Russell Wilson could make HISTORY if he wins the Super Bowl tonight ... not because he'd be the 2nd black QB to do it, but because he'd be the FIRST short QB to do it ... so says Michael Irvin.

The NFL Hall of Famer was out partying in NYC last night when he broke it down ... saying Doug Williams already took care of the color issue -- so Russell needs to stand up for the vertically challenged.

For the record, Wilson's 5'11" ... so he's not exactly tiny -- but he would be the first starting QB under 6-feet in NFL history to win the big game.

And according to Irvin, that's a BIG deal (terrible pun very much intended).