High school: Columbus (OH) East Name Jim Marshall Height 1.93 m Education Ohio State University | College: Ohio State Role American football player Weight 112 kg Positions Defensive end | |
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Date of birth: (1937-12-30) December 30, 1937 (age 77) Place of birth: Wilsonville, Boyle County, Kentucky NFL draft: 1960 / Round: 4 / Pick: 44 Similar People Carl Eller, Gary Larsen, Alan Page, Chuck Foreman, Paul Krause | ||
James Lawrence Marshall (born December 30, 1937) is a retired American gridiron football player who played defensive end for the Cleveland Browns (1960) and the Minnesota Vikings (1961–1979). At the time of his retirement, he owned the career records for most consecutive starts (270) and games played (282).
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He was born in Wilsonville, in Boyle County, Kentucky, near Parksville.
Football career
Marshall played college football at Ohio State University. He left school before his senior year, and played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. He was then drafted in the fourth round of the 1960 NFL Draft with the 44th overall pick by the Cleveland Browns. Marshall played the 1960 season with the Browns before being traded along with five other players (including fellow defensive lineman Paul Dickson) to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for two draft picks in the 1961 NFL Draft. He then played from 1961 to 1979 with the Vikings and finished with a then-record 282 consecutive games (since surpassed by Jeff Feagles). He started 270 consecutive games while playing for the Vikings, an NFL record since surpassed by Brett Favre.
He played in 6 Pro Bowls from 1968 to 1973. He recovered 30 fumbles, an NFL record. He was a member of the Vikings' famous "Purple People Eaters" (which consisted of Marshall (DE), Alan Page (DT), Gary Larsen (DT), and Carl Eller (DE), and was the final player from Minnesota's initial expansion team of 1961 to retire. The Vikings credit Marshall with 127 career quarterback sacks, second most in Viking History behind Eller. He is one of 11 players to have played in all four of the Vikings Super Bowl appearances in the 1970s.
Jim Marshall is also a member of The Pigskin Club Of Washington, D.C. National Intercollegiate All-American Football Players Honor Roll.
In 2004, he was named to the Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in the association's second HOVG class Marshall has only been a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame once in 2004.
The Wrong Way Run
During his time with the Minnesota Vikings, Marshall was involved in what is considered by many, including SI.com author John Rolfe, to be the most embarrassing moment in NFL history. On October 25, 1964, in a game against the San Francisco 49ers, Marshall recovered a fumble and ran 66 yards with it the wrong way into his own end zone. Thinking that he had scored a touchdown for the Vikings, Marshall then threw the ball away in celebration. The ball landed out of bounds, resulting in a safety for the 49ers. According to Marshall, when he approached Vikings head coach Norm Van Brocklin afterwards, Van Brocklin, after a pause, said, "Jim, you did the most interesting thing in this game today." Despite the gaffe, the Vikings won the game 27–22, with the final margin of victory provided by a Carl Eller touchdown return of a fumble caused by a Marshall sack. Marshall later received a letter from Roy Riegels, infamous for a wrong-way run in the 1929 Rose Bowl, stating, "Welcome to the club".
