MIAMI -- In four years with the Miami Dolphins, David Woodley replaced a future Hall of Famer at quarterback, started in a Super Bowl and lost his job to another future Hall of Famer.

Woodley, 44, died of liver and kidney failure Sunday at a hospital in his native Shreveport, La., said his niece, Lucy Woodley. He underwent a liver transplant in 1992.

A former star at Louisiana State, Woodley succeeded Bob Griese as a Dolphins rookie in 1980. He started in the 1983 Super Bowl, which Miami lost 27-17 to Washington. Eight months later he was replaced by Dan Marino, who went on to become the most prolific passer in NFL history.

"David's legacy is that he came in relatively unknown, made our team and helped us win a lot of games,'' former Dolphins coach Don Shula said Tuesday.

Woodley's biggest asset as a quarterback was his mobility. He had a strong but erratic arm, and he threw 42 interceptions and 34 touchdown passes with the Dolphins.

"For a receiver, David wasn't the easiest guy to play with,'' said Jimmy Cefalo, his former roommate. "He had as strong an arm as anybody I played with. He could throw it through a house, but he didn't have the ability to turn it down a notch. It got so I wouldn't warm up with him before games because he'd hurt my hands.''

Woodley was an eighth-round draft pick who became a starter in Griese's final season, and his 176 completions are still a Dolphins record for a rookie. The following year, Shula alternated Woodley and Don Strock, a better passer but less mobile quarterback, and they became known as "Woodstrock.''

"It caused some problems for the defenses, because they had to prepare for two different styles of offense,'' Strock said. "David and I understood what Shula was going to do, and the combination was successful. When you have success, it's hard to beef about it.''

The Dolphins went 11-4-1 that year and won the AFC East. The next season, abbreviated by a strike, they went 7-2 and reached the Super Bowl. Miami led Washington 17-10 at halftime, but Woodley went 0-for-8 in the second half, and the Redskins rallied to win.

Marino was the Dolphins' top draft pick that year, and by October he was the starter. Shula traded Woodley to Pittsburgh, where he spent two seasons before retiring.

Woodley returned to Shreveport in 1990. He worked in physical education, sold jewelry and was a radio commentator for high school football games last season.

Shula, Strock and Cefalo said they hadn't talked to Woodley in years.

"It wasn't for a lack of trying,'' Cefalo said. "David was an unusual guy. He didn't open up much. He was never driven by money or fame. He wasn't a typical professional football player. He wouldn't do endorsements. `When you do that, they own you,' he'd say.''

The news release from the funeral home disclosing Woodley's death concluded with words appropriate for a former quarterback: "How swiftly passes the glory of the world.''