Earlier this week, the NFL Hall of Fame Selection Committee named their three senior additions to the Hall of Fame. While he was a semifinalist, Jim Marshall wasn’t even named a finalist, let alone addition to the Hall of Fame.
A member of the Purple People Eaters, Marshall was a sack artist under head coach Bud Grant.
In an article for The 33rd Team, former Chicago Bears Head Coach and Minnesota’s own Marc Trestman wrote about how Marshall deserves to be in the hall of fame.
“Jim Marshall was more than the epitome of an NFL iron man,” Trestman wrote. “The speed rusher amassed a total of 130.5 sacks in his career – sacks were not an official statistic until 1982, three years after he retired – and held the career fumbles-recovered record of 30 for 24 years until Rod Woodson’s 32 surpassed him.”
What was even more impressive was how prolific of a sack master he was. As Trestman noted, sacks weren’t counted as an official stat until 1982, Pro Football Reference went back and charted every game and attributed sacks from the 1960 season through today.
Trestman said it best. “After having his jersey retired in Minnesota in 1999 and being selected as a Hall of Fame finalist in 2004, Marshall’s rare mix of unparalleled longevity, production and influence on a franchise is worthy of propelling him into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.”
