The Wrong Way Run
I did not intend for every comic this week to be a eulogy, I promise.
There is a part of me that wonders if the Wrong Way Run is the reason Jim Marshall isn’t in the Hall of Fame. While he doesn’t have the world’s greatest resume, he has enough to justify a spot in Canton. He recovered 30 fumbles in his career, he was a second-team all-pro 3 times, and had the very first mega streak. He started in 270 straight games, 282 games total. 20 seasons. That number has been surpassed by Favre, but frankly I find it more impressive. Favre played a position that usually doesn’t get hit. Marshall’s entire job was impact. He played in an even more brutal era of the sport, too, and was a major part of the Purple People Eaters. Two of his fellow eaters (Alan Page, Carl Eller) are HoFers. At the very least he’s a Vikings legend and the folks up in Minnesota appreciate him as such.
But his legacy in the greater football landscape is a mistake. The first time you heard of Jim Marshall was probably because of the Wrong Way Run. For most people of my age or younger who never got a chance to see him play, that’s the thing he’s known for. Fucking up. That’s got to be humiliating. Nobody wants to be the guy who’s legacy is a blunder. You don’t want to be Scott Norwood or Leon Lett. Marshall was an amazing football player, and the thing most people know him for is one single play where he was kind of a dumbass.
It was a pretty funny brain fart though. If you haven’t watched the play you might be confused as to how a defensive player can even go the wrong way in the first place. Well, it makes some sense if you watch it. The 49ers WR catches the ball, gets tackled, and the ball pops out. Marshall grabs it and scoots. The thing is, on defense, you are usually always facing one direction. If you are turned around facing the other direction, the ball is already past you and you are chasing a guy down. But fumbles are the most chaotic thing football has to offer, and they have a tendency to short-circuit people’s brains. Marshall probably fried some neurons when the ball got loose and he forgot which way he was facing. I think this is honestly forgivable. What always baffles me about the play is he clearly looks back while he’s running and somehow does not piece together the reactions from his teammates or opponents until he crosses the goal line and celebrates. He ran 66 yards with the ball, it wasn’t a quick little 20 yard scamper whoopsie. He had a good amount of time to figure out what he was doing and never did.
It’s a very funny mistake that has sadly overshadowed everything else he ever did. It overshadows the fact that he was a fantastic player. It even overshadows the fact that the Vikings won the game thanks to a different fumble that Marshall caused! Marshall strip sacks the 49ers QB and Carl Eller ran the ball into the endzone (the correct endzone) to put the Vikings over the top, 27-22. I’m not the only person who has wondered if Marshall’s gaffe is the reason he’s been abandoned. He was ranked as the #2 best player to not be in the hall by NFL network about a decade ago, and in the video about him, they muse the same thing. It’s a bummer to see the guy they end the segment with say “I think he will be in the hall of fame, and his time is coming shortly”. The video was uploaded 8 years ago.
Marshall passed away this week at the age of 87. Every Vikings fan treated him like the local treasure he was. I’m extremely sad that if he does get his chance in Canton, he won’t be able to see it. Rest in peace, Jim.
As someone that grew up watching various NFL Films dvds & videos in the 00s, I got used to seeing Jim Marshall alot more than you’d think for someone who was born almost 20 years after he retired. If NFL Films needed a happy black guy to talk about the 60s, they got Marshall. If they need an angry black guy to talk about the 60s, they got Deacon Jones. Now both of my black grandpas are sacking QBs in heaven. R.I.P Jim.
Thank you for this, David. Jim was a legend and a gentleman in all respects to us Vikings fans. They calculated that if the current measuring system was in place then, he’d have credited with a mighty 130.5 sacks in his career. If his single mistake hadn’t been filmed, nobody would remember him for it and instead only for being part of the Purple People Eaters – if you haven’t watched footage of them on YouTube, do so. I watched him growing up and admired him greatly – still do. Rest in peace, Jim.
I’ve always thought it would be a really cool idea for the Hall to induct iconic defenses or position groups without needing to do a specific one man bust. Like with the Purple People Eaters, sure, Eller and Page were the standout guys of that group, but the unit as a whole deserves more shine.
I think the Legion of Boom secondary would be another good one since I really only think Sherman will get into the HoF, but the level of play we saw from Thomas and Chancellor was iconic enough to merit some kind of mention.
Thank you for mentioning that the Vikings still won the game. That piece of context always gets left out for some reason
The Wrong Way Run was on every NFL Football Follies video I used to watch on the NFL Network back in the mid-00s.
I think it’s moved past being a silly error and into infamy. There’s no reason he shouldn’t be in the HOF.
The Wrong Way Run, silly mistake or not, is itself the result of a tremendous defensive play. And the publicity from it likely generated a dollar value in exposure for the NFL many many (many) times whatever Marshall was paid during his career. That’s HOF “contributor” worthy at least, though Marshall’s career is more than deserving.
As a kid I had this set of three audio cassette tapes which contained radio broadcast clips of “Great Moments in Sports”. The Shot Heard Round The World, Havlicek Stole The Ball, the Immaculate Reception, Louis vs. Schmeling, stuff like that (plus way too many Kentucky Derby finishes). The Wrong Way Run radio call was on one of the tapes! I’m pretty sure it was the only thing on any of the tapes that might be classified as a “blooper”. So there you have it, The Wrong Way Run is officially and certified one of the Great Moments in Sports.
A lot of us Vikings fans were saying the same thing about that NFL Films bit when we got the news. How can you admit that this guy is being snubbed and then continue to snub him for another decade?
As it remains, like you said, his 270 straight games at an incredibly physical position in an incredibly physical era is insane. His 130.5 unofficial sacks rank above notable HoFers like Von Miller, Derrick Thomas, and Dwight Freeney. And in the same ballpark as teammate HoF Carl Eller and Jared Allen. He absolutely deserves it.
Hell, I think the entire defensive line should be inducted in some form, but if the Hall isn’t ready to talk about Jim Marshall, then they DAMN sure aren’t ready to talk about the great Gary Larsen!