We come to the last post concerning the NFC North. We are coming to a team that has always been close in its history, but has never been able to land the big hit. And it’s also a team that was a pioneer in a way. It’s also regarding a player who has had an unusual career following a career and was even honored for it by the US President.
Here’s the history of the Minnesota Vikings!
The history of the Vikings begins as early as 1959. Bill Boyer, HP Skoglund and Max Winter, three businessmen, licensed the AFL. Everything was actually already set for the Minnesota Vikings to enter the AFL, but since the NFL was also looking for new teams at the same time and it was considered more attractive, the decision was made once morest it and once morest the NFL. On September 27, 1960, the team became the Minnesota Vikings. The interest in the new team was quite decent, because 26,000 season tickets were sold in the first year. Norm von Brocklin was the new team’s first head coach. However, the first years were not very successful, in the first 7 years you might not move into the playoffs once. Perhaps the greatest achievement during this period was that Paul Flatley became Rookie of the Year in 1963. QB Fran Tarkenton was voted Pro Bowl MVP a year later. In 1968 they made it into the playoffs for the first time, but were clearly inferior to the Baltimore Colts.
In 1969, the team from Minneapolis would have their greatest success, because they became NFL champions. In the playoffs they beat the Rams and the Browns. Bud Grant had taken over as head coach two years earlier and was voted Coach of the Year that year. He would remain loyal to his Minnesota Vikings for 16 years, and then return briefly later. In Super Bowl 4, Minnesota was actually a favorite and should restore the honor of the NFL following the New York Jets secured the first AFL team title by beating Baltimore in Super Bowl 3. But the Kansas City Chiefs objected and defeated Minnesota. The following year, Minnesota made the playoffs but lost to San Francisco.
At the time, Minnesota was famous for its exceptionally good defense, which was also known as the Purple People Eaters. The poster boy was DT Alan Page. Nine times he should make it into the Pro Bowl, in 1971 he even became MVP. After his career, he took a completely different path and became a judge. In 2018 he was honored by US President Donald Trump and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1973, following successes over the Redskins and Cowboys, it was back to the Superbowl, but there was no match once morest the Miami Dolphins at that time. Chuck Foreman was named offensive rookie of the year. Also in 1974, Minnesota makes it to the big game, defeating Arizona and the Rams along the way. This time you have to admit defeat to Pittsburgh. The following year, Fran Tarkenton becomes MVP and Offensive Player of the Year. In 1976, Minnesota reached the Super Bowl for the fourth time, once more including victories over the Redskins and the Rams.
But this time there is no happy ending either, this time the Raiders are celebrating. In the next few years, only the shortened 1982 season managed a playoff win over the Falcons. In 1983, Minnesota made history in a way, because the preseason game once morest the St Louis Cardinals was played on August 6, 1983, the first NFL game in London. After this season, Bud Grant retires but returns for a year following a disastrous 1984 season. It didn’t go back to the playoffs until 1987 under Jerry Burns.
There, the Saints and the 49ers can be beaten, but in the NFC Championship Game they lose out to the Redskins. In the next two years, the Vikings are defeated by the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round.
