Arthur Marshall, the former NFL wide receiver who once etched his name into the record books with a trick-play touchdown, has died at 57 after a private battle with stomach cancer.
Marshall’s football journey started at Hephzibah High School in Georgia, where he became a standout and later earned induction into the school’s Hall of Fame. He went on to play at Georgia from 1988 to 1991, and his time with the Bulldogs made him a dangerous big-play target, averaging 17.7 yards per catch.
Even after that college production, Marshall wasn’t selected in the 1992 NFL Draft. The Denver Broncos still brought him in as an undrafted free agent, and he made the most of the opportunity.
One of the biggest moments of his career came on a trick play against the Dallas Cowboys, when he threw an 81-yard touchdown pass. That tied the NFL record for the longest touchdown pass completed by a non-quarterback.
Marshall spent two productive seasons in Denver before being traded to the New York Giants in 1994. He remained with the Giants through 1996, wrapping up a five-year NFL career with 87 catches, 1,267 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns.
His life after football was marked by a federal fraud case. In 2009, several years after his NFL career ended, Marshall was indicted on multiple charges, including bank fraud and money laundering.
In 2010, he pleaded guilty to two counts of bank fraud after admitting he falsified personal financial records and sales contracts to obtain more than $1 million in real estate loans. He was sentenced to 69 months in prison and ordered to pay over $3.6 million in restitution to his victims.
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