Jim Marshall makes list of best players not in Hall of Fame

Jim Marshall belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Duh. This is something that we all know and have been screaming from the mountain tops for years.

Sure, there are lots of other players that should be enshrined in Canton that aren’t there, but Marshall is the one that we really care about around here. And, over at CBS Sports, Bryan DeArdo has taken notice, placing Marshall on his list of the 25 best players to not be in the Hall of Fame.

Unfortunately, he placed Marshall at #20, which is approximately 19 spots lower than he should be.

A valued member of Minnesota’s “Purple People Eaters” defensive line, Marshall holds numerous NFL records, including the most seasons played by a defensive player (20, along with Junior Seau and Darrell Green), most consecutive games by a defensive player (282), most consecutive starts by a defensive player (270), and most career fumble recoveries (30). Marshall, who was still a starter at age 42, helped the Vikings win three NFC titles along with the NFL championship in 1969.

Sure, the only thing that most people know Marshall outside of Minnesota for is the wrong-way run, but even with that on his resume the man was a hell of a football player. I think we can safely assume that if those great Vikings teams of the 70s had managed to win just one Super Bowl, Marshall would have been in a very long time ago. As it stands now, he is no longer eligible for the regular voting and would have to be selected by the Seniors Committee for enshrinement.

That’s something that absolutely should happen at some point, and hopefully that day will come sooner rather than later. As fans of the Minnesota Vikings, it’s something that we should be actively rooting for until it finally happens.