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Former Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jim Marshall, an NFL champion and a member of the famed “Purple People Eaters,” has died after a “lengthy hospitalization,” the team announced Tuesday on behalf of Marshall’s wife Susan.

He was 87.

Marshall, a Kentucky native and Ohio State alum, was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round of the 1960 NFL Draft and had a successful 20-year career, primarily with the Vikings.

“The entire Minnesota Vikings organization is mourning the loss of Jim Marshall. No player in Vikings history lived the ideals of toughness, camaraderie and passion more than the all-time iron man,” the Vikings ownership group said in a statement.

“A cornerstone of the franchise from the beginning, Captain Jim’

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