IN MEMORIAM
Jim Marshall 1937-2025 Retired NFL Player, Businessman
K nown by his team- mates as the Captain and Captain Jim, retired National Football League (NFL) player Jim
Marshall (Zeta 1958) entered the Chapter Invisible on June 3,
2025, at the age of 87. A defensive end, Marshall played 20 seasons in the NFL, all but one season for the Minnesota Vikings, retiring after the 1979 season. Marshall was the founding member of the famed Purple People Eaters defensive line unit that led the championship contend- ing Vikings teams of the late 1960s and 1970s. James Lawrence Marshall was born on December 30, 1937, in Wilsonville, KY before his family moved to Columbus, OH. After playing high school football at Columbus East High School, Legendary Ohio State Head Football Coach Woody Hayes convinced Marshall to stay home,attend the Ohio State University (OSU) and play football for Hayes. Marshall
played offensive tackle and defensive lineman for the Buckeyes for 1957 and 1958, winning a national cham- pionship in 1957. While at OSU, Marshall earned All-American honors and set school records in the shot put and discus. Marshall left OSU after his junior year and played one season for the Sas- katchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football
League (CFL) while wait- ing one year to become eligible to enter the NFL Draft. In 1960, the NFL Cleveland Browns and the Houston Oilers of the upstart rival American Football League (AFL) drafted Marshall. He chose to sign with the NFL Browns and played in all games in the 1960 NFL season. After his rookie season with the Browns,
the team traded him to the new expansion franchise Minnesota Vikings. During his time with the Vikings, Marshall’s teammates voted him as team captain for 14 seasons. While playing the physically demanding position of defensive end, Marshall made 270 con- secutive starts. When he retired, Marshall was the NFL career leader in games
84 THE JOURNAL ♦ SUMMER 2025
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