Marshall played college football at Ohio State University. He left school before his senior year, and played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. He was then traded to the Browns in a NFL-CFL transaction, being swapped for Bob Ptacek. Marshall played the 1960 season with the Browns before being traded along with five other players to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for two draft picks in the 1962 NFL Draft. He played from 1961 to 1979 with the Vikings and finished with a then-record 282 consecutive games. Marshall started 270 consecutive games while playing for the Vikings, an NFL record since surpassed by Brett Favre. Marshall played in the Pro Bowl in 1968 and 1969. He recovered 30 fumbles during his career, an NFL record. He was a member of the Vikings' famous "Purple People Eaters", Alan Page, Gary Larsen, and Carl Eller, and was the final player from Minnesota's initial expansion team of 1961 to retire. Marshall had 127 career quarterback sacks as a Viking, second-most in team history behind Eller. Marshall is one of 11 players to have played in all four of the Vikings Super Bowl appearances in the 1970s.
Legacy
Marshall's No. 70 has been retired by the Vikings and he is a member of the team's Ring of Honor. In 2004, Marshall was named to the Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in the association's second HOVG class. Marshall was a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004, but was not elected. Marshall resides in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.
During his time with the Minnesota Vikings, Marshall was playing in a game against the San Francisco 49ers on October 25, 1964. After recovering an offensive fumble, Marshall ran 66 yards the wrong way into his own end zone. Thinking that he had scored a touchdown for the Vikings, Marshall then threw the ball away in celebration. The ball landed out of bounds, resulting in a safety for the 49ers. According to Marshall, when he approached Vikings head coachNorm Van Brocklin afterwards, Van Brocklin said, "Jim, you did the most interesting thing in this game today." Despite the gaffe, the Vikings won the game 27–22, with the final margin of victory provided by a Carl Eller touchdown return of a fumble caused by a Marshall sack. Marshall later received a letter from Roy Riegels, infamous for a wrong-way run in the 1929 Rose Bowl, stating, "Welcome to the club." In 2019, Marshall's miscue was ranked No. 54 among the NFL's 100 Greatest Plays.
NFL records
Most seasons played by a defensive player: 20
Most complete seasons played by a defensive player: 20
Most consecutive games played by a defensive player: 282
Most consecutive regular season games played by a defensive player: 270
Most consecutive game starts by a defensive player: 270
Most consecutive regular season starts played by a defensive player: 270
