Jim Marshall, Minnesota Vikings
Credit: Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images
The Minnesota Vikings are the greatest team in NFL history to never win the Lombardi Trophy. They’ve played in 53 playoff games (21-32), 10 conference championships (4-6) and our Super Bowls (0-4). Yet, since the AFL/NFL merger in 1961 (Super Bowl era), the 65-year-old Vikings have never been to climb the ultimate NFL mountain.
The closest they ever came were all from the same Purple People Eaters era from 1968 to 1978, when the Minnesota Vikings made the playoffs in 10 of 11 seasons, a run that included all four of the team’s Super Bowl runs, to date — three of which were lead by legendary head coach Bud Grant and the greatest QB in franchise history, Fran Tarkenton.
Jim Marshall, Minnesota Vikings
Credit: Manny Rubio-Imagn Images
One player who was around for all eleven of those seasons — and responsible for a large chunk of their success during the 60s and 70s — was Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor member out of Ohio State, Jim Marshall — whose 19 seasons in purple long ago got the Ironman’s number (70) retired.
Minnesota Vikings All-Time Great Jim Marshall Dies at Age 87
Unfortunately, the Vikings announced on Tuesday that Marshall has passed away at the age of 87 years old. In his 20 total years in the NFL (played one year in Cleveland), the all-time great Purple People Eater played in 282 games, including 270-straight starts, racking 120.5 sacks, good for 22nd all time.
The #Vikings family mourns the loss of Legend Jim Marshall.
Marshall set the standard for what it meant to be a Minnesota Viking, starting 270 consecutive games, appearing in 4 Super Bowls and serving as team captain for 14 consecutive seasons. https://t.co/o2avKghyWG pic.twitter.com/XOU4etfuWI
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) June 3, 2025
“On behalf of his cherished wife, Susan, it is with heavy hearts and an abundant gratitude for the joy he brought to the franchise and region, that the Minnesota Vikings announce Marshall passed away Tuesday at the age of 87, following a lengthy hospitalization.
Beyond athletic prowess, Marshall’s legacy is one of an enduring and endearing spirit and deep generosity. His exuberance positively affected countless others, and his memory will continue to inspire.
A celebration of his life will be planned.”
Minnesota Vikings
The vaunted Minnesota Vikings defensive line of the 60s and 70s — which included Marshall, Alan Page, Gary Larsen and Gopher great Carl Eller — remains one of the best in league history, right up there with the Rams’ “Fearsome Foursome” and the Steelers’ “Steel Curtain“, of that same era.
Marshall will be sorely missed
Jim Marshall was as much a contributor off the field for the Minnesota Vikings and in the local community as he was off on it back in the day. Much like his Purple People Eater linemates, Marshall is someone all corners of the fanbase celebrated and rallied around.
Bud Grant continually preached that one of the great injustices of the NFL is the fact Jim Marshall isn't in the Hall of Fame. Here is #70 talking about that support. pic.twitter.com/BmP70vXwHN
— Seth Kaplan 📺 (@Seth_Kaplan) June 3, 2025
Over the past couple of seasons at U.S. Bank Stadium, the pre-game introduction video has featured a defense of the frigid north and highlighted greats of yesteryear. It’s impossible to think about the franchise and not consider The Purple People Eaters.
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It’s inexplicable that he’s still yet to make the Hall of Fame. Former Minnesota Vikings head coach Bud Grant was vocal about that until he passed. It should have happened sooner, and now, if Marshall does get in, it will be too late for him to see it, in person.
It stands to reason that Minnesota will find a way to honor Jim Marshall this season. His number 70 is one of six retired by the organization. I can imagine there will be a jersey patch or, at least something on Vikings helmets this season, in order to commemorate Marshall and everything he has meant to the Minnesota Vikings.
Mentioned in this article: Former players Jim Marshall More About:Minnesota Vikings