1961 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) |
| 7th place • Western Conference • 3-11-0 .214 |
| Head Coach: Norm Van Brocklin |
| Pete Brewster | Offensive Ends |
| Harry Gilmer | Defensive Backs |
| Stan West | Defensive Line |
| Walt Yowarsky | Offensive Line |
| SCORES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Venue | Attendance | |||
| Sat | 8/5/1961 | N | Dallas Cowboys | 13-38 | L | Sioux Falls, SD | Howard Wood Field | 4954 | |
| Fri | 8/18/1961 | A | Baltimore Colts | 3-13 | L | Baltimore, MD | Memorial Stadium | 10203 | |
| Sat | 8/26/1961 | N | San Francisco 49ers | 10-14 | L | Portland, OR | Multnomah Stadium | 27044 | |
| Sat | 9/2/1961 | H | Chicago Bears | 7-30 | L | Cedar Rapids, IA | Kingston Stadium | 12500 | |
| Sun | 9/10/1961 | H | Los Angeles Rams | 17-21 | L | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 27922 | |
| Sun | 9/17/1961 | H | Chicago Bears | 37-13 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 32326 | |
| Sun | 9/24/1961 | A | Dallas Cowboys | 7-21 | L | Dallas, TX | Cotton Bowl | 12992 | |
| Sun | 10/1/1961 | A | Baltimore Colts | 33-34 | L | Baltimore, MD | Memorial Stadium | 54259 | |
| Sun | 10/8/1961 | H | Dallas Cowboys | 0-28 | L | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 33070 | |
| Sun | 10/15/1961 | H | San Francisco 49ers | 24-38 | L | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 34415 | |
| Sun | 10/22/1961 | H | Green Bay Packers | 7-33 | L | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 42007 | |
| Sun | 10/29/1961 | A | Green Bay Packers | 10-28 | L | Milwaukee, WI | County Stadium | 44112 | |
| Sun | 11/5/1961 | A | Los Angeles Rams | 17-31 | L | Los Angeles, CA | Memorial Coliseum | 38594 | |
| Sun | 11/12/1961 | H | Baltimore Colts | 28-20 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 38010 | |
| Sun | 11/19/1961 | H | Detroit Lions | 10-37 | L | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 32296 | |
| Sun | 11/26/1961 | A | San Francisco 49ers | 28-38 | L | San Francisco, CA | Kezar Stadium | 43905 | |
| Sun | 12/3/1961 | H | Los Angeles Rams | 42-21 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 30068 | |
| Sun | 12/10/1961 | A | Detroit Lions | 7-13 | L | Detroit, MI | Tiger Stadium | 42655 | |
| Sun | 12/17/1961 | A | Chicago Bears | 35-52 | L | Chicago, IL | Wrigley Field | 34539 | |
Exhibition game. Playoff game. A=Away game. H=Home game. N=Neutral site game. W=Win. L=Loss. T=Tie. OT=Overtime.
Click on Date to see boxscore.
| ROSTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | College | GP | GS |
| Grady Alderman | 67 | LOT | 6-2 | 242 | 23 | Detroit Mercy | 14 | 14 |
| Bill Bishop | 73 | RDT-LDT | 6-4 | 248 | 30 | North Texas | 10 | 2 |
| Jamie Caleb | 23 | FB-FL-HB | 6-1 | 210 | 25 | Grambling State | 10 | 0 |
| Ed Culpepper | 71 | RDT-LDT | 6-1 | 255 | 27 | Alabama | 14 | 14 |
| Bob Denton | 62 | ROT-LOT-LOG | 6-4 | 241 | 27 | Stockton JC; Pacific | 14 | 1 |
| Dean Derby | 25 | LS | 6-0 | 187 | 26 | Washington | 8 | 8 |
| Paul Dickson | 76 | LDE | 6-5 | 252 | 24 | Baylor | 7 | 0 |
| Billy Gault | 44 | DB | 6-1 | 185 | 25 | Texas Christian | 4 | 0 |
| Dick Grecni | 50 | LLB-RLB-MLB | 6-1 | 230 | 23 | Ohio University | 12 | 3 |
| Dick Haley | 28 | HB | 5-10 | 193 | 24 | Pittsburgh | 4 | 2 |
| Rip Hawkins | 58 | MLB | 6-3 | 231 | 22 | North Carolina | 14 | 14 |
| Ray Hayes | 32 | FB | 6-3 | 225 | 26 | Maryland-Eastern Shore; Central Oklahoma | 13 | 4 |
| Gerry Huth | 65 | LOG | 5-11 | 226 | 28 | Wake Forest | 14 | 14 |
