Minnesota Vikings
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Year founded: 1961 | |||||
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| City | Minneapolis, Minnesota | ||||
| Other nicknames | The Vikes, The Purple People Eaters | ||||
| Team colors | Purple, Gold, and White | ||||
| Head Coach | Brad Childress | ||||
| Owner | Zygi Wilf | ||||
| General manager | Rob Brzezinski | ||||
| Mascot | Ragnar | ||||
| League/Conference affiliations | |||||
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National Football League (1961–present)
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| Team history | |||||
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| Championships | |||||
| League Championships (1) | |||||
Conference Championships (4)
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Division Championships (16)
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| Home fields | |||||
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The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are currently members of the North Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL).
The Vikings have won their division 16 times, and became the first team to appear in four Super Bowls, but the club also became the first one to lose four Super Bowls. Originally, the ownership group was to have a team in the American Football League, but withdrew from the AFL and agreed to join the NFL as a 1961 expansion team.
The Vikings are currently owned by Zygi Wilf, Mark Wilf, Jeffrey Wilf, Leonard Wilf, David Mandelbaum,[1] Alan Landis and Reggie Fowler. The Vikings have been conducting summer training camp at Minnesota State University, Mankato since 1966. From 1961-65 they held camp at Bemidji State University.
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[edit] Franchise history
Pro history in the Twin Cities began with the Minneapolis Marines/Red Jackets, an NFL team that played intermittently from in the 1920s-30s. However, the prospect of a new professional team in the area did not surface again until August 1959, when three Minneapolis businessmen Bill Boyer, H. P. Skoglund and Max Winter were awarded a franchise in the new American Football League. Five months later in January 1960, the ownership group along with Bernie Ridder first forfeited its AFL membership and then was awarded the National Football League's 14th franchise that was to begin play in 1961. Ole Haugsrud was added to the NFL team ownership because of an agreement he had with the NFL since the 1920s when he sold his Duluth Eskimos team back to the league. The agreement allowed him 10 % of any future Minnesota team.
[edit] 1960s
Bill Boyer served as the team president from 1960-64. Minnesota's first management team was led by general manager Bert Rose. The team was officially named the Minnesota Vikings on September 27, 1960. From the start, the Vikings embraced an energetic marketing program that produced a first-year season ticket sale of nearly 26,000 and an average home attendance of 34,586, about 85 percent of the capacity of 40,800 for Metropolitan Stadium. Eventually Met Stadium capacity was increased to 47,900. Early in 1961, the Vikings named Norm Van Brocklin as head coach, though Bud Grant had been a candidate for job. The Vikings won their first regular season game as they beat the Chicago Bears 37-13 on Opening Day 1961.
Rose resigned from his position in June 1964. Jim Finks, then general manager of the Calgary Stampeders, was named as the new general manager in September 1964. The Vikings had their first winning season in 1964, finishing with 8 wins, 5 losses and 1 tie. The 1964 season is also remembered for the game played at San Francisco against the 49ers. In that game Jim Marshall picked up a fumble and ran it back to the endzone. However, he ran it back to the wrong endzone. He thought he had scored a touchdown for the Vikings, but instead had scored a safety for the 49ers. The Vikings did go on to win the game 27-22. Max Winter became the team president in 1965.
Norm Van Brocklin quit abruptly in February of 1967. Bud Grant, head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, became the new Vikings coach on March 10, 1967.
On March 7, 1967, quarterback Fran Tarkenton was traded to the New York Giants for a 1st and 2nd-round choice in 1967, a 1st-round choice in '68 and a 2nd-round choice in '69. With the picks Minnesota selected Clinton Jones and Bob Grim in '67, Ron Yary in '68 and Ed White in '69.
During the late 1960's, the Vikings were building a powerful defense known as the Purple People Eaters, led by Alan Page, Carl Eller, Gary Larsen, and Jim Marshall. In 1968, their stingy defense earned the Vikings their first Central Division Title and their first playoff berth.
The Vikings defeated the Cleveland Browns, 27-7, in the NFL Championship Game on Jan. 4, 1970, at Metropolitan Stadium. Minnesota became the first modern NFL expansion team to win an NFL Championship Game, which gave them a berth to the Super Bowl which the heavily favored Vikings dropped to the Kansas City Chiefs 23-7.
[edit] 1970s
The team continued to shine in 1970 and 1971 as their "Purple People Eater" defense led them back to the playoffs. In 1971 the defense was so impressive that Alan Page became the third defensive player to win the NFL Most Valuable Player Award (the Colts' Gino Marchetti was the AP MVP in 1958 and the Lions' Joe Schmidt was co MVP in 1960).
In 1972 the Vikings traded Norm Snead, Bob Grim, Vince Clements and a 1st-round choice in '72 and '73 to the New York Giants to reacquire the popular Tarkenton. Co owner Bill Boyer died in 1972 and was replaced on the team's board of directors by his son in law Jack Steele.
