1961 Minnesota Vikings season
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1961 Minnesota Vikings season
| 1961 Minnesota Vikings season | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Norm Van Brocklin | ||||||
| Home field | Metropolitan Stadium | ||||||
| Results | |||||||
| Record | 3-11-0 | ||||||
| Division Place | 7th NFL Western | ||||||
| Playoff finish | did not qualify | ||||||
| Timeline | |||||||
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The 1961 Minnesota Vikings season was the first year of season play for the expansion franchise and the 42nd regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of three wins and eleven losses under head coach Norm Van Brocklin. The team's first ever regular season game was a victory against the Chicago Bears, 37-13. In that game, rookie quarterback Fran Tarkenton came off the bench to toss 4 touchdown passes and ran for another.
The Vikings' defense surrendered 5.41 rushing yards-per-attempt in 1961, the fifth-most of all time.[1]
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Contents
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Offseason
1961 NFL Draft
With the first overall pick in the 1961 NFL Draft, the Vikings selected running back Tommy Mason from Tulane University. In the third round, the Vikings selected quarterback Fran Tarkenton, a future hall-of-famer and he later would finish his professional football career as the franchise record holder for most passing yards (33,098) and passing touchdowns (239).
| Round | Overall Pick |
Name | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Tommy Mason | Running back | Tulane |
| 2 | 15 | Rip Hawkins | Linebacker | North Carolina |
| 3 | 29 | Fran Tarkenton | Quarterback | Georgia |
| 4 | 43 | Chuck Lamson | Safety | Wyoming |
| 5 | 57 | Ed Sharockman | Cornerback | Pittsburgh |
| 6 | 71 | Jerry Burch | Offensive lineman | Georgia Tech |
| 7 | 85 | Allan Ferrie | Offensive lineman | Wagner |
| 8 | 99 | Paul Lindquist | Defensive tackle | New Hampshire |
| 9 | 113 | Dan Sheehan | Offensive tackle | Tennessee-Chattanooga |
| 10 | 127 | Doug Mayberry | Fullback | Utah State |
| 11 | 141 | Jerry Mays | Defensive tackle | Southern Methodist |
| 12 | 155 | Steve Stonebreaker | Linebacker | Detroit |
| 13 | 169 | Ray Hayes | Fullback | Central State |
| 14 | 183 | Ken Petersen | Offensive lineman | Utah |
| 15 | 197 | Mike Mercer | Kicker | Arizona State |
| 16 | 211 | Ted Karpowicz | Running back | Detroit |
| 17 | 225 | Willie Jones | Fullback | Purdue |
| 18 | 239 | Bob Voigt | Offensive tackle | Cal State-Los Angeles |
| 19 | 253 | Bill Hill | Fullback | Presbyterian |
| 20 | 267 | Mike McFarland | Quarterback | Western Illinois |
Expansion acquisitions
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Venue | Attendance | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9-17-1961 | Chicago Bears | W 37-13 | Metropolitan Stadium | 32,236 | 1-0 |
| 2 | 9-24-1961 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 21-7 | Cotton Bowl | 20,500 | 1-1 |
| 3 | 10-1-1961 | at Baltimore Colts | L 34-33 | Memorial Stadium | 54,259 | 1-2 |
| 4 | 10-8-1961 | Dallas Cowboys | L 28-0 | Metropolitan Stadium | 33,070 | 1-3 |
| 5 | 10-15-1961 | San Francisco 49ers | L 38-24 | Metropolitan Stadium | 34,415 | 1-4 |
| 6 | 10-22-1961 | Green Bay Packers | L 33-7 | Metropolitan Stadium | 42,007 | 1-5 |
| 7 | 10-29-1961 | at Green Bay Packers | L 28-10 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 44,112 | 1-6 |
| 8 | 11-05-1961 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 31-17 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 38,594 | 1-7 |
| 9 | 11-12-1961 | Baltimore Colts | W 28-20 | Metropolitan Stadium | 38,010 | 2-7 |
| 10 | 11-19-1961 | Detroit Lions | L 37-10 | Metropolitan Stadium | 32,296 | 2-8 |
| 11 | 11-26-1961 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 38-28 | Kezar Stadium | 43,905 | 2-9 |
| 12 | 12-3-1961 | Los Angeles Rams | W 42-21 | Metropolitan Stadium | 30,068 | 3-9 |
| 13 | 12-10-1961 | at Detroit Lions | L 13-7 | Tiger Stadium | 42,655 | 3-10 |
| 14 | 12-17-1961 | at Chicago Bears | L 52-35 | Wrigley Field | 34,539 | 3-11 |
Standings
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against
| NFL Western | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| Green Bay Packers | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 391 | 223 | W-1 |
| Detroit Lions | 8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 270 | 258 | L-1 |
| Chicago Bears | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 326 | 302 | W-2 |
| Baltimore Colts | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 302 | 307 | W-1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 7 | 6 | 1 | .538 | 346 | 272 | L-1 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 263 | 333 | L-1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 285 | 407 | L-2 |
See also
References
- "1961 Draft". Pro Football Hall of Fame. http://www.profootballhof.com/history/release.jsp?release_id=1451. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
- "1961 National Football League". NFLHistory.net. Archived from the original on 22 February 2007. http://nflhistory.net/linescores/pdf/1961n.pdf. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
- "1961 Minnesota Vikings". DatabaseFootball. Archived from the original on 11 April 2007. http://www.databasefootball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=MIN&lg=nfl&yr=1961. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
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| Eastern Conference | Western Conference |
| Cleveland | Baltimore |
| Dallas | Chicago |
| NY Giants | Detroit |
| Philadelphia | Green Bay |
| Pittsburgh | Los Angeles |
| St. Louis | Minnesota |
| Washington | San Francisco |
| 1961 NFL Draft • NFL Championship • Pro Bowl Related: 1961 AFL Season |
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