Chicago (AFP) – Jim Marshall, a defensive end who played 270 consecutive games for the Minnesota Vikings in a 20-year NFL career, died Tuesday at age 87, the club announced. Marshall, who had been hospitalized for an extended stay, recovered 30 fumbles, the most by any NFL defensive end, but his wrong-way run with one of them became a signature play.
On October 25, 1964, Marshall was playing for the Vikings against San Francisco when he recovered a fumble and returned it 66 yards the wrong way, pitching the ball out of bounds after crossing the goal line for a safety instead of the touchdown he thought he had scored. Undaunted, Marshall later forced a fumble that teammate Carl Eller returned for a touchdown in a 27-22 Minnesota triumph.
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Marshall, who played for Cleveland in 1960 before joining the expansion Vikings the next year, joined Eller and tackles Alan Page and Gary Larsen were among those who formed the “Purple People Eaters” defensive line that became a Vikings legend in the team’s early seasons. “He was, if anybody ever has been, the heart and soul of the Minnesota Vikings,” Page said. “It was my high honor to play next to him.”
Marshall, who began his career with Canada’s Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1959, played in four Super Bowls with the Vikings before retiring in 1979 at age 41. “The entire Minnesota Vikings organization is mourning the loss of Jim Marshall,” Vikings co-owners and top executives Mark and Zygi Wilf said in a statement. “No player in Vikings history lived the ideals of toughness, camaraderie and passion more than the all-time iron man. A cornerstone of the franchise from the beginning, Captain Jim’s unmatched durability and quiet leadership earned the respect of teammates and opponents throughout his 20-year career. Jim led by example, and there was no finer example for others to follow.”
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