Marv Goodman was a first-team Associated Press Little All-American in football as an end in 1946. He also lettered in basketball, baseball and track and field. Following his senior year in 1947, he was awarded the Jack Dempsey Adam Hat Trophy for the most outstanding athlete at Willamette. Football was his best sport, however, and he became a starter in the gridiorn as a freshman in 1941- the Bearcat team that played the University of Hawaii the day before Pearl Harbor was bombed. After graduation, the Brooklyn Dodgers in football gave him a tryout.