On January 13, 1974, the Vikings played in the 2nd Super Bowl in franchise history against the Miami Dolphins at Rice Stadium in Houston, TX. The Dolphins prevailed, 24-7. Minnesota earned the trip to Super Bowl VIII by defeating Dallas, 27-10, in the NFC Championship game.
The Vikings played in their 2nd straight Super Bowl (3rd overall), losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 16-6, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans on January 12, 1975. Minnesota earned a trip to Super Bowl IX by defeating the Los Angeles Rams, 14-10, at Metropolitan Stadium on December 29, 1974.
In 1975, the Vikings, led by Tarkenton and running back Chuck Foreman, got off to a 10-0 start and easily won another division title. However, the Vikings lost to the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs, 17-14, on a controversial touchdown pass from the Cowboys' quarterback Roger Staubach to wide receiver Drew Pearson that became known as the Hail Mary.
The Vikings played in their 3rd Super Bowl (4th overall) in 4 years against the Oakland Raiders at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on January 9, 1977. The Vikings, however, couldn't break their bad luck in the Super Bowl. Minnesota lost, 32-14. The Vikings earned a trip to Super Bowl XI by defeating the Rams, 24-13, at Metropolitan Stadium on December 26, 1976, in what ended up being the last Vikings playoff game at the Met.
Co owner Ole Haugsrud died in March 1976 and his widow Margaret took his place on the team's board of directors. In 1977, team attorney Sheldon Kaplan replaced Ridder on the board. In 1978, John Skoglund replaced his father on the team's board of director and general manager Mike Lynn replaced Margaret Haugsrud on the board.
On January 1, 1978, the Vikings played the Dallas Cowboys in their 4th NFC Championship Game in 5 years at Texas Stadium. Minnesota lost to the eventual Super Bowl Champs, 23-6.
[edit] 1980s
On May 15, 1981, the Vikings moved into a new facility in suburban Eden Prairie that houses the team's offices, locker room and practice fields. The complex was named "Winter Park" after Max Winter, one of the Vikings founders who served as the team's president from 1965-87.
The Vikings played their 1st game at the Metrodome in a preseason matchup against Seattle on Aug. 21, 1982. Minnesota prevailed, 7-3. The 1st touchdown in the new facility was scored by Joe Senser on an 11-yard pass from Tommy Kramer. The 1st regular-season game in the Metrodome was the 1982 opener on September 12, when the Vikings defeated Tampa Bay, 17-10. Rickey Young scored the 1st regular-season touchdown in the facility on a 3-yard run in the 2nd quarter.
The Vikings and St. Louis Cardinals played the first American football game in London's Wembley Stadium in a preseason game on August 6, 1983. The game was the dubbed the "Global Cup". The Vikings won 28-10. This was three years before the NFL started the American Bowl series.
On January 27, 1984, Bud Grant retired as Head Coach of the Vikings. In 17 seasons Grant led Minnesota to 12 playoff appearances, 11 division titles and 4 Super Bowls. His career regular-season record was 151-87-5 (.632). The person that would take his place would be Les Steckel.
Les Steckel, who was an offensive assistant with the Vikings for 5 seasons, was named the 3rd head coach in franchise history on January 29, 1984. Steckel, who came to the Vikings in 1979 after working as an assistant with the 49ers, was the youngest head coach in the NFL in 1984 at age 38.
The Vikings lost a franchise-worst 13 games in Steckel's first season as head coach. After the season, Steckel was fired and on December 18, 1984, Bud Grant was re-hired as the head coach of the Vikings.
On January 6, 1986, following the 1985 season, Bud Grant re-retired as head coach of the Vikings. At the time of his retirement he was the 6th winningest coach in NFL history with 168 career wins, including playoffs. In 18 seasons he led the Vikings to a 158-96-5 regular season record.
Longtime Vikings assistant coach Jerry Burns was named the 4th head coach in team history on January 7, 1986. He served as the Vikings offensive coordinator from 1968-85, when the team won 11 division titles and played in 4 Super Bowls. In his first season, the Vikings led by the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Tommy Kramer, went 9-7, their first winning record in 4 years. In his second season, he led the Vikings to the NFC championship game.
Following the strike-shortened 1987 season, the 8-7 Vikings pulled two upsets in the playoffs by beating the two teams with the best regular season records. They beat the 12-3 New Orleans Saints, 44-10, at the Superdome in the Wild Card Playoff game. The following week, in the Divisional Playoff game, they beat the 13-2 San Francisco 49ers, 36-24, at Candlestick Park. During that game Anthony Carter set the all-time record for most receiving yards in a playoff game with 227 yards. The Vikings played the Washington Redskins in the NFC Championship Game on January 17, 1988, at RFK Stadium. Trailing 17-10, the Vikings drove to the Redskins' 6-yard line with a little over a minute left in the game but failed to get the ball into the end zone.
