Jim Marshall

Team Number:	70
Birth Date:	12/30/1937
Height:	6'1"
Weight:	235lbs.
Position:	Defensive Tackle

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Jim Marshall was born December 30, 1937 in Danville, Kentucky. He played football at East High School were he earned many awards including All City, All State and High School All American. He went on to play football at Ohio State where his team won two National Championships and one Rose Bowl. In one game against Purdue, Jim Marshall scored all the points to win the game from his tackle position. He scored one touchdown on an intercepted pass and another on a fumble and he also kicked both extra points. The game ended with the score 14-0. Jim earned All American at OSU and is a member of the OSU Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame.

He left Ohio State before his senior year and played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. He was then drafted in the 4th round of the 1960 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns. Jim Marshall played his rookie 1960 season with the Browns, but when the Minnesota Vikings entered the NFL Jim was traded to them just before the first game. Jim Marshall went on to play for the Vikings for the remainder of his career until 1979. Jim was a proud member of the Minnesota Vikings' famous "Purple People Eaters".

Jim Marshall was known as the NFL's “Iron Man.” He defined durability and commitment. He played a record setting 282 consecutive career games, 270 with the Minnesota Vikings. Counting his playoff appearances, his games played total is 302. Jim Marshall’s durability was amazing considering that, at 235 pounds, he usually faced players bigger than him.

Jim Marshall further established his “Iron Man” persona playing through injuries and pain. Bud Grant, his coach, called him a "physiological impossibility. He just doesn’t rip, bust, or tear." Twice he kept his consecutive games streak intact by walking out of hospitals where he was recuperating from pneumonia and ulcers. On another occasion, he played after accidentally shooting himself in the side while cleaning his shotgun.

Jim Marshall's 19 seasons with the club is a team record and his 127 career sacks ranks second in team history. His 29 fumble recoveries ranks as an NFL record and his 988 tackles rank second all-time among Minnesota Vikings defensive linemen. His 19 post season games played rank in a tie for second most in Vikings team history.

Jim Marshall was the team captain of the Minnesota Vikings for 17 years. His teams won 11 Divisional Championships, 1 with the Cleveland Browns and 10 with the Minnesota Vikings. Jim Marshall played in 4 Super Bowls with the Vikings. He also played in two Pro Bowl’s following the 1968 and 1969 seasons. He was the final player from Minnesota's initial expansion team of 1961 to retire.

Despite his enormous success as an NFL player, Jim Marshall is most famous for an incident on October 25, 1964. In a game against the San Francisco 49ers, Jim Marshall recovered a fumble, but ran 66 yards with it the wrong way, into his own end zone, where he promptly spiked the ball. It bounced out of bounds and was ruled a safety, giving the 49ers two points. Fortunately for Jim Marshall, the Vikings won the game anyway, 27-22. The incident tops the NFL’s best bloopers list.

Jim Marshalls’ #70 jersey was retired by the Minnesota Vikings on November 28, 1999. It is a fitting tribute to a man who remains active in the Minnesota community. Jim participates in a wide variety of civic and volunteer activities. He is involved in fund raising for The Ronald McDonald House, The Children's Miracle Network and many other worthwhile organizations that support kids in need. On April 15, 1999 Jim received The Minneapolis Urban League's Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award. He co-founded Life's Missing Link Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to helping inner-city youth realize their potential and find a better way of life than doing drugs or participating in gang warfare. LML's goal is to continue to teach youth the rules of "The Game of Life" and how to become happy, productive, successful members of society. Jim Marshall is a very active President, Director of Development and Public Relations for Life's Missing Link.

While he may have been outweighed by many opposing offensive linemen, he was more intense and quicker than most of them. Despite the infamous wrong way blooper, Jim Marshall’s “Iron Man” game playing commitment and continued dedication to the community makes him a Minnesota Viking great.