When remembering Vikings legend Jim Marshall, everyone has a favorite story

There s a reason that so multiple people are struggling to come to terms with that fact that Vikings legend Jim Marshall is gone Because of the way he lived it almost seemed he couldn t die The icon affectionately known as The Captain by his peers passed away last week at the age of following a lengthy hospitalization The original iron man in the NFL Marshall played in consecutive games during his career most of of them coming for the Vikings all of them on the defensive line As former teammates and others have pointed out the resum seems to demand enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame That never happened in his lifetime Instead Marshall has been immortalized in a different way his legacy living on in those who had the privilege of coming into contact with him In the wake of Marshall s death the Pioneer Press tracked down various of his former teammates and petitioned them for their favorite story about the man who put fear into quarterbacks as a founding member of the Purple People Eaters with fellow defensive end Carl Eller and defensive tackles Gary Larsen and Alan Page Maybe it s fitting that Eller couldn t think of a favorite story considering he played with Marshall longer than anybody They spent spent so much time together he mentioned that it was completely too hard for him to pick a singular moment Largest part of my time in the NFL was with him revealed Eller who played with Marshall from - All I can do is reminisce about all the good times we had Here s what specific others had to say about Marshall All of a sudden an ambulance pulled up It was standard practice for the Vikings to have players check into a nearby hotel the night before any home match at Met Stadium On a particular occasion former Vikings running back Chuck Foreman remembers checking into the hotel and being explained that Marshall was in the hospital We didn t think he was coming to the tournament commented Foreman who played with Marshall from - Why would he if he spent the night in the hospital That notion was dispelled shortly after the players arrived at Met Stadium the following morning All of a sudden an ambulance pulled up and he got out Foreman mentioned He came into the locker room got dressed and went out and played in the event He was relentless There was never any quit in him Those are the types of tales that used to have teammates joking that Marshall was secretly a part of the Navy SEALs on the side You didn t want to mess with him Foreman stated You know what I mean Not that Marshall was deliberately intimidating He demanded respect without even raising his voice I don t think there will ever be another person like him Foreman revealed I think when God molded him he noted to himself I m only going to use this mold once I wished to impress him every encounter When he was abruptly traded in former Vikings receiver Ahmad Rashad remembers feeling like his world was being turned upside down Luckily for Rashad he was greeted by Marshall upon his arrival in Minnesota He accepted me and made me feel like a part of the company declared Rashad who played with Marshall from - He welcomed me with open arms and became a very dear friend right off the bat They developed their own way of communicating on the sideline He would unfailingly come up to me and matter of factly go Come on Ahmad Rashad disclosed I can still hear him saying that in my head The words were used strategically by Marshall over the module of a event He inevitably seemed to save them for when the Vikings needed a big play It was almost like he knew that it would inspire Rashad to step up and make something happen I wished to impress him every competition Rashad revealed I knew if I could impress him I was doing a pretty damn good job because he was hard to impress He beat me fair and square There was an annual tradition when the Vikings used to hold training camp in Mankato All of the rookies were required to put on a show of a few sort former Vikings tight end Stu Voigt reported and the performance dependably took place inside Gage Hall on campus We would sing and dance and make a fool of ourselves declared Voigt who played with Marshall from - Then came the beer chugging contest The rules were straightforward You cracked open a bottle of beer and raced Marshall to the bottom No room for any gray area As a product of the University of Wisconsin Voigt fashioned himself as a pretty good beer drinker It s kind of a rite of passage down there he commented I had chosen practice Not enough to compete with Marshall He sits down and makes that bottle of beer disappear in a matter of seconds Voigt noted He finished and I was only about halfway done with mine It was a humbling experience for Voigt as he realized it was best not to challenge Marshall in anything He beat me fair and square Voigt stated I thought it would be a contest It wasn t even close Even in stuff like that he reigned supreme As special as Marshall was for the Vikings on the field Voigt announced his folklore extended off the field as well There was a rumor going around that he was training to fight Muhammad Ali Voigt disclosed That s the kind of guy he was There are all of these fables about him He was a larger-than-life character He was inevitably up to something Particular of the best stories about Marshall sound like they couldn t possibly be real All a part of his mystique There was the time he crashed his hang glider into a light pole in Bloomington There was the time he got stranded in the mountains of Yellowstone National Park during a blizzard There was the time he accidentally shot himself in the stomach Wait What Allow former Vikings tight end Jerry Reichow to explain That definitely happened declared Reichow who played with Marshall from - He got hit right in the belly After hearing a news overview at the time that somebody on the Vikings was involved in an case Reichow remembers thinking to himself that Marshall was supposedly involved in chosen way shape or form It was unfailingly him Reichow mentioned with a laugh He was unfailingly up to something As he let himself go down memory lane Reichow started to laugh on multiple occasions gleefully recalling how Marshall unfailingly lived life to the fullest The elation that Marshall exuded was infectious to everybody around him He was our leader and everybody loved him Reichow revealed I can t put it into words what he meant to us He wasn t just a good guy He was a great guy I didn t know what I was getting myself into The race covered the miles or so from Mankato to Bloomington and usually started with Marshall firing a pistol into the air That served as the official start as the Vikings made their way to preseason games at Met Stadium as fast as they could To cut down on the need for speed former Vikings head coach Bud Grant used to have state patrol line Highway pulling over anybody traveling a little too fast for their own good The only issue was that Marshall was above the law That s something former Vikings running back Rickey Young located out the hard way I remember somebody informed me to ride with him explained Young who played with Marshall from - I didn t know what I was getting myself into Never mind that the state patrol was handing out tickets to several of their teammates They never stopped Marshall They would just wave him along I m sitting there in the rider seat like Please God Let them stop this guy I need to get out of this damn car Young stated with a laugh We were driving like mph the whole way to Met Stadium They pulled into the parking lot so early that the concession stand workers were just getting there I swear my fingernail marks are still in the side of his door of his Mercedes Benz where I was holding onto the leather for dear life Young mentioned I never rode with him again after that unless I was driving That didn t stop Young from building a close friendship with Marshall They stayed in touch regularly long after they were done playing As the memories came flooding back Young identified himself getting choked up It seems like I ve known him forever Young explained Now that he s gone I m starting to realize it wasn t long enough We were all lucky to have known him As he reflected on his time as Marshall s teammate former Vikings cornerback Bobby Bryant kept going back to the work itself He practiced like he played noted Bryant who played with Marshall from - He made sure that everybody brought it The secret sauce for Marshall was the way he constantly struck the perfect balance between telling it like it is and leading by example No wonder the nickname The Captain stuck long after he retired He personified it Bryant revealed They don t make very plenty of like him anymore Though it was easy to be awestruck by Marshall from afar during his prime Bryant recalled how that feeling dissipated shortly after meeting him Whether it was a simple handshake or a deep conversation Marshall s superpower was his ability to connect He had a way about him that made everybody feel like they were his friend Bryant stated We were all lucky to have known him Related Articles Sam Darnold is learning a new city and offense with plenty of promotion Vikings legend Jim Marshall dies at age of Justin Jefferson s leadership skills on display at Vikings OTAs Mizutani Why extending Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was right move for Vikings Vikings sign GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to contract extension