1964 Minnesota Vikings season

1964 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach Norm Van Brocklin
General manager Jim Finks
Home field Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record 8–5–1
Division place T-2nd NFL Western
Playoff finish did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season Next season
< 1963 1965 >

The 1964 Minnesota Vikings season was the fourth year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 45th regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of eight wins, five losses, and one tie under head coach Norm Van Brocklin. The eight wins was the most at the time in the franchise's four-year history. To date, this is the only season the Vikings wore white jerseys for their home games.

Offseason

1964 Draft

Main article: 1964 NFL draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Choice Overall
1 6 6 Carl Eller Defensive Tackle Minnesota
2 5 19 Hal Bedsole Wide Receiver USC
3 6 34 George Rose Running Back Auburn
4 5 47 Traded to the Chicago Bears[a]
11 53 Tom Keating Defensive Tackle Michigan from Giants[b]
5 6 62 John Kirby Linebacker Nebraska
6 5 75 Bob Lacey Wide Receiver North Carolina
7 6 90 Wes Bryant Defensive Tackle Arkansas
8 5 103 Bill McWatters Fullback North Texas State
9 6 118 Darrell Lester Fullback McNeese State
10 5 131 Traded to the Los Angeles Rams[c]
11 6 146 H.O. Estes Guard East Central State
12 5 159 Sandy Sands Wide Receiver Texas
13 6 174 Russ Vollmer Running Back Memphis State
14 5 187 Tom Michel Running Back East Carolina
15 6 202 Monte Kiffin Defensive Tackle Nebraska
16 5 215 Carlton Oats Wide Receiver Florida A&M
17 6 230 Jerry McClurg Wide Receiver Colorado
18 5 243 Carl Robinson Defensive Tackle Prairie View A&M
19 6 258 Dick Schott Wide Receiver Louisville
20 5 271 Milt Sunde Offensive Tackle Minnesota
^[a] Minnesota traded their 4th round selection (47th overall) to Chicago for RB Bill Brown.
^[b] The New York Giants traded their 4th round selection (53rd overall) and 1965 2nd round selection (15th overall) to Minnesota for RB Hugh McElhenny.
^[c] Minnesota traded their 10th round selection (131st overall) to the Los Angeles Rams for RB Tommy Wilson.

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance Record
1 1964-09-13 Baltimore Colts W 34–24 Metropolitan Stadium 35,563[1] 1–0
2 1964-09-20 Chicago Bears L 7-28 Metropolitan Stadium 41,387 1–1
3 1964-09-27 at Los Angeles Rams L 13-22 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 50,009 1–2
4 1964-10-04 at Green Bay Packers W 24–23 City Stadium 42,327 2–2
5 1964-10-11 Detroit Lions L 20-24 Metropolitan Stadium 40,840 2–3
6 1964-10-18 Pittsburgh Steelers W 30–10 Metropolitan Stadium 39,873 3–3
7 1964-10-25 at San Francisco 49ers W 27–22 Kezar Stadium 31,845 4–3
8 1964-11-01 Green Bay Packers L 13-42 Metropolitan Stadium 44,278[2] 4–4
9 1964-11-08 San Francisco 49ers W 24–7 Metropolitan Stadium 40,408 5–4
10 1964-11-15 at Baltimore Colts L 14-17 Memorial Stadium 60,213 5–5
11 1964-11-22 at Detroit Lions T 23–23 Tiger Stadium 48,291 5–5–1
12 1964-11-29 Los Angeles Rams W 34–13 Metropolitan Stadium 31,677 6–5–1
13 1964-12-06 at New York Giants W 30–21 Yankee Stadium 62,802 7–5–1
14 1964-12-13 at Chicago Bears W 41–14 Wrigley Field 46,486 8–5–1
  1. ↑ This is an opening day attendance record at Metropolitan Stadium.
  2. ↑ This is a single game attendance record at Metropolitan Stadium.

Standings

NFL Western Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Baltimore Colts 12 2 0 .857 10–2 428 225 W1
Green Bay Packers 8 5 1 .615 6–5–1 342 245 T1
Minnesota Vikings 8 5 1 .615 6–5–1 355 296 W3
Detroit Lions 7 5 2 .583 6–4–2 280 260 W2
Los Angeles Rams 5 7 2 .417 3–7–2 283 339 T1
Chicago Bears 5 9 0 .357 5–7 260 379 L2
San Francisco 49ers 4 10 0 .286 3–9 236 330 L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Statistics

Team leaders

Category Player(s) Value
Passing Yards Fran Tarkenton 2,506
Passing Touchdowns Fran Tarkenton 22
Rushing Yards Bill Brown 866
Rushing Touchdowns Bill Brown 7
Receiving Yards Bill Brown 703
Receiving Touchdowns Bill Brown 9
Points Fred Cox 103
Kickoff Return Yards Bill Butler 597
Punt Return Yards Bill Butler 156
Interceptions George Rose 6

League rankings

Category Total Yards Yards Per Game NFL Rank
(out of 14)
Passing Offense 2,123 Yards 151.6 YPG 11th
Rushing Offense 2,183 Yards 155.9 YPG 2nd
Total Offense 4,306 Yards 307.6 YPG 6th
Passing Defense 2,724 Yards 194.6 YPG 13th
Rushing Defense 1,616 Yards 115.4 YPG 5th
Total Defense 4,340 Yards 310.0 YPG 10th

References