| Gene Johnson | 41 | LS | 6-0 | 187 | 26 | Cincinnati | 4 | 0 |
| Don Joyce | 83 | RDE-RDT-LDE | 6-3 | 253 | 32 | Tulane | 14 | 7 |
| Bill Lapham | 52 | C | 6-3 | 250 | 27 | Drake; Iowa | 14 | 13 |
| Jim Leo | 59 | LDE-RDE-LLB-RLB | 6-1 | 222 | 24 | Cincinnati | 14 | 8 |
| Jim Marshall | 70 | LDE-RDE | 6-3 | 239 | 24 | Ohio State | 14 | 12 |
| Tommy Mason | 20 | HB-FL | 6-0 | 195 | 22 | Tulane | 13 | 4 |
| Doug Mayberry | 35 | FB | 6-1 | 223 | 24 | California; Yuba JC; Utah State | 4 | 0 |
| Hugh McElhenny | 39 | FL-HB-FB | 6-1 | 197 | 33 | Compton JC; Washington | 13 | 13 |
| Mike Mercer | 18 | K-P | 6-0 | 208 | 26 | Minnesota; Florida; Hardin-Simmons; Northern Arizona | 14 | 0 |
| Dave Middleton | 39 | SE | 6-1 | 194 | 28 | Auburn | 12 | 10 |
| Jack Morris | 40 | LCB | 6-0 | 189 | 30 | Oregon | 14 | 14 |
| Rich Mostardi | 24 | LS-RS | 5-11 | 188 | 23 | Charleston; Kent State | 11 | 9 |
| Fred Murphy | 88 | TE | 6-3 | 205 | 23 | Georgia Tech | 13 | 0 |
| Clancy Osborne | 31 | LLB | 6-3 | 218 | 27 | Arizona State | 14 | 11 |
| Dick Pesonen | 22 | RCB | 6-0 | 190 | 23 | Minnesota; Minnesota-Duluth | 11 | 11 |
| Ken Petersen | 66 | C-ROG-LOG | 6-2 | 235 | 22 | Utah | 12 | 1 |
| Jim Prestel | 79 | LDT-RDT | 6-5 | 264 | 24 | Idaho | 14 | 13 |
| Mike Rabold | 64 | ROG | 6-2 | 239 | 23 | Indiana | 14 | 14 |
| Jerry Reichow | 89 | HB-FL-QBB | 6-2 | 217 | 27 | Iowa | 14 | 11 |
| Justin Rowland | 47 | RCB | 6-2 | 189 | 24 | Arlington State JC; Texas Christian | 5 | 3 |
| Karl Rubke | 54 | RLB | 6-4 | 240 | 26 | Santa Rosa JC; Southern California | 14 | 14 |
| Bob Schnelker | 85 | TE | 6-3 | 214 | 33 | Bowling Green State | 6 | 6 |
| Ed Sharockman | 45 | CB | 6-0 | 200 | 22 | Pittsburgh | 1 | 0 |
| George Shaw | 14 | QB | 6-1 | 183 | 28 | Oregon | 8 | 4 |
| Will Sherman | 43 | FL-RS-HB-SE | 6-2 | 197 | 34 | St. Mary's (California) | 8 | 2 |
| LeBron Shields | 77 | LDE-RDE | 6-4 | 245 | 24 | Tennessee | 6 | 2 |
| Gordie Smith | 87 | TE | 6-2 | 211 | 22 | Arizona State; Missouri | 9 | 8 |
| Charlie Sumner | 26 | RS | 6-1 | 194 | 31 | William & Mary | 13 | 10 |
| Fran Tarkenton | 10 | QB | 6-1 | 190 | 21 | Georgia | 14 | 10 |
| Mel Triplett | 33 | FB | 6-1 | 215 | 31 | Toledo | 14 | 8 |
| A.D. Williams | 82 | SE | 6-2 | 210 | 28 | Santa Monica JC; Pacific | 13 | 4 |
| Frank Youso | 72 | ROT | 6-4 | 257 | 25 | Minnesota | 14 | 13 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 1 | Tommy Mason | HB | Tulane |
| 2 | 15 | Rip Hawkins | LB | North Carolina |
| 3 | 29 | Fran Tarkenton | QB | Georgia |
| 4 | 43 | Chuck Lamson | HB | Wyoming |
| 5 | 57 | Ed Sharockman | HB | Pittsburgh |
| 6 | 71 | Jerry Burch | E | Georgia Tech |
| 7 | 85 | Al Ferrie | E | Wagner |
| 8 | 99 | Paul Lindquist | T | New Hampshire |
| 9 | 113 | Dan Sheehan | T | Tennessee-Chattanooga |
| 10 | 127 | Doug Mayberry | FB | Utah State |
| 11 | 141 | Jerry Mays | T | Southern Methodist |
| 12 | 155 | Steve Stonebreaker | E | Detroit Mercy |
| 13 | 169 | Ray Hayes | FB | Central Oklahoma |
| 14 | 183 | Ken Petersen | T | Utah |
| 15 | 197 | Mike Mercer | E | Northern Arizona |
| 16 | 211 | Ted Karpowicz | HB | Detroit Mercy |
| 17 | 225 | Willie Jones | B | Purdue |
| 18 | 239 | Bob Voight | T | Los Angeles State |
| 19 | 253 | Bill Hill | FB | Presbyterian |
| 20 | 267 | Mike McFarland | QB | Western Illinois |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 58 | 93 | 83 | 51 | 285 |
| Opponents Totals | 87 | 120 | 80 | 120 | 407 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 29:47 | 236 | 104 | 123 | 9 | 68/183 37.2% | 7/15 46.7% | 36 | 375 |
