Latest news with #PurplePeopleEaters
Observer
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Observer
Vikings great Jim Marshall dies at 87
Minnesota Vikings great Jim Marshall, an ironman who started 270 consecutive games and played 20 seasons, died Tuesday. He was 87. A defensive lineman on the legendary "Purple People Eaters" front four, Marshall holds the NFL record for most seasons played by a defender. He started 270 consecutive games for the Vikings from 1961-79. "The entire Minnesota Vikings organization is mourning the loss of Jim Marshall," the Vikings said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. "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." Jim Marshall Marshall's No. 70 was retired by the Vikings. He is credited with 130.5 sacks — tied for 22nd since the league made sacks an official statistic in 1960 — and 30 fumble recoveries. That includes the infamous "he's going the wrong way" scoop of a Billy Kilmer fumble before he sprinted 66 yards and unwittingly ended in his own end zone resulting in a safety for the 49ers. A constant on a defense that included Pro Football Hall of Famers Alan Page and Carl Eller, Marshall played at Ohio State and was drafted by Cleveland. He was acquired from the Browns one year after the Minnesota franchise was established in 1960. At the time of his retirement in 1979, Marshall had played in every game in the history of the team. He was part of the 1969 NFL Championship team and played in all four of the Vikings' Super Bowl appearances in the 1970s. Selected to two Pro Bowls (1968, 1969), Marshall was a second-team All-Pro three times (1964, 1968-69). — Reuters
Forbes
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Amazing Jim Marshall Started 270 Straight Games, Setting Tone For Vikings
Jim Marshall, Carl Eller and Alan Page formed the nucleus of the dominant Purple People Eaters. ... More (Photo by) The Minnesota Vikings have improved on defense each of the past two years under the leadership of defensive coordinator Brian Flores. While the headlines around the team surround quarterback J.J. McCarthy and his ability to adapt to his role in the offense and help turn the Vikings into a championship team, the defense has a chance to become one of the better units in the NFL. There was a time the Vikings had the best defense in the NFL, and while there were a few teams that could compete with head coach Bud Grant's remarkable defensive unit, none were better. Not the Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams or the Baltimore Colts. Flores would love nothing more to have as dominant a defensive unit as the Vikings had in those ancient days. The Vikings had the game's pre-eminent pass rush unit, and that group had one of the greatest nicknames the sport has ever seen. 'The Purple People Eaters' were a devastating group of pass rushers that included Alan Page, Jim Marshall, Carl Eller and Gary Larsen. Page has been widely recognized as the Vikings' best defensive player and he is in the Hall of Fame. However, Marshall and Eller were nearly as good and regularly wrecked opposing offenses. Larsen should not be overlooked even though he was a stay-at-home type who complemented the three superstars. The 87-year-old Marshall died Wednesday following a long illness. He played 19 of his 20 seasons with the Vikings. He was traded to the team prior to its initial 1961 season by the Cleveland Browns. Marshall started 270 consecutive regular-season games at defensive end — the most ever by a defensive player in NFL history — and was on the team for all four of it Super Bowl appearances. While the Vikings lost all four of those Super Bowl appearances, they did win one NFL championship. The two leagues did not officially merge until the 1970 season. Prior to that year, the NFL and the American Football League were separate entities, and the Vikings won the 1969 NFL title. Marshall is famous for running the wrong way when he picked up a fumble in a 1964 game against the San Francisco 49ers and ran it 66 yards into the endzone before flipping the ball into the stands. However, he ran the ball into the Minnesota end zone and the play resulted in a safety for the Niners. It is considered one of the most memorable plays in NFL history, but it did not cost the Vikings. They won the game by a 27-22 margin at San Francisco's Kezar Stadium. That play did not define Marshall's career. It was his determination to show up every Sunday and make plays that contributed to his team's success. In a game where players are rightly celebrated for playing every game in a given season – let alone two or three – Marshall never took a game off. Despite injury, illness and age, Marshall showed up every week without fail and gave the Vikings everything he had. He was a remarkable player who excelled against the run and rushed the passer extremely well. He had double-digit sacks in four seasons and he was always around the ball. He had 130.5 sacks and 30 fumble recoveries throughout his remarkable career. Many football fans know that sacks did not become an official NFL statistic until the 1982 season, but Pro Football Reference went back and counted the stats in all of Marshall's games – as well as many other stars – and came up with that widely recognized number. Marshall amazed Grant with his consistency and ability to show up every week and make key contributions. Grant was not an easy leader to impress. It would be folly to compare any of today's Vikings to Marshall, but the consistency of Blake Cashman, Andrew Van Ginkel, Harrison Smith and Josh Metellus are key strengths of the Vikings defense. All of those players have something to aspire to as they prepare for the 2025 season.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jim Marshall, NFL ironman and 'wrong way run' central figure, dies at 87
