Jim Marshall (born December 30, 1937) was born in Danville, Kentucky and played college football at Ohio State. He left school before his senior year, and played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. He was then drafted in the 4th round of the 1960 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns. Marshall played the 1960 season with the Browns. He played from 1961 to 1979 with the Minnesota Vikings. He played in 282 consecutive games at defensive end from 1960 to 1979, a National Football League record.

He played in Pro Bowls after the 1968 and 1969 NFL seasons. He recovered 29 fumbles, an NFL record. He was a member of the Vikings' famous "Purple People Eaters". He was the final player from Minnesota's initial expansion team of 1961 to retire.

Despite his enormous success as an NFL player, Jim Marshall is most famous for a mental lapse he suffered on October 26, 1964. In a game against the San Francisco 49ers, Marshall recovered a fumble, but ran 66 yards with it the wrong way, into his own endzone, where he spiked the ball. It bounced out of bounds, giving the 49ers two points. Fortunately for Marshall, his Vikings won the game anyway, 27-22.

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