Jim Marshall, the Minnesota Vikings defensive end who holds the record for most consecutive starts by a defensive player in the NFL and is famously remembered for his 66-yard wrong-way run after recovering a fumble in 1964, died Tuesday in Minneapolis at the age of 87.
His wife, Susan Landwehr Marshall, confirmed his passing at a hospital but did not disclose the cause, noting that he had been hospitalized for some time.
Marshall was a consistent presence on the Vikings’ defensive line, starting every game during the franchise’s first 19 seasons. He played a key role in the team’s defensive unit famously dubbed the Purple People Eaters.
By the time he retired after the 1979 season, just shy of his 42nd birthday, Marshall had amassed 270 consecutive regular-season starts at defensive end, a record that stood for decades until quarterback Brett Favre surpassed it with 297 consecutive starts late in his career.
Throughout his career, Marshall also started in 19 playoff games during a dominant era when the Vikings captured the NFC Central division title ten times in eleven years spanning the 1960s and 1970s. Despite making it to four Super Bowls, the Vikings were unable to secure a championship, remaining one of the NFL teams yet to win the title.
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