Jim Marshall, NFL ironman, longtime Vikings captain and infamous fumble returner, died on Tuesday at 87, the team announced. (Photo by Focus) Jim Marshall, famous for both his status as an NFL ironman and also his role in the infamous "wrong way run" in 1964, died Tuesday at age 87, according to the Minnesota Vikings. No cause of death was provided, though the team noted it followed a "lengthy hospitalization." Advertisement Marshall started 270 consecutive regular-season games for the Vikings from 1961-79, which is still the record for a defender. When Brett Favre set the consecutive starts record in September 2009, it was Marshall's mark he broke. The Ohio State product helped the Vikings reach four Super Bowls in the 1970s as part of their famed "Purple People Eaters" defensive line and was a three-time All-Pro and a two-time Pro Bowler. He also served as a team captain for 14 consecutive seasons. Marshall started his career in the CFL and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 1960 before being traded to the expansion Vikings the following year. In the 2000s, NFL Films ranked him as the second-best player not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Advertisement Marshall's most famous moment — unfortunately for him, though he was a good sport about it — is the "wrong way run." During a game on Oct. 25, 1964, Marshall scooped up a fumble by San Francisco 49ers running back Billy Kilmer and returned it 66 yards ... into his own end zone, for a safety. "Seeing the ball loose, seeing the goal post, kinda triggered 'pick it up and run,'" Marshall later said. Marshall said that one of the 49ers' players came up and thanked him. "You knew right away, you really messed up this time," Marshall said. After Marshall's run, former California Golden Bears center Roy Riegels, who returned a fumble into his own end zone in the 1929 Rose Bowl, sent Marshall a note that said, "Welcome to the club." Advertisement Marshall's legacy is much broader than one admittedly immortalized gaffe, and he credited fans for supporting him in that respect over the years. "A lot of the people have come up to me talking seriously about this and said, 'You know, we really have a lot of respect for you continuing on after that and doing as well as you did and playing as long as you played,'" Marshall said.
CBC
7 days ago
- General
- CBC
Vikings' Purple People Eater Jim Marshall, the 'all-time iron man,' dies at 87
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. Marshall began his professional football career in the Canadian Football League, playing the 1959 season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders before moving to the NFL a year later. "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 130 1/2 sacks, which is tied for 22nd all-time. Two other Purple People Eaters rank ahead of him: Alan Page (148 1/2) is eighth, and Carl Eller (133 1/2) 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. Marshall took the gaffe in stride, a graciousness made easier by his stature on the team and within the league. Long a favourite 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."
Fox News
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Vikings great Jim Marshall dead at 87 after ‘lengthy hospitalization,' family says
Former Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jim Marshall, an NFL champion and a member of the famed "Purple People Eaters," has died after a "lengthy hospitalization," the team announced Tuesday on behalf of Marshall's wife Susan. He was 87. Marshall, a Kentucky native and Ohio State alum, was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round of the 1960 NFL Draft and had a successful 20-year career, primarily with the Vikings. "The entire Minnesota Vikings organization is mourning the loss of Jim Marshall. No player in Vikings history lived the ideals of toughness, camaraderie and passion more than the all-time iron man," the Vikings ownership group said in a statement. "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." Marshall set an NFL record for position players by playing 282 consecutive regular-season games, a record that stood until 2010, when Brett Favre broke it as a member of the Vikings. Marshall also set the NFL record with 29 career fumble recoveries. Marshall played 19 of his 20 seasons with the Vikings. He was a key member of Minnesota's four Super Bowl appearances during that period. He also won an NFL championship in 1969, a year before the merger. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
