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Retro Video: Jim Marshall Appears on Game Show

Felt like tracking down a Vikings-related video to post today, and I think you’ll enjoy what I ended up spotting on YouTube. On October 25, 1964, the world witnessed one of the most embarrassing moments in the history of professional sports — Viking defensive end Jim Marshall, on that date, ran the wrong way.

Playing against the 49ers, Marshall recovered a fumble and proceeded to run the ball 66 yards towards the wrong endzone. After sprinting past the goal line, he tossed the ball off the field in celebration. Little did he know, at the moment, that this play resulted in a safety for San Fransisco.

Fortunately for Marshall, the Vikings hung on to win the game, 27-22. Since his squad escaped with a victory, he was able to laugh about the infamous play in this 1964 episode of the game show, I’ve Got A Secret:

Although Marshall is best remembered for this blunder (in which he set the all-time NFL record for the shortest play at -66 yards), the man’s list of accomplishments during his career is truly astonishing. He started 282 consecutive games — a crazy feat for someone who played in the trenches — and he holds the NFL record for career fumble recoveries, with 29 throughout his 20 years in the league. Oh yeah, he didn’t miss a single game between 1960-1979.

So, it’s a shame that he’ll always be remembered as “Wrong Way Marshall.” Of course, the play is still completely hilarious more than 40 years after it happened, but one of the panelists in the video said it best: “Jim, all I have to say is that my heart bled for you.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 15th, 2008 at 4:45 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.