Jim Marshall played in 282 consecutive games during 20-year NFL career
Jim Marshall, the Vikings defensive great who played in 282 consecutive games, has died at age 87
Marshall said
During Favre’s record-breaking season, Marshall visited Vikings practice to personally congratulate him. “I told him I admired his career and was really happy he was the guy to break that record,” Marshall said at the time
In NFL History
Marshall played 20 seasons in the NFL, including 19 with the Vikings, whom he joined in 1961. A 14-time captain with Minnesota, Marshall started 270 consecutive regular-season games at defensive end – the most ever by a defensive player in NFL history – and was a part of all four of the team’s Super Bowl appearances. From 1967 to 1977, he, Alan Page, Gary Larson and Carl Eller formed the “Purple People Eaters”
Impossible To Possible
When Marshall began setting the record for consecutive games played again in the 1970s, newspapers struggled to find out. What to write about a man who continues to make the impossible possible? What more can you say
In Vikings History
Minnesota Vikings owners Mark and Zygi Wilf released a statement mourning his death: “No player in Vikings history embodied the ideals of toughness, camaraderie and passion more than the all-time Iron Man. Jim Marshall’s unmatched durability and quiet leadership earned the respect of both teammates and opponents during his 20-year career.”
Marshall Said In 1977
I almost died, and maybe that memory makes the fact that I had a sprained ankle, a concussion and a fever a few days before a ball game seem less important today,” Marshall said in 1977
Klobuchar Wrote
And when we met again, he looked up at the sun and said life was good and wonderful, as it always had been for Jim Marshall. But it would be a little less wonderful in the stadium after Sunday,” Klobuchar wrote.
Marshall’s NFL legacy
Marshall’s NFL legacy includes not just his statistical accomplishments, but also his role in shaping the identity of the Minnesota Vikings franchise. His influence continued long after his retirement