Fifty-five years ago today, Vikings defensive end Jim Marshall ran 66 yards with the football. Making the feat somewhat less impressive is the fact that he ran the wrong way.
Marshall, on October 25, 1964, scooped up a fumble from 49ers running back Billy Kilmer (yes, he was a running back at the time) and sprinted toward daylight. Marshall looked around, apparently surprised that no one was chasing him.
No one chased him all the way to the end zone, where he tossed the ball away and scored two points for the 49ers.
The Vikings still won that day, thanks to eight total turnovers from the 49ers. Fortunately, none of the others became safeties scored against the Vikings.
Unfortunately, Jim Marshall never earned a spot in Canton for a career that entailed far much more than one mistake. He played 20 years in the NFL, starting 270 straight games and appearing in 292 consecutive contexts. Both are still records for defensive players.
A member of the famed Purple People Eaters, two of his teammates on the Minnesota defensive line, made it to the Hall of Fame: Alan Page and Carl Eller. Marshall continues to be overlooked; maybe he’ll get a spot in the ill-advised, all-or-nothing mega-class that the Hall of Fame plans to induct next year.