The Vikings and Chicago Bears played a preseason game in Gothenburg, Sweden on August 14, 1988. The Vikings won 28-21.
The Vikings ' board of directors added four new members in 1988. Wheelock Whitney, Jaye Dyer, Irwin Jacobs and Carl Pohlad. They joined Max Winter, John Skoglund, Jack Steele, Sheldon Kaplan and Mike Lynn. Whitney became the new team president, replacing Winter. Winter left the board in 1989 and was replaced by Gerald Schwalbach.
The Vikings would make what would be considered its biggest personnel blunder in team history. On October 12, 1989, the Vikings acquired Herschel Walker from Dallas. The final result of the trade gave the Vikings Walker, a 3rd (Mike Jones), 5th (Reggie Thornton) and 10th-round choice (Pat Newman) in 1990 and a 3rd-round choice in 1991 (Jake Reed), while Dallas received Issiac Holt, David Howard, Darrin Nelson, Jesse Solomon, Alex Stewart, a 1st, 2nd and 6th-round choice in 1990, a 1st and 2nd-round choice in 1991 and a 1st, 2nd and 3rd-round choice in 1992. Two of those selections turned into Emmitt Smith and Darren Woodson. Herschel's performance fell short of expectations in his 3 seasons with the Vikings, while the Cowboys rode their draft picks to 3 Super Bowl victories in the early to mid 1990s.
[edit] 1990-1997
Roger Headrick became team president on January 1 1991. He along with Philip Maas joined the board of directors replacing Jack Steele and Sheldon Kaplan.
On December 3, 1991, Jerry Burns announced his retirement. In 6 seasons as Head Coach of the Vikings, Burns compiled a career record of 52-43 (.547). He also led Minnesota to 3 playoff appearances, including a division title and an NFC Championship Game.
The ownership of the Vikings was restructured on December 16, 1991. Irwin Jacobs and Carl Pohlad sold their shares. The team was now owned by ten people: Roger Headrick (CEO and team president), John Skoglund (his family had owned part of the team since it was founded), Jaye Dyer, Philip Maas, Mike Lynn, Wheelock Whitney, James Binger, Bud Grossman, Elizabeth MacMillan and Carol Sperry.
On January 10, 1992, Dennis Green was named the 5th Head Coach in team history. He came to Minnesota after turning around a struggling Stanford University football program as head coach from 1989-91.
In his 10 seasons as the coach of the Vikings, Green won 4 NFC Central division titles, had 8 playoff appearances, 2 NFC Championship game appearances and an all-time record of 97-62.
[edit] 1998
Prior to the start of the 1998 season. The Vikings were sold to Red McCombs. The NFL had not been happy with the Vikings' ownership arrangement of ten owners with none owning 30%. The ownership decided to sell the club. At first it appeared that Tom Clancy would become the new owner. However, his attempt to buy the team fell through. So in July of 1998, the team was sold to McCombs who was from San Antonio, Texas.
1998 was a year to remember for the Minnesota Vikings, with a spectacular offense led by quarterback Randall Cunningham, who had his best NFL season ever, running back Robert Smith, veteran wide receiver Cris Carter, and explosive rookie Randy Moss, the Vikings set an NFL record by scoring a total of 556 points, never scoring fewer than 24 in a game. The Vikings finished the season 15-1, their only loss by 3 points to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week nine. In the playoffs, the Vikings rolled past the Arizona Cardinals 41-21, and came into the Metrodome heavily favored for their NFC title showdown with the Atlanta Falcons, who had finished 14-2. However, kicker Gary Anderson, who had gone 35 for 35 in the regular season, missed a 38-yard attempt with less than 2 minutes remaining. That allowed the Falcons to tie the game. The Vikings had one more opportunity to score at the end of regulation, but Head Coach Dennis Green opted to down the ball and go to overtime (even though the Vikings had arguably the most potent offense in NFL history). Atlanta won the toss and went on to win it 30-27 in overtime on Morten Andersen's field goal, which was, coincidentally, also a 38-yarder. The Vikings became the first 15-1 team to fail to reach the Super Bowl.
[edit] 1999
Randall Cunningham resumed duties again in 1999, but after a lukewarm 2-4 start, Jeff George was given the starting job. He finished the season with an 8-2 record, and led the Vikings into the postseason once again, with an overall team record of 10-6. Minnesota beat Dallas in the Wild card game 27-10, and faced playoff newcomer Kurt Warner and the St. Louis Rams in the Divisional matchup. The game was a shootout which Minnesota led 17-14 at halftime, but the Rams outscored Minnesota 35 to 20 in the second half to win 49-37. St. Louis would go on to win Super Bowl XXXIV.
