Wilber Marshall
Encyclopedia
Wilber Buddyhia Marshall (born April 18, 1962) is a former American college and professional football
player who was a linebacker
in the National Football League
(NFL) for twelve seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. Marshall played college football
for the University of Florida
, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Chicago Bears
, the Washington Redskins
, the Houston Oilers, the Arizona Cardinals
and the New York Jets
of the NFL. He was a member of two Super Bowl
-winning teams, and was named to the Pro Bowl
three times during his NFL career.
. He attended Astronaut High School
in Titusville, where he was a Parade magazine All-American high school football
player for the Astronaut War Eagles. In 2007, twenty-nine years after he graduated from high school, the Florida High School Athletic Association
(FHSAA) named Marshall to its "All-Century Team," recognizing him as one of the thirty-three greatest Florida high school football players of the last 100 years.
to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
, where he was a star linebacker
for coach Charley Pell
's Florida Gators football
team from 1980 to 1983. He was the core of a ferocious Gators defense and finished his college career with 343 tackle
s, fifty-eight tackles for a loss, and twenty-three quarterback sack
s. Marshall was a three-time first-team All-Southeastern Conference
(SEC) selection (1981, 1982, 1983) and a two-time consensus first-team All-American (1982
, 1983
). He was a finalist for the Lombardi Award
in both 1982 and 1983, and was named "National Defensive Player of the Year" by ABC Sports in 1983. The Gainesville Sun
named him a first-team selection to the Gators "Team of the Century" in 1999, as well as the "Defensive Player of the Century." Marshall was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great," and was named to the University of Florida's Ring of Honor in 2007, joining Florida football greats Steve Spurrier
, Jack Youngblood
, Emmitt Smith
and Danny Wuerffel
. Marshall was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame
in 2008.
championship teams, the 1985 Bears and the 1991 Redskins. In 1985, the Bears, behind one of the most celebrated defenses in league history, finished the regular season 15–1, shut out both opponents in the playoffs, and beat the New England Patriots
46–10 in Super Bowl XX
. In a 37–17 week 16 victory over the Detroit Lions
, Marshall delivered a stunning hit on Lions' quarterback Joe Ferguson
that left Ferguson flat on his back, knocked out cold. But perhaps Marshall's most memorable moment came in the 1985 NFC Championship Game, against the Los Angeles Rams. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, snow began to fall at Soldier Field
, eliciting loud applause from the Bears fans in attendance. On the next play, Bears defensive end Richard Dent
sacked Rams quarterback
Dieter Brock
, causing Brock to fumble the football. Marshall picked up the loose football and, alongside William Perry
, ran 52 yards through the falling snow. The Bears beat the Rams 24–0, and Marshall's fumble return for touchdown continues to be the highlight from that game most replayed. Fox News Chicago
also named that play to be the most iconic moment of the game, and of the season, as well. He also had a good performance in the Super Bowl, recording a sack and recovering a fumble. In 1986, Marshall recorded five interceptions and 5.5 sacks and was named First-team All-Pro
for the first time.
in eleven years to sign with another team, agreeing to a five year/six million dollar contract offer to play for the Washington Redskins
, the team that had eliminated the Bears from the NFL playoffs in each of the previous two seasons. When the Bears declined to match the offer, the Redskins had to give them their two first-round draft picks in the next two NFL Draft
s as compensation.
Marshall won another championship ring with the Redskins in the 1991 season, when they beat the Buffalo Bills 37–24 in Super Bowl XXVI
, and Marshall finished the game with several tackles and a sack. A week before that, he had a superb performance in the Redskins 41–10 win over the Detroit Lions
, sacking Detroit quarterback Erik Kramer
three times. Marshall was named second-team All-Pro following the 1991 season and was named first-team All-Pro for the second time in his career following the 1992 season. In 1993, Marshall reunited with Buddy Ryan
, who had been the Bears' defensive coordinator
during Marshall's first two seasons, signing a contract to play for the Houston Oilers. When Ryan left the Oilers to become head coach of the Arizona Cardinals
in 1994, Marshall joined him there for one season. He then finished his NFL career in 1995 as a member of the New York Jets
.
In his twelve NFL seasons, Marshall recorded forty-five sacks and intercepted twenty-three passes, which he returned for 304 yards and three touchdowns. He also recovered sixteen fumbles, returning them for seventy yards and two touchdowns. He is among the few players who have recorded twenty sacks and twenty interceptions in their career.
In 2008, Marshall prevailed in his long-pending dispute over his entitlement to total disability benefits from the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan. However, by this time, he had filed for bankruptcy. He currently resides in Sterling, Virginia
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player who was a linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) for twelve seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. Marshall played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
, the Houston Oilers, the Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the NFL. He was a member of two Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
-winning teams, and was named to the Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
three times during his NFL career.
Early years
Marshall was born in Titusville, FloridaTitusville, Florida
Titusville is a city in Brevard County, Florida in the United States. It is the county seat of Brevard County. Nicknamed Space City, USA, Titusville is on the Indian River, west of Merritt Island and the Kennedy Space Center and south-southwest of the Canaveral National Seashore...
