Mick Tingelhoff

Henry Michael "Mick" Tingelhoff (born May 22, 1940) is a former football center who played for the Minnesota Vikings from 1962-1978.

College career

Tingelhoff attended the University of Nebraska. He earned three letters during his football career there, but did not become a starter until his senior season in 1961. Mick was a co-captain of that 1961 team, which had its biggest offensive output in over five seasons.^[1] Tingelhoff participated in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama and in the All-American Bowl after the regular season was over.

NFL career

After graduating from Nebraska, Tingelhoff entered the 1962 NFL Draft but was not drafted and instead signed with the Minnesota Vikings as a free agent in 1962. He became their starting center during his rookie season and held that spot until he retired in 1978. He was an AP First Team All-Pro selection for the first of five times in 1964 and also began a streak of six straight Pro Bowl appearances (1964–1969) that season. In 1967, he was named First Team All-Pro by Newspaper Enterprise Association and UPI and Second Team All-Pro by the AP. In 1969, he was named the NFL's Top Offensive Lineman of the Year by the 1,000-Yard Club in Columbus, Ohio.^[2] In 1970, he was named First Team All-Pro by both the PFWA and Pro Football Weekly. He was also named Second Team All-Pro by Newspaper Enterprise Association. He was named First Team All-NFC for that season by the AP.

Tingelhoff was one of 10 players to have played in all four Vikings Super Bowl appearances in the 1970s. At the moment of his retirement he had started in the 2nd most consecutive games (240 games) in NFL history behind teammate Jim Marshall (270). He was inducted into the Vikings Ring of Honor in 2001 and has had his #53 retired by the franchise. He is also a member of the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame but has not yet been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

References