[edit] 2000
Led by first-year starting quarterback Daunte Culpepper, the Vikings had a season in which Robert Smith ran for a team record 1,521 yards and 7 touchdowns. The Vikings were 11-2 after 14 weeks, but slumped briefly, losing their last three to the Rams, Packers and Colts while Culpepper was hampered by injury. However they would return to the playoffs again for the fifth straight year. After easily beating the Saints in the Divisional game 34-16, they were humiliated 41-0 by the New York Giants in the Conference Championship, and to top that, Robert Smith retired at the end of the year, after only playing eight NFL seasons.
[edit] 2001
Tragedy struck the Minnesota Vikings in the summer of 2001, when Offensive Lineman Korey Stringer died of heat stroke in training camp in Mankato, Minnesota. Although Minnesota has a reputation for cold weather, in late July and early August it can be brutally hot.
The 2001 season started off with a 24-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers. This would be the only win for Carolina in 2001, they ended up 1-15. Over the next sixteen weeks, wins for Minnesota were few and far between. Some season highlights included a 35-13 win over the rival Green Bay Packers in week six, and a week ten victory over the Giants in which Randy Moss pulled in 10 receptions for 171 yards and 3 touchdowns leading to a 28-16 victory. But despite having a 12th ranked offense, their defense was in the bottom five, and the Vikings finished 5-11.
After the disappointing season, Dennis Green, who had become a polarizing force in the Viking fan base despite his successful coaching tenure with the team, had his contract bought out. Mike Tice coached the final game of 2001, losing to the Ravens.
[edit] 2002-2003
On January 10, 2002, Mike Tice was named the sixth Head Coach in Vikings history. Tice was the third of the six Vikings Head Coaches to be promoted from within the team's coaching ranks but was the first to have actually played for the Vikings.
In Tice's first season, the Vikings had a dismal 6-10 record, which he turned around in 2003 with a fast 6-0 start. However, the Vikings ended up going 3-7 the rest of the season, missing the playoffs when a touchdown reception on 4th-and-long by Arizona Cardinals receiver Nate Poole gave the Vikings a last-second loss in their final game. Green Bay won the division at 10-6, while the Vikings were 9-7. The following season the Cardinals hired Dennis Green as their head coach.
[edit] 2004
History repeated itself in 2004 as the Vikings went 3-7 over the last 10 weeks, but this time they made the playoffs despite only going 8-8. Daunte Culpepper had a MVP-like season, amassing 4,717 passing yards (which led the NFL), 39 passing touchdowns (a Viking record), and 5,123 total yards, breaking Dan Marino's mark. The Vikings made history in the playoffs by beating their rivals, the Green Bay Packers, in their first ever playoff meeting. They also became the second team in NFL history to go .500 (8-8) in the regular season and then win a playoff game, one day after the St. Louis Rams accomplished the feat. In that game, wide receiver Randy Moss pretended to moon a crowd of Packers fans after a touchdown and was fined $10,000. They would lose to the eventual NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles the following week 27-14.
[edit] 2005
McCombs sold the team to a group led by Zygi Wilf in May of 2005. Wilf was originally going to be a limited partner to Reggie Fowler. However Fowler was not able to purchase the team. Wilf than became the lead owner and Fowler is one of a group of ownership partners.
Minnesota traded WR Randy Moss to the Oakland Raiders for linebacker Napoleon Harris and the Raiders' first and seventh round picks of the 2005 NFL Draft. With the first round pick (number 7) they selected WR Troy Williamson of South Carolina. A common misconception is the Vikings freed a ton of salary cap space by trading Moss. The reality is they were already well under the salary cap - more than $30 million in fact - and actually had to absorb about $7-10 million just to trade Moss. But they still had around $20 million in cap space and signed 5 new defensive starters to shore up their previously 28th ranked defense. The Vikings fan base wondered if this was the franchise's biggest blunder in team history or one of their greatest moves.
At first, the move looked like a blunder. The Vikings started off by losing their first two games to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (24-13) and the Cincinnati Bengals (37-8). They would win in Week 3 against the New Orleans Saints (33-16), but then they would go on to lose their next two road games to the Atlanta Falcons (30-10) and their division rival Chicago Bears (28-3). The Vikings would win at home against fellow division rival Green Bay Packers 23-20 by winning the same way the Packers did last season, which was a last second field goal. However, the Vikes had little to celebrate when in the next week, not only did they lose to the Carolina Panthers 38-13 on the road, but they would also lose their star QB Daunte Culpepper for the season with a knee injury, who had thrown twice as many interceptions as touchdowns up until that point. At this point the Vikings were 2-5.
