RIP Jim Marshall...Now put him in the Hall of Fame

Former Vikings great Jim Marshall passed away on June 3rd.  As part of the 'purple people eaters' defensive line, he was one of the best defensive ends of his time.  I had the good fortune of meeting Mr. Marshall several times over the years and I found him to be an all around nice guy.  

Which isn't really what my dad told me.

You see, way, way back in the late 60's or early 70's my parents lived on the north side of Minneapolis in a rented townhome.  And in a small world kind of way, Mr. Marshall also rented a townhome in the same block of units.  My dad told me the story of how the owner of the rental unit was intimidated by Mr.  Marshall and one time sent my dad to collect the rent.  Apparently Mr. Marshall wasn't impressed by this.  My dad, not being the largest guy in the world, said he felt the same intimidation when trying to collect the rent because Mr. Marshall sent my dad away with some choice words for the owner and without a check.  I guess a 6'4" 250lb guy can do that.

Fortunately my interactions (and I'm sure all fan interactions) with Jim Marshall has been much more pleasant.

When fans talk about the old Vikings teams, it is inevitable that Jim Marshall's name comes up.  There's always a discussion about HOF credentials and how Marshall has been passed over.  So I did some comparisons.

When it comes to HOF selections, there's always some dubious choices that make the hall, but that's not anything fans can decide.  If you're a Jets fans, then sure Klecko is a legit HOF'er, but take a look at how the stats of  Joe Klecko's and Jim Marshall's stack up.  Not too bad.

Or how about Jim Marshall's stats vs Merlin Olsen.

And recent inductee Steve McMichael made it to the hall.  I'd say Jim Marshall's stats look very favorable in this instance.

Here are some other stats to help make the argument:

Most opponents’ fumbles recovered (29)

Most fumble recoveries by a defensive end (30)

Most NFL seasons by a defensive player (20)

Most consecutive regular season games played by a defensive player (282)

Most consecutive games played (including playoffs) by a defensive player (289)

Most consecutive regular season games started by a defensive player (270)

He also played in 4 Super Bowls.  Us Vikings fans know full well the outcome of those games, but that really shouldn't hold back his induction.  The one stat that where Marshall falls short is the Pro Bowl/All Pro nod.  Apparently sports writers didn't want to vote for 3 of the 4 players on the same defensive line.  Of course, the infamous fumble recovery and wrong way run is a notorious footnote in his career (but at least the Vikings still won that game).  

And as far as my interactions with him?  Well, take a look.

I had him sign some custom 16x20 prints that I made up.  Usually just scanning football cards, doing some cleanup with them and then sending them off to the printer.

Someday, I'll create a custom display for these.

This is one of my favorites,  Three HOF Vikings on the same photo.

As for cards in my collection, I pretty much have them all.  This one is the only card made that shows Marshall with the Cleveland Browns, who traded him to the Vikings after his rookie season.  The games he played with the Browns are the only games he did not play in his career.  Marshall actually loved this card, which led to me blowing it up to poster size for him.  Unfortunately, I didn't keep a copy for myself.

One of my favorite cards from the classic 1997 UD Legends football set.

His 1970 Topps card is another favorite of mine.  Unfortunately when it comes to his cards there were not a lot of action shots.

These two record breaker cards commemorate his all-time records for recovered fumbles and games played.

So there you have it.  Not only was Marshall the NFL's original iron man and a great football player but he was one the nicest guys you could meet.  And he was a bit of a daredevil - the stories about his hang gliding incident and the snowmobiling story where he had to burn the cash he had in his pocket to stay alive are the stuff of legends.  And legends belong in the hall of fame.