Jim Marshall (American football)

Jim Marshall
No. 80, 70
Position: Defensive end
Personal information
Born: (1937-12-30) December 30, 1937
Wilsonville, Kentucky
Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight: 248 lb (112 kg)
Career information
High school: Columbus (OH) East
College: Ohio State
NFL Draft: 1960 / Round: 4 / Pick: 44
AFL draft: 1960 / Round: 
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played: 282
Games started: 282
Fumbles recovered: 30
Player stats at PFR

James Lawrence Marshall (born December 30, 1937) is a former American football player who was a 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). The Vikings retired his No. 70. He is famous for his "wrong-way run" with the Vikings, in which he recovered a fumble and returned it 66 yards in the wrong direction and into his own end zone, resulting in a safety.

He was born in Wilsonville, in Boyle County, Kentucky, near Parksville[1] and now resides in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.[2]

Football career

Marshall played college football at The 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 1962 NFL Draft.[3] He then played from 1961 to 1979 with the Vikings and finished with a then-record 282 consecutive games (since surpassed by Jeff Feagles).[4] He started 270 consecutive games while playing for the Vikings, an NFL record since surpassed by Brett Favre.[5]

He played in 2 Pro Bowls from 1968 to 1969. 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, third most in Viking History behind Alan Page and Carl Eller.[6] [7] 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 [8] 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,[9] to be the most embarrassing moment in NFL history. On October 25, 1964[10] in a game against the San Francisco 49ers, Marshall recovered a fumble and ran 66 yards 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 said, "Jim, you did the most interesting thing in this game today."[11] 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."[12]

NFL records

  • Most seasons played by a defensive player: 20 (tied with Darrell Green and Junior Seau)
  • Most complete seasons played by a defensive player: 20
  • Most consecutive games played by a defensive player: 282
  • Most consecutive regular season games played by a defensive player: 270
  • Most consecutive game starts by a defensive player: 282
  • Most consecutive regular season starts played by a defensive player: 270
  • Most fumbles recovered:30
  • Most Opponent's fumbles recovered: 29
  • Most yardage lost on a fumble recovery : 66

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-11-24.
  2. ↑ Cash, Rana. "Vikings great Jim Marshall's Pro Football Hall of Fame bid denied yet again". Star Tribune.
  3. ↑ http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikings/123583374.html
  4. ↑ Jeff Feagles Giants Player Bio
  5. ↑ NFL.com: Vikings QB Favre 'grateful' after his NFL-record 271st start in a row
  6. ↑ Vikings: Ring of Honor
  7. ↑ Pro Football Hall of Fame
  8. ↑ "Hall of Very Good". Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  9. ↑
  10. ↑ "This Day in NFL History: Jim Marshall runs the wrong way". NFL.com. Retrieved 2016-12-19.
  11. ↑ Hambrick, David Z. (23 February 2016). "The Psychology of the Breathtakingly Stupid Mistake". Scientific American. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  12. ↑ Marshall's claim during his appearance on I've Got A Secret following the incident.



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