Taking Culpepper's place would be Brad Johnson (Viking from 1992-98 and quarterback of the Super Bowl XXXVII champion Buccaneers) and, upon taking over, led the Vikings to a six-game winning streak, including victories over the Detroit Lions at home (27-14), the New York Giants (24-21), the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field (20-17, once again on a last second field goal), the Cleveland Browns (24-12), the Detroit Lions at Ford Field (21-16), and a 27-13 home victory over the St. Louis Rams. Johnson ended up with the lowest interception to attempt ratio in Vikings history and the 3rd best passer rating in the NFC. The streak ended with an 18-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the eventual Super Bowl champions. Christmas Day 2005 will go down as a day Viking fans would much rather forget. After having their chances of winning the NFC North extinguished when the Bears defeated the Packers earlier in the day, the Vikings were officially eliminated from NFC playoff contention with a 30-23 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The Vikings won their last game of the 2005 season against the Bears, with a 34-10 victory. However, the Vikings fired head coach Mike Tice immediately following the game. They ended up with a 9-7 record and 1 win away from the playoffs.
[edit] 2006
The Vikings hired Brad Childress as their head coach in 2006. Currently the Minnesota Vikings are 6-7, and five of their games have come down to the final two minutes. They edged the Washington Redskins in Washington by a field goal in week one 19-16.
Week two was another field goal game, with the Vikings coming out on top over the Carolina Panthers at home 16-13.
Then they played the Chicago Bears at home and lost by a field goal 16-19.
Week four was the fourth close game in a row, this time against the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo, but the Vikings lost this one by five points 12-17.
Week five was a come from behind victory. The Vikings were playing the Detroit Lions at home, were down 17-3 going into the fourth quarter, they were not about to go on a three game losing streak, so they scored 23 unanswered points. Two touchdowns were by the defense, in the fourth quarter to win 26-17.
They followed their week 6 bye with a win over the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle, 31-13. During that game, Chester Taylor also scored the longest TD in Vikings History in that game, after running from their own 5 yard line.
The week after, the Vikings were to play Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Monday Night Football. The Vikings had a streak of 4 home wins on Monday Night Football at home. However, the Patriots blew out the Vikings, 31-7, Minnesota's only score coming off Mewelde Moore's 73 yard punt return for a touchdown.
The losing trend continued in San Francisco with a 3-9 loss in week 9. The loss was especially crushing after a touchdown pass was called back by for a block in the back penalty by against Travis Taylor .
Week 10 brought another loss as the Vikings were outscored 17-23 at home by division rivals Green Bay.
Week 11 was the anticipated matchup between the Vikings and their former QB Daunte Culpepper, who was acquired by the Miami Dolphins in the offseason for a second round pick. However, Culpepper was benched in favor of Joey Harrington three weeks earlier. The Vikings lost their fourth straight game to Miami, 24-20. The game was out the Viking's reach after Jason Taylor returned a 51 yard interception for a touchdown. The Vikings defense set a team record by limiting the Dolphins to -3 yards rushing on 14 carries in the loss.
The losing streak finally ended in week 12 of the season. With the Arizona Cardinals and former coach Dennis Green in town, the Vikings pulled off a 31-26 win, capped by a Vikings interception in the endzone to end the game. The Cards took a 7-0 lead on the first play of the game with a kickoff return touchdown by J.J. Arrington.
In Week 13, the Vikings played the Bears closely, until the Bears' special teams (a Devin Hester punt return TD) as well as their defense (an interception return TD) put the game out of reach. The Vikings lost, 23-13. Tavaris Jackson made his NFL debut, completing the first pass of his career and finishing the day 3-4 for 35 yards, but he also had a fumble.
Week 14, Vikings pull off their second win in seven weeks, edging the lions, who are 2-11, 30-20. The vikings top running back, Chester Taylor was out with bruised ribs, but Arose Pinner had the game of his life, against a team that cut him a mere three months ago. He gained 125 yards, and had 3 touchdowns, leading the Vikings to victory. Once again, the vikings run defense was amazing holding the lions to -3 yards on 10 carries. The vikings forced six turnovers, and only had two themselves, and these stastistics combined with the rushing yards of each team was why the vikings pulled out the big W. The Vikings are 6-7, and are right in the heat of the wild card race. Needing to win their next three games, they play the jets next, 7-6 and also in the wild card race, but in the AFC. The Falcons,and Giants, and Eagles are all7-6 and the Panthers are 6-7, but their starting QB Jake Delhomme is out for the season, which hurts their chances. This close wild card race will make for a great last three weeks of the season.
[edit] Logo and uniforms
From the team's debut in 1961 to 1995, the Vikings' logos and uniforms essentially remained the same. One of the team's two primary logos consists of a profile of a blond norseman, while the other consists of a white viking horn.
