Wilber Marshall

The 1985 Bears linebacker whose snowy fumble return sealed the NFC title.

Wilber Marshall (born 1962) is a former NFL linebacker drafted in the first round by the Chicago Bears in 1984 who played in Super Bowl XX and later won another title with Washington. A two-time consensus All-American at Florida, he is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.

Quick Facts

Number: 58, 55
Position: Linebacker
Born: 18 April 1962
Birthplace: Titusville, Florida, U.S.
High school: Astronaut (Titusville)
College: Florida
Draft year: 1984
Draft pick: 11

Facts from the source article.

Background

Marshall is best known as a key member of the 1985 Bears, who went 15-1, shut out both playoff opponents and beat New England 46-10 in Super Bowl XX. Perhaps his most memorable moment came in the 1985 NFC Championship Game against the Los Angeles Rams. At the start of the fourth quarter snow began to fall at Soldier Field, drawing loud applause from the Bears fans. On the next play Richard Dent sacked Rams quarterback Dieter Brock and caused a fumble, and Marshall picked up the loose ball and ran 52 yards through the falling snow alongside William Perry. The Bears beat the Rams 24-0, and the fumble return remains the game's most replayed highlight. In the Super Bowl he recorded a sack and recovered a fumble.

The following year he intercepted five passes, recorded 5.5 sacks and scored twice on defense, earning his first first-team All-Pro selection. In 1988 he became the first NFL free agent in eleven years to change teams, signing a five-year, $6 million offer from Washington; when Chicago declined to match, the Redskins owed the Bears two first-round picks. He won Super Bowl XXVI with Washington and was first-team All-Pro again in 1992, then rejoined Buddy Ryan, his coordinator in his first two Bears seasons, in Houston and Arizona before finishing with the Jets in 1995.

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 is among the few players with twenty sacks and twenty interceptions in a career. He has lived since with injuries to his spine, shoulder and knees and won a long dispute over disability benefits in 2008.