Vikings' Purple People Eater Jim
Marshall, the 'all-time iron man,' dies at 87
[June 04, 2025]
By DAVE CAMPBELL
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Former Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jim
Marshall, one of the four members of the famed Purple People Eaters
front that formed the backbone of four Super Bowl teams, died
Tuesday after a long hospitalization for an undisclosed illness. He
was 87.
The Vikings announced Marshall's death on behalf of his wife, Susan.
The native of Kentucky, who played at Ohio State and was drafted in
1960 by the Cleveland Browns, played 19 of his 20 seasons in the NFL
with Minnesota. The two-time Pro Bowl pick set a league record for
position players with 282 consecutive regular-season games played, a
mark held by Marshall until quarterback Brett Favre broke it,
coincidentally, with the Vikings in 2010.
“No player in Vikings history lived the ideals of toughness,
camaraderie and passion more than the all-time iron man,” Vikings
owners Mark Wilf and Zygi Wilf said in a statement distributed by
the team. "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.”
Though sacks weren't officially tracked by the NFL until 1982, Pro
Football Reference recently completed a retroactive compilation of
the primary pass-rushing statistic and credited Marshall with 130½
sacks, which is tied for 22nd all-time. Two other Purple People
Eaters rank ahead of him: Alan Page (148½) is eighth, and Carl Eller
(133½) is tied for 18th.
Marshall remains the NFL career record-holder, now tied with Jason
Taylor, for opponent fumbles recovered with 29. One of those
infamously came on Oct. 25, 1964, at San Francisco when, after the
Vikings forced 49ers running back Billy Kilmer to cough up the ball,
Marshall scooped it up and scampered 66 yards into the end zone —
the wrong way.
After he tossed the ball in the air and turned toward the touchdown
celebration with his teammates he was expecting, Marshall stopped in
his tracks and put his hands on his hips in disbelief upon realizing
he'd cost his team a safety. The Vikings went on to win 27-22.
“It took a lot of guts for me to go back on that field, because I
took football very seriously and I had made the biggest mistake that
you could probably make," Marshall once said in an interview with
NFL Films for a segment on the NFL's worst plays.
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Minnesota Viking tackle Jim Marshall clutches the game ball as he is
carried from the field by teammates Doug Southerland, left, and
Scott Studwell after the Vikings defeated the Buffalo Bills 10-3 in
an NFL football game in Bloomington, Minn., on Sunday, Dec. 9, 1979.
(AP Photo/Jim Mone, File)
Marshall took the gaffe in stride, a graciousness made easier by his
stature on the team and within the league. Long a favorite of
hard-nosed head coach Bud Grant, Marshall played through the 1979
season, his final game coming two weeks before his 42nd birthday.
“Maybe we’ve taken it for granted that Jim Marshall plays hurt,”
Grant said after Marshall announced his retirement. “But durability
is the most important ability you have. You can’t achieve greatness
without durability, and that is personified in Jim Marshall. He has
been hurt. But he doesn’t break. He bends. He heals. He has a high
pain threshold. Jim not only plays hurt, he plays as well when he’s
hurt as when he isn’t. That’s what’s important.”
After Favre broke Marshall's record of 270 consecutive
regular-season games started in 2009, the Vikings invited Marshall
to their practice facility to speak to the players. He was asked
then in an interview session with reporters what he thought about a
quarterback overtaking his prized mark.
"He’s the guy we were trying to hurt,” Marshall said with a laugh.
“Every defensive lineman that he plays against is trying to hurt
him. That’s a tough way to earn a living.”
Marshall's determination and longevity took its physical toll, like
many of his peers from an era when player safety and injury
prevention were minimal. In an interview with the Minnesota Star
Tribune in 2017, Marshall recounted his long list of post-career
surgeries on his knees, ankles, hips, shoulders, back, neck, heart,
eyes and ears.
“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.”
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