Vikings Legends, Vol. 2 Fran Tarkenton

Throughout their history, the Vikings have had some legendary names grace the field in purple and gold. Some have gone on to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame, others remain fondly remembered only in the memories of Vikings fans, but they’ve all left an indelible mark on the history of our favourite franchise.

In this series, we’re shining a spotlight on some of the greatest Vikings and reminding you exactly why they’re so beloved. This time, a trailblazer who redefined the way his position was played and left defenses scrambled: quarterback Fran Tarkenton.

Son of a preacher man

The son of a Pentecostal minister and named after a prominent Methodist bishop, Francis Asbury Tarkenton was born with a god-given talent for football. Although he was born in Richmond, Virginia, his family moved to Athens, Georgia, when he was 11, and it was there that he made his name as a high school athlete. He played baseball and basketball, but it was as a quarterback for the Athens High School Trojans football team where he stood out most, leading them to the state championship in 1955.

From there, he went on to play college football for the University of Georgia, and in 1957, he led the school’s freshman team to an undefeated season. Two years later, he led the Bulldogs to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) title as well as a 14–0 victory over Missouri in the Orange Bowl. His standout performances in his junior and senior years led to him being named in the All-SEC teams for both 1959 and 1960.

Scramblin’ Fran

Tarkenton had an unorthodox but effective style of play. At the time, most quarterbacks would stand in the pocket looking for a downfield pass, and ultimately take a sack if no one was open. Tarkenton, however, had the ability to scramble out of the pocket to evade would-be tacklers, buying his receivers time to get open. It was a strategy that was frowned on by football purists, but it brought him a great deal of success, and ultimately a professional contract.

In the 1961 NFL draft, Tarkenton was selected in the third round by the newly formed Minnesota Vikings. They had competition for his signature from the Boston Patriots, who had made him their fifth-round selection in the AFL draft that year, but the quarterback decided to sign with the Vikings. There he would play under head coach Norm Van Brocklin, himself a former quarterback who had played for the Rams and the Eagles.

Non-starter

Van Brocklin named Tarkenton as the backup to George Shaw for the Vikings’ first ever regular season game against the Chicago Bears on September 17, 1961, but inside the first quarter, the Georgia Scrambler had taken over under center. He ended up throwing for four touchdowns and rushing for another on the way to a 37–13 victory, before being named the starter for the following game.

A loss to the Cowboys meant Shaw took over again for the next two games, but Tarkenton was still able to put up numbers and eventually took the starting job permanently in week 5 against the Packers. Although the Vikings won just three games all season, Tarkenton impressed, throwing for almost 2,000 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also came second in the AP Rookie of the Year voting, finishing behind only Bears tight end Mike Ditka.

Falling out with the Dutchman

It wasn’t until 1964 that Tarkenton’s Vikings managed a winning record, going 8–5–1 in the regular season, including a first ever victory over Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers. The Vikings missed out on the playoffs to the Packers by point differential, but Tarkenton’s personal performance was recognised with a first Pro Bowl nomination; he backed that up by winning the Pro Bowl MVP award after leading the Western Conference to a 34–14 win.

Another Pro Bowl nomination followed in 1965, but the Vikings regressed over the next two seasons, and the relationship between Tarkenton and Van Brocklin deteriorated in kind. The old-school coach did not appreciate his quarterback’s revolutionary style, and the two butted heads on more than one occasion. Tarkenton requested a trade at the end of the 1966 season, and despite Van Brocklin’s resignation in February 1967, Tarkenton was sent to the New York Giants in exchange for two first-round draft picks, including the first overall selection in 1968, which the team used on future Hall of Fame offensive tackle Ron Yary.

Standing on the shoulders of Giants

Tarkenton notched his first ever 3,000-yard season in his first year with the Giants, and his performances helped them to four straight second-place finishes in their division. Tarkenton also received four more Pro Bowl nominations and finished in third place in the voting for the 1970 league MVP award. However, the postseason continued to elude him, while the Vikings managed four straight playoff appearances between 1968 and 1971 under new head coach Bud Grant, as well as their first Super Bowl appearance in 1969.

The 1969 Super Bowl runners-up traded back for Tarkenton in 1972, giving up three players and two draft picks to restore a fan favourite to the lineup. Although the team regressed from 11–3 in 1971 to 7–7 with Tarkenton back at the helm, they bounced back immediately, reaching three of the next four Super Bowls in a run of six straight playoff appearances.

They were unable to get over the final hurdle, though, suffering defeats to the Dolphins, Steelers and Raiders in Super Bowls VIII, IX and XI respectively. Those failures weighed heavily on Tarkenton, and he later said, “I have never gotten over that. I never have a day go by that I don’t regret not being able to do something more to help my team win a Super Bowl.”

Winning the league MVP

Ironically, his most successful year on a personal level came in the one season in that stretch where the team failed to reach the Super Bowl; in a 12–2 campaign that ended with defeat to the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round, a game they lost on the original ‘Hail Mary’ pass by Roger Staubach, Tarkenton was recognised as the league’s best player, winning his only league MVP award, as well as being named the Offensive Player of the Year and earning his only first-team All-Pro nomination.

A broken leg stunted Tarkenton’s 1977 season, but he still managed to throw for 1,734 yards in nine games, ensuring he kept up a career-long record of throwing for at least 1,000 yards in each of his 18 years in the league. He came back for one final season with the Vikings in 1978, and it was statistically the best of his career in purple, throwing for 3,468 yards and 25 touchdowns; however, the team finished 8-7-1, and although they won their division, they were dumped out of the playoffs by the Rams at the first hurdle.

Retirement and legacy

Tarkenton retired after the 1978 season, at which point he held regular-season passing records for the most yards (47,003) and the most touchdowns (342), records he held until 1995, when he was overtaken by Dan Marino. He also led the league in rushing yards by a quarterback; his total of 3,674 yards has since been bettered by only six other players, and he remains 16th in the all-time list for the most rushing TDs by a quarterback. In October 1979, in recognition of his status as a Vikings icon, Tarkenton’s number 10 jersey was retired by the team, and in 1998, he was the inaugural inductee into the Vikings Ring of Honor.

His coach during his second spell at the Vikings, Bud Grant, referred to him as “the greatest quarterback to ever play the game”, and it seemed that was an opinion shared by much of the football fraternity; he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986, becoming the first player who spent the majority of his career with the Vikings to be enshrined in Canton. The following year, he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame for his time at Georgia.

Further recognised as a member of the Vikings’ 25th and 40th anniversary teams, as well as one of their 50 greatest players of all time for their 50th anniversary in 2010, Tarkenton’s status as a Vikings legend will surely remain untouched for years to come, and the team’s quarterbacks will always be compared to Scramblin’ Fran.