Freddie Ray Marshall was born in 1928 in Oak Grove, Louisiana, where he lived in an orphanage until he ran away at 15 and lied about his age in order to join the Navy. Following his stint with the military in World War II, Marshall went to school, attending Millsaps College and Louisiana State University before earning a Ph.D. in economics at the University of California at Berkeley.

Marshall was a Fulbright Scholar and a professor at Louisiana State, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Kentucky. Marshall served as secretary of labor under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981. After his time in the administration, he returned to the University of Texas.