The team's helmet is purple with the viking horn logo on each side. The uniform design consists of white pants, gold trim, and either purple or white jerseys. In a design that is unique among American football teams, the white jerseys have a completely different stripe pattern, which is over the shoulders, than the purple ones, which are around the sleeve cuff. There have also been minor changes to the uniform design throughout the years, such as changing the color of the facemask from gray to white (1980), and then to purple (1985); and adding the norseman logo to the sleeves (1996). The shoulder stripes on the white jerseys did not appear until 1969, the year they went to their first Super Bowl. And from 1961 to 1964, the Vikings wore purple pants with their white jerseys. The Vikings wore black shoes until Les Steckel became the coach in 1984.
During the 1964 season, the Vikings along with several other NFL teams wore their white jerseys for home games to allow their fans to see what the other teams primary jerseys looked like. The Lions played at Met Stadium on October 11. The Lions only brought their white jerseys. The Vikings had also brought their white jerseys to the stadium. The team practiced at Midway Stadium in St. Paul and that is where they stored their equipment. Both teams started the game in their white jerseys. By the second quarter the Vikings had been able to get their purple jerseys to Met Stadium. The team changed jerseys on the sidelines and finished the game in purple jerseys and purple pants.
The team's uniforms were redesigned in 2006, the first significant change in the franchise's 46-year history. Although the team colors remained the same, trim lines were added to the outside shoulders and sleeves, and the sides of the jerseys and pants. In addition the horn on the helmet was slightly more defined. Included in the new design are both white and purple pants. The team will also return to black shoes for first time since the 1983 season.[1] [2]
The team wore black armbands for the last four games in 1978 in memory of Jacko Nelson an assistant coach who died during the season. In 1985 the team wore a 25 years patch on their jerseys. In 1989, they wore a "40 for 60" patch honoring the 1969 NFL championship team. They wore a 35 years patch in 1995, 40 years in 2000 and 45 years in 2005. They also wore patches in 1999 for assistant coach Chip Myer who died in the offseason and in 2001 for Korey Stringer. The Vikings like the other teams wore NFL 50 and 75 year patches in 1969 and 1994.
[edit] Franchise traditions, trends
[edit] Viking horn
A two-note clarion call mimicking an authentic warrior horn. Often played over the Metrodome PA system to incite the crowd into a frenzy.
To listen to a sample of the Viking horn go to:Vikings Tailgating
[edit] Helga hats
Viking fans are known to dress up in "Helga Hats", or purple hats with white horns and blond braids, mimicking the helmets popularly, (but incorrectly) believed to have been worn by Viking warriors.
[edit] Mascot
The current team mascot is Ragnar, possibly the only "human" mascot in professional sports, meaning that he doesn't wear anything over his head. Ragnar (played by Joseph Juranitch) has been working for the Vikings since 1994, and claims to be the most widely-recognized mascot in the world. Jurantich admits to being somewhat of an eccentric—he holds the current world record for fastest time shaving a beard with an axe. Ragnar drives onto the field at the beginning of games on a motorcycle or snowmobile, and during the games on a Segway.
Another mascot associated with the Vikings was "Vikadontis Rex." V.R. was a purple dinosaur and was the official mascot of the Minnesota Vikings Children's Fund. V.R. took part in the 1995 Celebrity Mascot Olympics. Vikadontis was retired starting with the 2000 season.
During the 1970s, 1980s, Hub Meeds dressed as a Viking and served as the team mascot.
[edit] Season-by-season records
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties
| Season | W | L | T | Finish | Playoff Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 7th West | -- |
| 1962 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 6th West | -- |
| 1963 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 4th West | -- |
| 1964 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2nd West | -- |
| 1965 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 5th West | -- |
| 1966 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 6th West | -- |
| 1967 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 4th Central | -- |
| 1968 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 1st Central | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Colts) |
| 1969 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1st Central | Won Divisional Playoffs (Rams) Won NFL Championship (Browns) Lost Super Bowl IV (Chiefs) |