| Opponents Totals | 30:13 | 291 | 147 | 132 | 12 | 69/162 42.6% | 7/12 58.3% | 65 | 638 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerry Reichow | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 66 | ||
| Mike Mercer | 0 | 36 | 37 | 97.3 | 9 | 21 | 42.9 | 0 | 63 |
| Hugh McElhenny | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | ||
| Fran Tarkenton | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | ||
| Gordon Smith | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Tommy Mason | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Ray Hayes | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Dave Middleton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Bob Schnelker | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Mel Triplett | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| A.D. Williams | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Team Totals | 37 | 36 | 37 | 97.3 | 9 | 21 | 42.9 | 0 | 285 |
| Opponents Totals | 52 | 50 | 52 | 96.2 | 15 | 56 | 26.8 | 0 | 407 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Mercer | 9 | 21 | 42.9 | 3 | 34 | 4/6 | 4/5 | 1/5 | 0/5 | 0/0 |
| Team Totals | 9 | 21 | 42.9 | 3 | 34 | 4/6 | 4/5 | 1/5 | 0/5 | 0/0 |
| Opponents Totals | 15 | 56 | 26.8 | 7/7 | 1/3 | 4/9 | 2/6 | 1/1 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hugh McElhenny | 120 | 570 | 4.8 | 41 | 3 |
| Mel Triplett | 80 | 407 | 5.1 | 37 | 1 |
| Ray Hayes | 73 | 319 | 4.4 | 22 | 2 |
| Fran Tarkenton | 56 | 308 | 5.5 | 52t | 5 |
| Tommy Mason | 60 | 226 | 3.8 | 21 | 3 |
| Doug Mayberry | 13 | 40 | 3.1 | 13 | 0 |
| George Shaw | 10 | 39 | 3.9 | 19 | 0 |
| Jamie Caleb | 3 | 11 | 3.7 | 4 | 0 |
| Jerry Reichow | 3 | 9 | 3.0 | 21 | 0 |
| Mike Mercer | 1 | -32 | -32.0 | -32 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 419 | 1897 | 4.5 | 52t | 14 |
| Opponents Totals | 493 | 2667 | 5.4 | 73 | 29 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fran Tarkenton | 280 | 157 | 56.1 | 106 | 1997 | 7.1 | 12.7 | 71t | 18 | 6.4 | 17 | 6.1 | 44 | 416 | 1581 | 74.7 |
| George Shaw | 91 | 46 | 50.5 | 41 | 530 | 5.8 | 11.5 | 42t | 4 | 4.4 | 4 | 4.4 | 14 | 122 | 408 | 64.8 |
| Jamie Caleb | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | ||
| Tommy Mason | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | ||
| Hugh McElhenny | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | ||
| Jerry Reichow | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 33.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | ||
| Team Totals | 377 | 203 | 53.8 | 152 | 2527 | 6.7 | 12.4 | 71t | 22 | 5.8 | 22 | 5.8 | 538 | 1989 | 70.0 | |
| Opponents Totals | 365 | 194 | 53.2 | 149 | 3051 | 8.4 | 15.7 | 78 | 21 | 5.8 | 22 | 6.0 | 15 | 125 | 2926 | 75.3 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerry Reichow | 50 | 859 | 17.2 | 51t | 11 |
| Hugh McElhenny | 37 | 283 | 7.6 | 26 | 3 |
| Dave Middleton | 30 | 444 | 14.8 | 57t | 2 |
| Tommy Mason | 20 | 122 | 6.1 | 18 | 0 |
| Ray Hayes | 16 | 121 | 7.6 | 22 | 0 |
| A.D. Williams | 13 | 174 | 13.4 | 49 | 1 |
| Gordon Smith | 12 | 320 | 26.7 | 71t | 4 |
| Mel Triplett | 10 | 41 | 4.1 | 15 | 0 |
| Bob Schnelker | 6 | 70 | 11.7 | 20 | 1 |
| Dick Haley | 3 | 43 | 14.3 | 22 | 0 |
| Will Sherman | 2 | 40 | 20.0 | 32 | 0 |
| Doug Mayberry | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 13 | 0 |
| Jamie Caleb | 2 | -8 | -4.0 | 5 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 203 | 2527 | 12.4 | 71t | 22 |
