MINNEAPOLIS — Jim Marshall, the indefatigable defensive end who started 270 consecutive games for the Minnesota Vikings as the captain of Bud Grant’s four Super Bowl teams, died Tuesday.
He was 87. The Vikings said in a release that he had been hospitalized for a lengthy time.
Marshall played 19 seasons for the Vikings, starting every game from the team’s win over the Chicago Bears in its inaugural game on Sept. 17, 1961, to his final start on Dec. 16, 1979, at age 41. His 282 consecutive regular-season games, counting his 12 with the Cleveland Browns in his 1960 rookie year, were a NFL record until Brett Favre broke it as a Viking in 2009.
Though sacks did not become an official stat until 1982, Pro Football Reference analyzed game stats since 1960 and estimated Marshall had 130.5 sacks in his career, which ranks 22nd in NFL history. He also set an NFL record for fumble recoveries with 29, which was later tied by former Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor.
“The entire Minnesota Vikings organization is mourning the loss of Jim Marshall,” Vikings co-owner Mark 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. His impact on the Vikings was felt long after he left the field. Jim will always be remembered as a tremendous player and person. Our hearts are with his wife, Susan, and all of Jim’s loved ones.”
While Alan Page and Carl Eller posted the most prolific statistics as members of the Vikings’ famed “Purple People Eaters” defense, it was Marshall whom Grant regarded as the standard-bearer for the team. The Vikings retired his number 70 in 1999, and inducted Marshall into their Ring of Honor in 2004.
He remained a regular presence around the team in his later years, when a video of Marshall reading his “Heart of a Viking” poem became a fixture of the team’s player introductions at U.S. Bank Stadium. After Favre broke Marshall’s record on Sept. 20, 2009 — his second game as Vikings quarterback — Marshall visited the team’s facility in Eden Prairie before a Friday practice to congratulate Favre and personally pass him the title. Marshall then attended the Vikings’ home opener at the Metrodome, which ended with Favre’s famous touchdown pass to Greg Lewis as time expired.
In retirement, Marshall knocked on the door of the Pro Football Hall of Fame but was never inducted, despite the best efforts of people like Grant.
“There’s a picture of him that I have that says it all,” said Grant, who died in 2023. “He’s standing on the football field. Everything’s all muddy. It’s snowing. And Jim’s got that look. He represented the Vikings better than any player we’ve ever had. He and Mick (Tingelhoff). The absolute cornerstone of the Minnesota Vikings. That’s Jim Marshall.”
And he never missed a game. Including playoffs, Marshall played 301 consecutive games, third all-time behind punter Jeff Feagles (363) and Favre (323). His 289 consecutive games started, including playoffs, is second behind Favre’s 321.
“Jim Marshall is not dead,” Eller said in a statement released by the team. “He is alive in my heart and in my soul and he will always be my friend. He was inspirational to our team. Every week he was ready to go. That’s what everybody looked for and waited for. And sometimes just a minute before a game he would show up and say ‘Let’s go, let’s do it.’ I love Jim Marshall.”
Marshall paid the price for his iron man career. Eight years ago, he recounted his post-career medical issues.
“I’ve had the (right) ankle operated on twice. I’ve had numerous knee surgeries, but I have two replacements now. I’ve got two artificial hips. I’ve had five operations on one shoulder and six on the other.
“I’ve had six back surgeries, including two major fusions. I’ve had neck surgeries, eye surgeries, three heart surgeries, an ear operation. I can’t think of anything else other than some minor things, like my hands.”
Grant said one of the smartest things he ever did upon taking the Vikings job in 1967 was making Marshall a captain. Marshall was in his eighth NFL season but had never been a captain. Without that move, Grant had his doubts as to whether his program would have worked in Minnesota.
“Whatever I said, Jim was the first guy in line,” Grant said. “When I first got here, if I said take a lap, everybody looked to Jim Marshall. If Jim went, they’d all follow. They were like a bunch of goats following Jim.”
Marshall was born Dec. 30, 1937, in Danville, Ky. His mother, Ann, died when Marshall was 17.
“She died in my arms one morning fixing breakfast for me before I went to school,” Marshall said. “That influenced my life a lot. From then on, I was determined. It changed me. I wanted to do something, to be something, to make something big out of my life.”
His father, George Lorraine Marshall, and grandfather, George Washington Marshall, always told him he could do anything he set his mind to if he were willing to make sacrifices.
“I didn’t quite accomplish all the things I wanted to, but I sure tried,” Marshall said. “I sacrificed. I gave it my best shot.”
Marshall is survived by his wife, Susan, whom he married in 2008. He credited Susan for lifting him out of a depression caused by the chronic pain of being the quintessential NFL iron man.
“She’s like an angel from heaven,” Marshall said in 2017. “I call her my angel all the time. She makes sure I take my pills and do my exercises and get out of the house. She even thinks of things to trick me into getting out of the house.”