| 1970 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1st NFC Central | Lost Divisional Playoffs (49ers) |
| 1971 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1st NFC Central | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Cowboys) |
| 1972 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3rd NFC Central | -- |
| 1973 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1st NFC Central | Won Divisional Playoffs (Redskins) Won Conference Championship (Cowboys) Lost Super Bowl VIII (Dolphins) |
| 1974 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 1st NFC Central | Won Divisional Playoffs (Cardinals) Won Conference Championship (Rams) Lost Super Bowl IX (Steelers) |
| 1975 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1st NFC Central | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Cowboys) |
| 1976 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 1st NFC Central | Won Divisional Playoffs (Redskins) Won Conference Championship (Rams) Lost Super Bowl XI (Raiders) |
| 1977 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 1st NFC Central | Won Divisional Playoffs (Rams) Lost Conference Championship (Cowboys) |
| 1978 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 1st NFC Central | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Rams) |
| 1979 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 3rd NFC Central | -- |
| 1980 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 1st NFC Central | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Eagles) |
| 1981 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 4th NFC Central | -- |
| 1982 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4th NFC Conf. | Won First Round (Falcons) Lost Second Round (Redskins) |
| 1983 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 4th NFC Central | -- |
| 1984 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 5th NFC Central | -- |
| 1985 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 3rd NFC Central | -- |
| 1986 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2nd NFC Central | -- |
| 1987 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 2nd NFC Central | Won Wild Card Playoffs (Saints) Won Divisional Playoffs (49ers) Lost Conference Championship (Redskins) |
| 1988 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 2nd NFC Central | Won Wild Card Playoffs (Rams) Lost Divisional Playoffs (49ers) |
| 1989 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 1st NFC Central | Lost Divisional Playoffs (49ers) |
| 1990 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 5th NFC Central | -- |
| 1991 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 3rd NFC Central | -- |
| 1992 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 1st NFC Central | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Redskins) |
| 1993 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2nd NFC Central | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Giants) |
| 1994 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 1st NFC Central | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Bears) |
| 1995 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 4th NFC Central | -- |
| 1996 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2nd NFC Central | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Cowboys) |
| 1997 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 4th NFC Central | Won Wild Card Playoffs (Giants) Lost Divisional Playoffs (49ers) |
| 1998 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1st NFC Central | Won Divisional Playoffs (Cardinals) Lost Conference Championship (Falcons) |
| 1999 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 2nd NFC Central | Won Wild Card Playoffs (Cowboys) Lost Divisional Playoffs (Rams) |
| 2000 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 1st NFC Central | Won Divisional Playoffs (Saints) Lost Conference Championship (Giants) |
| 2001 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 4th NFC Central | -- |
| 2002 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 2nd NFC North | -- |
| 2003 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2nd NFC North | -- |
| 2004 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 2nd NFC North | Won Wild Card Playoffs (Packers) Lost Divisional Playoffs (Eagles) |
| 2005 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2nd NFC North | -- |
| *2006 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 2nd NFC North | -- |
| Totals | 391 | 326 | 9 | (1961-2005, including NFL playoffs) | |
[edit] Vikings all time regular season record against NFL teams
{1961- Nov 12, 2006 week 10 (Green Bay)}
| Team | Overall W-L-T | Home W-L-T | Road W-L-T |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 8-9-0 | 3-4-0 | 5-5-0 |