| Opponents Totals | 194 | 3051 | 15.7 | 78 | 21 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rip Hawkins | 5 | 70 | 14.0 | 34 | 0 |
| Clancy Osborne | 4 | 35 | 8.8 | 10 | 0 |
| Dean Derby | 3 | 73 | 24.3 | 30 | 0 |
| Jack Morris | 2 | 90 | 45.0 | 65 | 0 |
| Rich Mostardi | 2 | 22 | 11.0 | 21 | 0 |
| Charlie Sumner | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 6 | 0 |
| Dick Pesonen | 1 | 28 | 28.0 | 28 | 0 |
| Dick Grecni | 1 | 16 | 16.0 | 16 | 0 |
| Karl Rubke | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 |
| Justin Rowland | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 22 | 356 | 16.2 | 65 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 22 | 219 | 10.0 | 2 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Mercer | 63 | 2458 | 39.0 | 59 | 2 | 138 | ||||
| Team Totals | 63 | 2458 | 39.0 | 59 | 2 | 138 | 36.8 | |||
| Opponents Totals | 46 | 1906 | 41.4 | 75 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 309 | 1517 | 33.0 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hugh McElhenny | 8 | 5 | 155 | 19.4 | 81t | 1 |
| Jamie Caleb | 1 | 0 | 8 | 8.0 | 8 | 0 |
| Tommy Mason | 14 | 4 | 146 | 10.4 | 23 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 23 | 9 | 309 | 13.4 | 81t | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 23 | 24 | 138 | 6.0 | 26 | 0 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tommy Mason | 25 | 603 | 24.1 | 42 | 0 | |
| Jamie Caleb | 22 | 504 | 22.9 | 38 | 0 | |
| Justin Rowland | 8 | 175 | 21.9 | 30 | 0 | |
| Dick Pesonen | 6 | 136 | 22.7 | 60 | 0 | |
| Mel Triplett | 3 | 41 | 13.7 | 18 | 0 | |
| Jim Leo | 3 | 9 | 3.0 | 9 | 0 | |
| Hugh McElhenny | 2 | 59 | 29.5 | 35 | 0 | |
| Billy Gault | 2 | 41 | 20.5 | 21 | 0 | |
| Ray Hayes | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 72 | 1568 | 21.8 | 60 | 0 | |
| Opponents Totals | 51 | 1148 | 22.5 | 40 | 0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grady Alderman | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 0 |
| Ed Culpepper | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Dean Derby | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Dick Haley | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ray Hayes | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Gerry Huth | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Marshall | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Tommy Mason | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Hugh McElhenny | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Dave Middleton | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Morris | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Rich Mostardi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 0 |
| Fred Murphy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Clancy Osborne | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Dick Pesonen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ken Petersen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Prestel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| George Shaw | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Gordon Smith | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Charlie Sumner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Fran Tarkenton | 8 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mel Triplett | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 36 | 22 | 14 | 23 | 37 | 37 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 31 | 23 | 8 | 22 | 30 | 0 |
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