Kerry Lee Marbury Biography

Monongah High / (Class of 1970) Carolina, WV

Classification: A Boys

Specialty: Sprints

West Virginia University / Fairmont State University

 

Kerry Lee Marbury (born March 21, 1952) grew up in tiny Carolina in Marion County, West Virginia -- a coal town located not far from Fairmont. He was a son of the late Arthur Laster and Lizella Hines Marbury Lewis.

While at Monongah, Marbury was a standout in football, track, and basketball. He was All-State 1968 & 1969, All-American 1969, West Virginia Back of the Year in 1969, and ranked in the top 100 players in the U.S. in 1969. He won four letters in football, four in track, and two in basketball. He also compiled the highest number of points in the state track meet his junior and senior years.

By the time he was a junior at Monongah High School in 1968, Marbury had developed an impressive reputation in West Virginia prep football circles. Playing alongside quarterback Nick Saban, Marbury helped Monongah to two consecutive state titles and finished his career with more than 6,000 yards rushing. He once gained 402 yards in a game against Kingwood High.

In track, he was a two-time state champion in the 100-yard dash, three-time state champion in the 220-yard dash, ran a leg on Monongah’s state champion 440-yard relay team, and won high point honors two straight years. Marbury held records in the 100- and 220-yard dashes his senior year. He also held records in the 440-yard relay his sophomore year and 880-yard relay his senior year. Marbury held the all-time 100-yard dash record at 9.7 seconds and ran 9.6 in the trials.

Marbury was recruited by just about every major college in the country, but he decided to sign with nearby West Virginia University to play football and he would also participate on the track team.

 

[Early Years]

As a youngster, Marbury was a former pee wee football teammate of Nick Saban. He was always one of the smallest football players on the field. To play Pop Warner football, he once had to stuff his stomach with bananas and drink enough water just to make the minimum 76-pound weight.

Marbury would bribe his mother Lizella by doing some work around the house before sneaking off to the football field, where he perfected his game under the watchful eye of Nick Saban, Sr.

“Since I was 5, football was all I wanted to do. Jim Brown was my hero,” said Marbury.

 

High School

While attending Monongah High School, Maybury was coached by Joe Ross in track.

 

[Sophomore Year - 1968]

Monongah’s Kerry Marbury won the 220-yard dash in 22.9 seconds and ran a leg on the Lions’ (Hines, Miller, Marbury, Horton) record-setting 440-yard relay team (44.2).

Park Central’s Thundering Herd returned to the top of Class AA in ’68, routing the field with a 30-point victory. It was the fourth title for the veteran coach, Elhanier Willis. Dennis Blevins led Park Central with 15 points but lost the individual trophy to Magnolia hurdler John Carlson. Kerry Marbury led Monongah to a fourth-place team finish with 16 points.

 

[Junior Year - 1969]

Monongah’s Kerry Marbury won the high point trophy with 13 points, edging Fayetteville hurdler Cornelius Tyler. Marbury won the 100-yard dash in 10.2, 220-yard dash in 22.1, and placed fifth in the broad jump.

After scoring only five points during their two-year stint in AAA, Mount Hope returned to Class AA and recaptured the title they had won in ’66. Gene Spodaro’s squad won despite scoring in only five events, fortunately, four of those were victories. Kerry Marbury led Monongah to a seventh-place team finish with 13 points.

 

[Senior Year - 1970]

Monongah’s Kerry Marbury repeated as high point man with 15 ½ points, setting the 220-yard dash mark (21.9) and tying the 100-yard dash (10.0). In the 200-yard dash finals, Marbury won over his fellow teammate (Charlie Miller) in 22.7. He also placed fourth in the broad jump and ran a leg on the Lions’ third-place 880-yard relay team. This was the 880-relay team, which finished third after having set a state meet record of 1:32.9 in the trials. Marbury ran with a pulled muscle in his upper left leg that he sustained after winning the 100-yard dash. Marbury’s injury made a difference.

In what was supposed to be a Magnolia-Mt. Hope battle, Poca pulled a major upset to capture the AA crown with 39 points. The Dots were powered by a 1-2-3 finish in the high jump, led by Terry Lett’s record 6-2 5/8. Lett did so by using the new “Fosbury Flop” jumping style. Kerry Marbury led Monongah to a fourth-place team finish with 25 points.