. He attended Astronaut High School
Astronaut High School
Astronaut High School is located in Brevard County, in the city of Titusville, Florida, USA. It is part of the Brevard County School District. The school name comes from its location, near the Kennedy Space Center. The school was built in 1972...
in Titusville, where he was a Parade magazine All-American high school football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
player for the Astronaut War Eagles. In 2007, twenty-nine years after he graduated from high school, the Florida High School Athletic Association
Florida High School Athletic Association
The Florida High School Athletic Association is an organization whose purpose is to organize sports competition for high school It is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations ....
(FHSAA) named Marshall to its "All-Century Team," recognizing him as one of the thirty-three greatest Florida high school football players of the last 100 years.
College career
Marshall received an athletic scholarshipAthletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, where he was a star linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
for coach Charley Pell
Charley Pell
Charles Byron "Charley" Pell was an American college football player and coach. Pell was an Alabama native and an alumnus of the University of Alabama, where he played college football. He is most notably remembered as the head coach of the Clemson University and the University of Florida...
's Florida Gators football
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
team from 1980 to 1983. He was the core of a ferocious Gators defense and finished his college career with 343 tackle
Tackle (football move)
Most forms of football have a move known as a tackle. The primary purposes of tackling is to disposses an opponent of the ball, to stop the player from gaining ground towards goal or to stop them from carrying out what they intend....
s, fifty-eight tackles for a loss, and twenty-three quarterback sack
Quarterback sack
In American football and Canadian football, a sack occurs when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before he can throw a forward pass, or when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the "pocket" and the intent of what he was going to do is unclear...
s. Marshall was a three-time first-team All-Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
(SEC) selection (1981, 1982, 1983) and a two-time consensus first-team All-American (1982
1982 College Football All-America Team
The 1982 College Football All-America team is composed of various organizations that choose College All-America teams that season. The organizations that chose the teams were Associated Press, United Press International, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Football Writers Association of America,...
, 1983
1983 College Football All-America Team
The 1983 College Football All-America team is composed of various organizations that choose College All-America teams that season. The organizations that chose the teams were Associated Press, United Press International, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Football Writers Association of America,...
). He was a finalist for the Lombardi Award
Lombardi Award
The Rotary Lombardi Award is awarded annually to the best college football lineman or linebacker. The Lombardi Award program was approved by the Rotary Club in Houston in 1970 shortly after the death of Vince Lombardi. The committee outlined the criteria for eligibility for the award, which...
in both 1982 and 1983, and was named "National Defensive Player of the Year" by ABC Sports in 1983. The Gainesville Sun
The Gainesville Sun
The Gainesville Sun is a newspaper published daily in Gainesville, Florida, United States, covering the North-Central portion of the state. It is a part of the New York Times Regional Media Group. The paper is published by James E...
named him a first-team selection to the Gators "Team of the Century" in 1999, as well as the "Defensive Player of the Century." Marshall was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great," and was named to the University of Florida's Ring of Honor in 2007, joining Florida football greats Steve Spurrier
Steve Spurrier
Stephen Orr Spurrier is an American college football coach and player. Spurrier is the current head coach of the University of South Carolina's Gamecocks football team. He is also a former professional player and coach...
, Jack Youngblood
Jack Youngblood
Herbert Jackson "Jack" Youngblood, III is a former American college and professional football player who was a defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League for fourteen seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. He was a five-time consensus All-Pro and a seven-time Pro Bowl...
, Emmitt Smith
Emmitt Smith
Emmitt James Smith, III is a retired American football player who was a running back in the National Football League for fifteen seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. Smith played college football for the University of Florida, where he was an All-American; thereafter, he played professionally for...
and Danny Wuerffel
Danny Wuerffel
Daniel Carl "Danny" Wuerffel is a former American college and professional football player who won the 1996 Heisman Trophy and the 1996 national football championship while playing college football for the University of Florida. After graduating from Florida, he played for four National Football...
. Marshall was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 2008.
Chicago Bears
Marshall is perhaps best known as a significant member of two Super BowlSuper Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
championship teams, the 1985 Bears and the 1991 Redskins. In 1985, the Bears, behind one of the most celebrated defenses in league history, finished the regular season 15–1, shut out both opponents in the playoffs, and beat the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
46–10 in Super Bowl XX
Super Bowl XX
Super Bowl XX was an American football championship game played on January 26, 1986 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1985 regular season...
. In a 37–17 week 16 victory over the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
, Marshall delivered a stunning hit on Lions' quarterback Joe Ferguson
Joe Ferguson
Joseph Carlton Ferguson, Jr. is a former American football quarterback in the NFL. Ferguson played college football at the University of Arkansas, where he still holds the school's single game record for most completions and in that same season was named the Southwest Conference's Offensive...
that left Ferguson flat on his back, knocked out cold. But perhaps Marshall's most memorable moment came in the 1985 NFC Championship Game, against the Los Angeles Rams. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, snow began to fall at Soldier Field
Soldier Field
Soldier Field is located on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in the Near South Side. It is home to the NFL's Chicago Bears...
