from China.

His dad, Dan, was a Teamster who awoke at 3 a.m. to deliver bulk copies of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Victoria, a full-time mother, was a crossing guard in Oakland. He has two older sisters, Debbie and Cindy.

Marino is beloved in South Florida, and not just for how he performed on football fields.

The NFL awarded him its Man of the Year for 1998, which honored his work on and off the field. He established the Dan Marino Foundation to benefit children's charities in South Florida.

He also helped fund the Miami Children's Hospital/Dan Marino Center in Weston, Fla., which opened in 1998.

A street near Miami Dolphins Stadium was renamed Dan Marino Boulevard in 2000.

"To all the Dolphins' fans," Marino instructed yesterday, "not only in Florida, but around the world and the United States, hey, I invite you all to come to Canton next summer. and let's all have a good time. Let's overrun Canton with Dolphin fans, OK?"