Wilber Marshall

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Wilber Marshall
Date of birth April 18, 1962
Place of birth Titusville, Florida
Position(s) linebacker
College University of Florida
NFL Draft 1984 / Round 1
Statistics
Team(s)
1984-1987
1988-1992
1993
1994
1995
Chicago Bears
Washington Redskins
Houston Oilers
Arizona Cardinals
New York Jets

Wilber Buddyhia Marshall (born April 18, 1962 in Titusville, Florida) is a former American football player. Marshall played linebacker in the National Football League for the Chicago Bears, the Washington Redskins, the Houston Oilers, the Arizona Cardinals, and the New York Jets. He won two Super Bowls in his career, Super Bowl XX as a member of the 1985 Bears, and Super Bowl XXVI with the 1991 Redskins. Marshall was named to the Pro Bowl following the 1986, 1987 and 1992 seasons.

Marshall attended the University of Florida, where he was a member of the Florida Gators football team. Marshall was named "National Defensive Player of the Year" in 1983 by ABC Sports. Marshall was All-American and a finalist for the Lombardi Award in both 1982 and 1983. In 1999, the University of Florida named Marshall a first-team selection to the "Team of the Century", and also named Marshall the "Defensive Player of the Century".

Marshall is perhaps best known as a member of the 1985 Bears. That season, 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. Perhaps Marshall's most memorable moment in the 1985 postseason was in the NFC Championship Game, against the Los Angeles Rams. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, snow began to fall at Soldier Field, elicting 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 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.

He also had a good performance in the Super Bowl, recording a sack and recovering a fumble.

Marshall made it back to the Super Bowl with the Redskins in the 1991 season, where they beat the Buffalo Bills 37-24, and Marshall finishe 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 3 times.

In his 12 NFL seasons, Marshall recorded 45 sacks and intercepted 23 passes, which he returned for 304 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also recovered 16 fumbles, returning them for 70 yards and 1 touchdown.