, eliciting loud applause from the Bears fans in attendance. On the next play, Bears defensive end Richard Dent
Richard Dent
Richard Lamar Dent is a former American football defensive end, who played primarily for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was the MVP of Super Bowl XX...
sacked Rams quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Dieter Brock
Dieter Brock
Ralph "Dieter" Brock , is a former Canadian Football League and National Football League player and now works as a coach...
, causing Brock to fumble the football. Marshall picked up the loose football and, alongside William Perry
William Perry
William James Perry is an American businessman and engineer who was the United States Secretary of Defense from February 3, 1994, to January 23, 1997, under President Bill Clinton...
, ran 52 yards through the falling snow. The Bears beat the Rams 24–0, and Marshall's fumble return for touchdown continues to be the highlight from that game most replayed. Fox News Chicago
WFLD
WFLD, virtual channel 32 , is the Fox owned-and-operated television station, based in Chicago, Illinois; through its parent company News Corporation, the station is owned in a duopoly with area MyNetworkTV affiliate WPWR-TV...
also named that play to be the most iconic moment of the game, and of the season, as well. He also had a good performance in the Super Bowl, recording a sack and recovering a fumble. In 1986, Marshall recorded five interceptions and 5.5 sacks and was named First-team All-Pro
All-Pro
All-Pro is a term mostly used in the NFL for the best players of each position during that season. It began as polls of sportswriters in the early 1920s...
for the first time.
Washington Redskins
In the spring of 1988, Marshall became the first NFL free agentFree agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
in eleven years to sign with another team, agreeing to a five year/six million dollar contract offer to play for the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
, the team that had eliminated the Bears from the NFL playoffs in each of the previous two seasons. When the Bears declined to match the offer, the Redskins had to give them their two first-round draft picks in the next two NFL Draft
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
s as compensation.
Marshall won another championship ring with the Redskins in the 1991 season, when they beat the Buffalo Bills 37–24 in Super Bowl XXVI
Super Bowl XXVI
Super Bowl XXVI was an American football game played on January 26, 1992 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota to decide the National Football League champion following the 1991 regular season...
, and Marshall finished the game with several tackles and a sack. A week before that, he had a superb performance in the Redskins 41–10 win over the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
, sacking Detroit quarterback Erik Kramer
Erik Kramer
William Erik Kramer , is a former American football quarterback. He attended John Burroughs High School in Burbank, CA. After attending Los Angeles Pierce College and playing as their quarterback, Kramer transferred to North Carolina State University where he finished a successful college football...
three times. Marshall was named second-team All-Pro following the 1991 season and was named first-team All-Pro for the second time in his career following the 1992 season. In 1993, Marshall reunited with Buddy Ryan
Buddy Ryan
James David "Buddy" Ryan is a former American NFL football coach.-Early years:Ryan was born and reared in a small, agricultural-based community "just outside of Frederick, Oklahoma." Ryan played college football for Oklahoma A&M University where he earned four letters as a guard between 1952 and...
, who had been the Bears' defensive coordinator
Defensive coordinator
A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
during Marshall's first two seasons, signing a contract to play for the Houston Oilers. When Ryan left the Oilers to become head coach of the Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in 1994, Marshall joined him there for one season. He then finished his NFL career in 1995 as a member of the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
In his twelve NFL seasons, Marshall recorded forty-five sacks and intercepted twenty-three passes, which he returned for 304 yards and three touchdowns. He also recovered sixteen fumbles, returning them for seventy yards and two touchdowns. He is among the few players who have recorded twenty sacks and twenty interceptions in their career.
Life after football
Marshall has spent much of his life after football suffering from injuries he sustained during his professional career. His health declined as the years progressed, but Marshall refused to receive surgery to repair his injured spine, shoulder, and knees. Permanently disabled, Marshall’s days of battling other players have been replaced with days of fighting the NFL and the players' union over a settlement pertaining to his injuries.In 2008, Marshall prevailed in his long-pending dispute over his entitlement to total disability benefits from the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan. However, by this time, he had filed for bankruptcy. He currently resides in Sterling, Virginia
Sterling, Virginia
Sterling, Virginia is a census-designated place in Loudoun County, Virginia. The population as of the 2010 Census was 27,822.It is located northwest of Herndon, east of Ashburn, and west of Great Falls, and includes part of Dulles International Airport and the former AOL corporate headquarters...
.
See also
- 1982 College Football All-America Team1982 College Football All-America TeamThe 1982 College Football All-America team is composed of various organizations that choose College All-America teams that season. The organizations that chose the teams were Associated Press, United Press International, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Football Writers Association of America,...
- 1983 College Football All-America Team1983 College Football All-America TeamThe 1983 College Football All-America team is composed of various organizations that choose College All-America teams that season. The organizations that chose the teams were Associated Press, United Press International, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Football Writers Association of America,...
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- Florida Gators football, 1980–1989
- List of Chicago Bears first-round draft picks
- List of Chicago Bears players
- List of College Football Hall of Fame inductees (players, A–K)
- List of College Football Hall of Fame inductees (players, L–Z)
- List of Florida Gators football players
- List of New York Jets players
- List of Washington Redskins players