| Atlanta | 14-8-0 | 8-2-0 | 6-6-0 |
| Baltimore | 1-2-0 | 0-0-0 | 1-2-0 |
| Buffalo | 7-4-0 | 3-1-0 | 4-3-0 |
| Carolina | 4-3-0 | 4-2-0 | 0-1-0 |
| Chicago | 48-40-2 | 28-18-0 | 20-22-2 |
| Cincinnati | 5-5-0 | 4-0-0 | 1-5-0 |
| Cleveland | 9-3-0 | 6-1-0 | 3-2-0 |
| Dallas | 10-9-0 | 4-7-0 | 6-2-0 |
| Denver | 7-4-0 | 4-2-0 | 3-2-0 |
| Detroit | 59-29-2 | 32-12-1 | 27-17-1 |
| Green Bay | 44-45-1 | 23-22-0 | 21-23-1 |
| Houston | 1-0-0 | 0-0-0 | 1-0-0 |
| Indianapolis | 7-13-1 | 7-4-1 | 0-9-0 |
| Jacksonville | 2-1-0 | 2-1-0 | 0-0-0 |
| Kansas City | 4-4-0 | 3-2-0 | 1-2-0 |
| Miami | 4-4-0 | 3-2-0 | 1-2-0 |
| New England | 4-6-0 | 2-2-0 | 2-4-0 |
| New Orleans | 17-7-0 | 11-2-0 | 6-5-0 |
| NY Giants | 10-8-0 | 4-4-0 | 6-4-0 |
| NY Jets | 1-6-0 | 1-2-0 | 0-4-0 |
| Oakland | 3-8-0 | 2-3-0 | 1-5-0 |
| Philadelphia | 11-8-0 | 6-2-0 | 5-6-0 |
| Pittsburgh | 8-6-0 | 4-2-0 | 4-4-0 |
| Saint Louis | 17-13-2 | 10-2-2 | 7-11-0 |
| San Diego | 4-5-0 | 3-3-0 | 1-2-0 |
| San Francisco | 18-18-1 | 12-8-0 | 6-10-1 |
| Seattle | 4-6-0 | 2-2-0 | 2-4-0 |
| Tampa Bay | 31-19-0 | 18-7-0 | 13-12-0 |
| Tennessee | 7-3-0 | 6-1-0 | 1-2-0 |
| Washington | 6-7-0 | 2-4-0 | 4-3-0 |
[edit] Players of note
[edit] Current players
| (as of September 27, 2006) | ||||||
|
Quarterbacks
|
Offensive line
|
Defensive line
|
Practice squad
Injured Reserve
(* Denotes rookies and first year players) |
|||
[edit] Pro Football Hall of Famers
Other Hall of Famers who played or coach part of their career with team
[edit] Retired numbers
- 10 - Fran Tarkenton
- 53 - Mick Tingelhoff
- 70 - Jim Marshall
- 77 - Korey Stringer
- 80 - Cris Carter
- 88 - Alan Page
[edit] Other notable alumni
- Grady Alderman
- Morten Andersen
- Gary Anderson
- Jerry Ball
- Darren Bennett
- Matt Blair
- Bill Brown
- Joey Browner
- Bobby Bryant
- Anthony Carter
- Cris Carter
- Byron Chamberlain
- Jeff Christy
- Fred Cox
- Randall Cunningham
- Jack Del Rio
- Chris Doleman
- Paul Flatley
- Chuck Foreman
- Rich Gannon
- Jeff George
- Andrew Glover
- Scottie Graham
- Robert Griffith
- Eric Guliford
- Brian Habib
- Matthew Hatchette
- Jimmy Hitchcock
- Leroy Hoard
- Qadry Ismail
- Steve Jordan
- Joe Kapp
- Tommy Kramer
- Gary Larsen
- Carl Lee
- Ed McDaniel
- Randall McDaniel
- Jim McMahon
- Keith Millard
- Warren Moon
- Darrin Nelson
- Al Noga
- Dave Osborn
- David Palmer
- John Randle
- Ahmad Rashad
- Jake Reed
- Fuad Reveiz
- Steve Riley
- Dwayne Rudd
- Sean Salisbury
- Todd Scott
- Robert Smith
- Todd Steussie
- Korey Stringer
- Scott Studwell
- Orlando Thomas
- Herschel Walker
- Chris Walsh
- Sammy White
- Wade Wilson
- Nate Wright
- Gary Zimmerman
Former notable alumni still active
- Michael Bennett
- Mitch Berger
- Nate Burleson
- Kelly Campbell
- Corey Chavous
- Chris Claiborne
- Duane Clemons
- Sam Cowart
- Daunte Culpepper
- Jay Fiedler
- Melvin Fowler
- Gus Frerotte
- Chris Hovan
- Ken Irvin
- Lance Johnstone
- Randy Moss
- Keith Newman
- Koren Robinson
- Raonall Smith
- Robert Tate
- Mike Tice(head coach)
- Moe Williams
- Brian Williams
- Kailee Wong
[edit] 2006 NFL Draft picks
| Round/Pick | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/17 | Chad Greenway | Linebacker | Iowa |
| 2/48 | Cedric Griffin | Cornerback | Texas |
| 2/51 | Ryan Cook | Center | New Mexico |
| 2/64 (From Pittsburgh) | Tarvaris Jackson | Quarterback | Alabama State |
| 4/127 | Ray Edwards | Defensive End | Purdue |
| 5/149 | Greg Blue | Safety | Georgia |
[edit] Head Coaches
| Name | Years | Won | Lost | Ties | Winning % | Games | Post Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norm Van Brocklin | 1961-66 | 29 | 51 | 4 | .363 | 84 | - |
| Bud Grant | 1967-83 | 151 | 87 | 5 | .634 | 243 | 1968-71, 1973-78, 1980, 1982 |
| Les Steckel | 1984 | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 16 | - |
| Bud Grant | 1985 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 16 | - |
| Jerry Burns | 1986-91 | 52 | 43 | 0 | .547 | 95 | 1987-89 |
| Dennis Green | 1992-2001 | 97 | 62 | 0 | .610 | 159 | 1992-94, 1996-2000 |
| Mike Tice | 2001-05 | 32 | 33 | 0 | .492 | 65 | 2004 |
| Brad Childress | 2006- | 6 | 7 | 0 | .462 | 13 | - |
[edit] Current Staff
- Head Coach - Brad Childress
- Offensive Coordinator - Darrell Bevell
- Defensive Coordinator - Mike Tomlin
- Special Teams Coach - Paul Ferraro
- Quarterbacks Coach - Kevin Rogers
- Running Backs Coach - Eric Bieniemy
- Wide Receivers Coach - Darrell Wyatt
- Tight Ends Coach - Jimmie Johnson
- Offensive Line Coach - Pat Morris
- Offensive Assistant - Chad O'Shea
- Defensive Line Coach - Karl Dunbar
- Linebackers Coach - Fred Pagac
- Defensive Backs Coach - Joe Woods
- Defensive Assistant - Matt Sheldon
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Dave Mandelbaum. Vikings.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-22.
- Mike Marshall. Minnesota Vikings History
