Glory Days T he 1960s were a great decade for sports in Minnesota During this era the state welcomed professional teams in baseball hockey and basketball Pro football also took hold in Minnesota The first team was supposed to begin play in 1960 as part of the newly formed American Football League AFL However at the last moment the new team’s owners decided to join the National Football League NFL instead That is how the Vikings were born Minnesota played its first season in 1961 and made headlines by beating the Chicago Bears one of the NFL’s best teams on opening day In their early years the Vikings built their team around a handful of young stars including quarterback Fran Tarkenton running back Tommy Mason and defensive lineman Jim Marshall By the 6
late 1960s Minnesota was ready to challenge for the NFL championship The offense was led by running backs Bill Brown and Dave Osborn kicker Fred Cox and lineman Ron Yary Meanwhile Joe Kapp replaced Tarkenton as the team’s quarterback Kapp had been the Most Valuable Player MVP in the Canadian Football League CFL The Vikings were best known for their defense Marshall Gary Larsen Carl Eller and Alan Page made up a defensive line nicknamed the Purple People Eaters Other stars included defensive backs Bobby Bryant and Paul Krause The Vikings won the NFL championship in 1969 The coach of that team was Bud Grant He would lead the Vikings for 18 seasons in all Grant was tough and smart He taught the Vikings to play the same way During the 1970s Grant built Minnesota into a powerhouse His quarterback was Tarkenton who returned to the team in 1972 LEFT Fran Tarkenton looks for an open teammate ABOVE All four Purple People Eaters signed this souvenir photo 7
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Tarkenton guided a high-scoring offense that also featured a great running back named Chuck Foreman He made a big impact as a rookie in 1973 and retired as the team’s all time leading rusher Minnesota also had a talented group of receivers including John Gilliam Ahmad Rashad and Sammy White Minnesota played in the Super Bowl three times during the 1970s Unfortunately they could not win the title In the 1980s the Vikings moved to an indoor stadium and remade their team with fast exciting players such as Anthony Carter Cris Carter Jake Reed and Herschel Walker They also had several good quarterbacks including Tommy Kramer Rich Gannon and Warren Moon In 1998 the Vikings had an incredible season with a 15 1 record John Randle and Ed McDaniel were the stars of a hard-hitting defense Quarterback Randall Cunningham led the club’s passing attack His favorite receivers were Cris Carter and Randy Moss who scored 17 touchdowns Robert Smith ran through holes opened by Randall McDaniel and Todd Steussie Kicker Gary Anderson set an NFL record with 164 points The Vikings advanced to the championship game of the National Football Conference NFC LEFT Quarterback Brett Favre is in the middle of a Viking sandwich courtesy of John Randle and Fernando Smith ABOVE This trading card shows how closely opponents needed to cover Randy Moss 9
