Adam Rank: Jim Marshall is the best Vikings player not in the Hall of Fame
By Adam Carlson
Jim Marshall may not be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but NFL.com writer Adam Rank believes he is the best member of Minnesota Vikings not inducted.
There have been many great players to suit up for the Minnesota Vikings over the years. In fact, the franchise is very well represented in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and their presence in Canton, Ohio will grow again in when Randy Moss is inducted as part of the Class of 2018.
However, there is one player who the team, its fans, and football historians can’t quite figure out why he hasn’t been enshrined that was a huge part of the Vikings for many years and has all the numbers to back up the case being made for him.
For some reason, Jim Marshall continues to be overlooked for induction in the Hall of Fame. Now 80 years old, Marshall was a 4-time Pro Bowl player with 4 All-Pro nods and holds the NFL record for fumbles recovered by an opponent. He also started 270 consecutive games while being a key member of the Purple People Eaters, a record that would go on to be bested by Brett Favre.
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Recently, NFL.com writer Adam Rank shared an article titled “Listing each NFL team’s best all-time non-Hall of Fame player” and discussed why he chose Jim Marshall as the player from the Vikings.
"“I hate to believe one ill-fated play (running the ball like 60 yards the other way for a touchdown safety) would keep somebody from the Hall of Fame. But here we are.”"
Of course, the play in question came on October 25, 1964 when Marshall scooped up a fumble by San Francisco 49ers receiver Billy Kilmer and ran the wrong way with the football, entering the end zone and throwing the football out of bounds for a safety.
Jim Marshall has only been a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame once, but now his possible induction will rest with the senior committee, where it will be much more difficult for him to be enshrined.
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There is a chance that Jim Marshall may never get Carl Eller and Alan Page as members of the Purple People Eaters in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And if it is because of one play where he ran the wrong way, that would be a darned shame.