| Minnesota Vikings at Dallas Cowboys |
| Game Statistics & Box Score |
| Date: September 24, 1961 Location: Dallas, TX Venue: Cotton Bowl Attendance: 12992 |
| Weather: Cloudy Temp: 86 F Humidty: 55% Wind: 15 mph |
| Score By Quarters | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota VikingsMIN | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Dallas CowboysDAL | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Qtr | Team | Scoring Plays | MIN | DAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas CowboysDAL | Amos Marsh 6 run (Allen Green kick) | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | Dallas CowboysDAL | Don Meredith 20 run (Allen Green kick) | 0 | 14 |
| 2 | Minnesota VikingsMIN | Tommy Mason 4 run (Mike Mercer kick) | 7 | 14 |
| 4 | Dallas CowboysDAL | Amos Marsh 19 pass from Don Meredith (Allen Green kick) | 7 | 21 |
| LINEUPS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | ||
| Offense | ||
| 39 | SE | Dave Middleton |
| 67 | LOT | Grady Alderman |
| 65 | LOG | Gerry Huth |
| 52 | C | Bill Lapham |
| 64 | ROG | Mike Rabold |
| 72 | ROT | Frank Youso |
| 85 | TE | Bob Schnelker |
| 10 | QB | Fran Tarkenton |
| 28 | HB | Dick Haley |
| 39 | FL | Hugh McElhenny |
| 33 | FB | Mel Triplett |
| Defense | ||
| 70 | LDE | Jim Marshall |
| 79 | LDT | Jim Prestel |
| 73 | RDT | Bill Bishop |
| 83 | RDE | Don Joyce |
| 31 | LLB | Clancy Osborne |
| 58 | MLB | Rip Hawkins |
| 54 | RLB | Karl Rubke |
| 40 | LCB | Jack Morris |
| 24 | LS | Rich Mostardi |
| 26 | RS | Charlie Sumner |
| 22 | RCB | Dick Pesonen |
| Dallas Cowboys | ||
| Offense | ||
| 81 | SE | Billy Howton |
| 75 | LOT | Bob Fry |
| 62 | LOG | Andy Cvercko |
| 53 | C | Mike Connelly |
| 63 | ROG | Mike Falls |
| 71 | ROT | Charlie Granger |
| 36 | TE | Dick Bielski |
| 17 | QB | Don Meredith |
| 45 | HB | L.G. Dupre |
| 82 | FL | Frank Clarke |
| 31 | FB | Amos Marsh |
| Defense | ||
| 74 | LDE | Bob Lilly |
| 78 | LDT | Don Healy |
| 72 | RDT | Bill Herchman |
| 87 | RDE | Nate Borden |
| 54 | LLB | Chuck Howley |
| 50 | MLB | Jerry Tubbs |
| 33 | RLB | Gene Babb |
| 41 | LCB | Warren Livingston |
| 20 | LS | Bob Bercich |
| 42 | RS | Dicky Moegle |
| 44 | RCB | Don Bishop |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | FD | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rdDownEff | 4thDownEff | PEN | PENY | FUM | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIN | 16 | 8 | 8 | 0 | / | / | 3 | 25 | 1 | 0 | |
| DAL | 22 | 10 | 11 | 1 | / | / | 4 | 50 | 2 | 1 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | |||||
| Mel Triplett | 9 | 57 | 6.3 | 14 | 0 |
| Hugh McElhenny | 9 | 42 | 4.7 | 9 | 0 |
| Tommy Mason | 4 | 12 | 3.0 | 6 | 1 |
| Fran Tarkenton | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 14 | 0 |
| Doug Mayberry | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 25 | 125 | 5.0 | 14 | 1 |
| Dallas Cowboys | |||||
| Don Perkins | 17 | 108 | 6.4 | 47 | 0 |
| Amos Marsh | 11 | 64 | 5.8 | 21 | 1 |
| Don Meredith | 6 | 36 | 6.0 | 20t | 1 |
| L.G. Dupre | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don McIlhenny | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 36 | 208 | 5.8 | 2 | |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD | TS | YL | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | |||||||||||
| Fran Tarkenton | 24 | 8 | 33.3 | 2 | 117 | 4.9 | 49 | 0 | 24 | 15.5 | |
| George Shaw | 7 | 5 | 71.4 | 1 | 33 | 4.7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 41.7 | |
| Team Totals | 31 | 13 | 41.9 | 3 | 150 | 4.8 | 49 | 0 | 24 | 17.6 | |
| Dallas Cowboys | |||||||||||
| Don Meredith | 22 | 12 | 54.5 | 1 | 163 | 7.4 | 25 | 1 | 9 | 74.6 | |
| Eddie LeBaron | 8 | 5 | 62.5 | 1 | 75 | 9.4 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 53.6 | |
| Team Totals | 30 | 17 | 56.7 | 2 | 238 | 7.9 | 25 | 1 | 9 | 65.7 | |
| RECEIVING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | |||||
| A.D. Williams | 4 | 78 | 19.5 | 49 | 0 |
| Hugh McElhenny | 2 | 22 | 11.0 | 17 | 0 |
| Dick Haley | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 14 | 0 |
| Dave Middleton | 1 | 19 | 19.0 | 19 | 0 |
| Doug Mayberry | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 13 | 0 |
| Jerry Reichow | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 |
| Mel Triplett | 1 | -3 | -3.0 | -3 | 0 |
| Tommy Mason | 1 | -5 | -5.0 | -5 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 13 | 150 | 11.5 | 49 | 0 |
| Dallas Cowboys | |||||
| Don Perkins | 5 | 61 | 12.2 | 17 | 0 |
| Frank Clarke | 3 | 58 | 19.3 | 21 | 0 |
| Amos Marsh | 3 | 37 | 12.3 | 19t | 1 |
| Billy Howton | 2 | 46 | 23.0 | 25 | 0 |
| Dick Bielski | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 15 | 0 |
| L.G. Dupre | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 8 | 0 |
| Jim Doran | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 |
| Don McIlhenny | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 6 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 17 | 238 | 14.0 | 25 | 1 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | |||||
| Rip Hawkins | 1 | 35 | 35.0 | 35 | 0 |
| Clancy Osborne | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 8 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 2 | 43 | 21.5 | 35 | 0 |
| Dallas Cowboys | |||||
| Don Bishop | 1 | 24 | 24.0 | 24 | 0 |
| Warren Livingston | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 |
| Bob Bercich | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 3 | 27 | 9.0 | 25 | 0 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | |||||
| Mike Mercer | 5 | 208 | 41.6 | 56 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 5 | 208 | 41.6 | 56 | |
| Dallas Cowboys | |||||
| Allen Green | 4 | 146 | 36.5 | 40 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 4 | 146 | 36.5 | ||
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | ||||||
| Hugh McElhenny | 1 | 19 | 19.0 | 19 | 0 | |
| Tommy Mason | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 2 | 26 | 13.0 | 19 | 0 | |
| Dallas Cowboys | ||||||
| Amos Marsh | 2 | 0 | 11 | 5.5 | 11 | 0 |
| Warren Livingston | 1 | 0 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 3 | 23 | 7.7 | 12 | 0 | |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | ||||||
| Tommy Mason | 2 | 42 | 21.0 | 28 | 0 | |
| Billy Gault | 2 | 41 | 20.5 | 21 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 4 | 83 | 20.8 | 28 | 0 | |
| Dallas Cowboys | ||||||
| Don Perkins | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 18 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 18 | 0 | |