Background
He was born in Wilsonville, in Boyle County, Kentucky, near Parksville.
He was born in Wilsonville, in Boyle County, Kentucky, near Parksville.
Ohio State University.
At the time of his retirement, he owned the career records for most consecutive starts (270) and games played (282). 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 4th round of the 1960 NFL Draft 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, a record since surpassed by Brett Favre. He played in Pro Bowls after the 1968 and 1969 NFL seasons.
He recovered 30 fumbles, an NFL record.
The Vikings cr 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. National Intercollegiate All-American Football Players Honor Roll.
During his time with the Minnesota Vikings, Marshall was involved in what is considered by many, including SI.com author John Rolfe, to be one of the most embarrassing moments in professional sports 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. Marshall later received a letter from Roy Riegels, infamous for a wrong-way run in the 1929 Rose Bowl, stating, "Welcome to the club".
He was a member of the Vikings" famous "Purple People Eaters" (which consisted of Marshall (Delaware), Alan Page (DT), Gary Larsen (DT), and Carl Eller (Delaware), and was the final player from Minnesota"s initial expansion team of 1961 to retire. Jim Marshall is also a member of The Pigskin Club Of Washington, District of Columbia