Wilber Marshall

At 62 years old, Wilber Marshall has this physical status:

Wilber Buddyhia Marshall (born April 18, 1962) is an American former college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for five teams from 1984 to 1995.

Marshall played for college football for the University of Florida twice and was named as a consensus All-American and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 1984 NFL Draft and appeared in Super Bowl XX.

Marshall played for the Houston Oilers and Arizona Cardinals before completing his career with the New York Jets and then became a member of the Super Bowl XVI-winning Washington Redskins team.

Early years

Marshall was born in Titusville, Florida, and was an astronaut. He attended Astronaut High School in Titusville, Alabama, where he was a Parade magazine high school football player for the Astronaut War Eagles. Cris Collinsworth, a future quarterback for the Astronaut's football team, played quarterback on the Astronaut's football team in Marshall's rookie year. Marshall was named by the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) in 2007, 20 years after he graduated from high school, and the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) named him as one of the top Florida high school football players of the last 100 years.

Life after football

Marshall has spent a significant portion of his life recovering from football injuries sustained during his career. Marshall has had his health decline as the years have passed, but he has declined to have surgery to reconstruct his fractured spine, shoulder, and knees. In court, Marshall has fought the NFL and the players' union over a deal pertaining to his injury. Marshall prevailed in his long-running fight over his eligibility to total disability insurance from the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan in 2008. However, he had filed for bankruptcy due to legal and medical expenses, and he refused to attend a 25th anniversary tribute for the 1985 Bears team due to differences with the franchise's attorneys over player care.

Marshall lived in the Washington, DC suburbs after retirement before heading back to Titusville, Florida, many years later.

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College career

Marshall earned a scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he first appeared in tight situations before becoming a key linebacker for coach Charley Pell's Gators teams from 1980 to 1983. He was at the forefront of a ferocious Gators defense and finished his college career with 343 tackles, fifty-eight tackles for loss, and twenty-three quarterback sacks. Marshall was a three-time first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) pick (1981, 1982, 1983) and a two-time consensus first-team All-American (1982, 1983). He was a finalist for the Lombardi Award in 1982 and 1983, and ABC Sports named him "National Defensive Player of the Year" in 1983. In 1999, the Gainesville Sun selected him as a first-team pick to the Gators' "Team of the Century" as well as "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 legends Steve Spurrier, Jack Youngblood, Emmitt Smith, and Danny Wuerffel. In 2008, Marshall was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. In one of a series of articles published by The Gainesville Sun in 2006, he was named as the No. 106 in one of a series of articles. The four players are one of the top 100 all-time Florida Gators.

Professional career

Marshall is perhaps best known as a key player on two Super Bowl championship franchises, the 1985 Bears and the 1991 Redskins. The Bears, one of the league's most celebrated defenses, finished the regular season 15–1, shutting down both opponents and the New England Patriots 47–10. Marshall delivered a spectacular hit on Lions quarterback Joe Ferguson, who was left on his back, knocking him out cold in a 37–17 week victory over the Detroit Lions. However, Marshall's most memorable game against the Los Angeles Rams in 1985 was certainly in their 1985 NFC Championship Game. Snow began to fall at Soldier Field in the fourth quarter, eliciting roaring applause from Bears fans. Bears defensive end Richard Dent sacked Rams quarterback Dieter Brock on the next play, causing Brock to fumble the game. Marshall grabbed the loose football and ran 52 yards through the snow alongside William "The Refrigerator" Perry. The Bears defeated the Rams 24–0, and Marshall's fumble return for a touchdown is the highlight from the game that was most replayed. That play was also named as the most iconic moment of the game and of the season, as well. He had a good showing in the Super Bowl, including a suspension and recovering a fumble. Marshall was first-team All-Pro for the first time in 1986, with five interceptions, 5.5 sacks, and two defensive touchdowns.

Marshall became the first NFL free agent in ten years to sign with another franchise in the spring of 1988, the team that had barred the Bears from the NFL playoffs for two seasons. The Redskins had to give them their two first-round draft picks in the next two NFL Drafts as compensation after the Bears failed to meet the offer.

Marshall won another championship ring with the Redskins in 1991, when they defeated the Buffalo Bills 37-24 in Super Bowl XXVI, and Marshall finished the game with multiple tackles and a sack. Erik Kramer was fired three times by the Redskins in their 41–10 victory over the Detroit Lions a week before. Following the 1992 season, 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. Marshall reunited with Buddy Ryan, the Bears' defensive coordinator during Marshall's first two seasons, after signing a deal with the Houston Oilers in 1993. Marshall joined Ryan after he left the Oilers to serve as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 1994. In 1995, he began playing football for the New York Jets.

Marshall had forty-five sacks and intercepted twenty-three passes, as he returned for 304 yards and three touchdowns in his twelve NFL seasons. He prompted 24 fumbles and recovered sixteen others, bringing them home for seventy yards and two touchdowns. He is one of the few players to have 20 sacks and twenty interceptions in their career.

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