 

Marbury’s High School Running Resume:

 

State Final PR's:

100 Yard Dash – 10.0 (Tied Record - 1970)

220 Yard Dash - 22.1 (Marbury set a record of 21.9 in trials - 1970)

440 Yard Relay - 44.2 (Record - 1968)

880 Yard Relay – (Monongah set record of 1:32.9 in trials - 1970)

Broad Jump – could not find result

 

State Titles:

1968 – 220 Yard Dash, 440 Yard Relay 

1969 – 100 Yard Dash, 220 Yard Dash, High Point

1970 – 100 Yard Dash, 220 Yard Dash, High Point

 

Other State Places:

1969 – 440 Yard Relay (4th), Broad Jump (5th)

1970 – 880 Yard Relay (3rd), Broad Jump (4th)

 

State Meet All-Time Lists:

2nd (Tied) AA-A Boys 1960's 100 Meters – 11.38 – Trails (converted)

1st AA-A Boys 1970's 100 Meters – 11.27 (converted)

2nd AA-A Boys 1960's 200 Meters – 22.20 – Trials (converted)

1st AA-A Boys 1970's 200 Meters – 22.00 – Trials (converted)

1st AA-A Boys 1960's 4x100 Meters - 44.17 (Jerome Hines, Charlie Miller, Kerry Marbury, Rocky Horton)

1st A Boys 1970's 4x200 Meters – 1:32.57 – Trails (Charlie Miller, Chris Yanero, John Fazio, Kerry Marbury)

 

[College 1971-1972]

Heavily recruited, Marbury decided to stay home at play at WVU for Jim Carlen. But, before he ever got the chance, Carlen left to coach Texas Tech after beating North Carolina State, 14-3, in the Peach Bowl.

When Hall of Fame coach Bobby Bowden took over, problems developed. However, the problems Marbury had weren’t what most people thought, which included him getting upset over a suspension being dealt to one of his friends.

This is the story he told a reporter in 2011:

“I was very disappointed after the Peach Bowl loss. I hurt my ankle in the last game of the year, the Syracuse game, and I shouldn’t even have been playing in the Peach Bowl. When they brought me into the locker room before the game, they stuck a needle, probably four inches long, into my ankle. I could hear the bones pressing up against the needle.

“I was so distraught over that. I thought, ‘They treat racehorses better than this. That ultimately led to my leaving. After the shot, I couldn’t tell whether I had a foot, let alone run. If I had broken it, I wouldn’t have known it until the Novocain wore off.”

And so, he left school after his junior year, and went to Canada, playing in Toronto and Ottawa.

[Note: As a freshman at WVU, Marbury carried the ball 61 times for 308 yards and scored two touchdowns. However, he hurt his ankle that year but recovered—and then some—during the spring. As a sophomore, he was one of the outstanding runners in the nation. He was four yards short of breaking the sophomore record set by Garrett Ford in 1965, even though he missed three and one-half games. That year, he carried the ball 145 times for 890 yards and six touchdowns. He also set new rushing mark in a single game with 291 yards in three quarters against Temple. He was named ECAC All-Star team twice for an October 9 showing against William and Mary and October 23 for his play against Temple. Marbury also competed on WVU track's 440-yard relay team.]

 

[Professional]

Marbury decided to skip his senior season at WVU and signed a professional contract to play for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League in 1973. He had a brief stint in the CFL with The Ottawa Rough Riders in 1974.

He then returned to the United States in 1975 and played briefly with the Birmingham Vulcans of the World Football League before it folded.

He was selected by the New England Patriots in the 16th round of the NFL draft the following spring. Because Seattle and Tampa Bay were added to the league that year, Marbury was picked in the expansion draft by the Cleveland Browns. He was cut during training camp. His football career was over at age 24.

 

[Personal]

Disappointed and discouraged, Marbury drifted down a path of drug use that eventually led to a short period in prison. It was at that point that he decided to quit blaming others for his problems and make something of his life.

Once he got out Marbury made the most of his second chance. He returned to West Virginia and received his bachelor's degree in 1990 at Fairmont State University. A year later he earned his master's degree from WVU.

Before retiring, Marbury was a full-time professor at Fairmont State College, where he taught a class in race, gender, and sexuality, as well as an FSU Safety Director.

He decided to make an example of his life to help others avoid making the same mistakes.

In 2014, Kerry Marbury was one of seven distinguished pre-1980 meet record-holders that attended the 100th state track and field meet at the University of Charleston Stadium/Laidley Field in Charleston, West Virginia.

The others on hand were Ansted’s Tom Pridemore (1974 A 120 hurdles), Duval’s David Bowman (1976 AA mile), Woodrow Wilson’s Tom Reid (1972 AAA 100 and 220 dashes), Wheeling’s Bob Rieves (1969 AAA 440), DuPont’s Cynthia Shelton (1978 AAA 220, 440, 110 hurdles) and Huntington’s Wilson Smith (1968 AAA 880).

Marbury died from cancer on June 23, 2019, at his home in Fairmont at the age of 67. He is survived by his wife, Deborah (Freeman) Marbury, of Clarksburg and daughter, Trevia Holland, of Fairmont.

 

[Memorial Scholarship]

The Nick’s Kids Foundation established by University of Alabama head coach and Monongah native Nick Saban and his wife, Terry, funded a scholarship to honor Kerry Marbury, a long-time family friend.

The Kerry Marbury Memorial Scholarship will provide funds to Fairmont State students from Marion County with financial need starting in fall 2020.

 

Kerry Marbury biography compiled by Mike McMillion (updated 08/05/2022)

[Sources: RunWV, Jesse Skiles, Nick Saban, Bob Hertzel, and John Antonik/West Virginia University Varsity Club]