| Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions |
| Game Statistics & Box Score |
| Date: December 10, 1961 Location: Detroit, MI Venue: Tiger Stadium Attendance: 42655 |
| Weather: Fog Temp: 37 F Humidty: 89% Wind: 14 mph |
| Score By Quarters | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota VikingsMIN | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Detroit LionsDET | 0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 13 |
| Qtr | Team | Scoring Plays | MIN | DET |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Detroit LionsDET | Jim Ninowski 7 run (Jim Martin kick) | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | Minnesota VikingsMIN | Hugh McElhenny 2 pass from Fran Tarkenton (Mike Mercer kick) | 7 | 7 |
| 3 | Detroit LionsDET | Jim Martin 43 FG | 7 | 10 |
| 4 | Detroit LionsDET | Jim Martin 23 FG | 7 | 13 |
| 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 |
| 87 | TE | Gordon Smith |
| 10 | QB | Fran Tarkenton |
| 20 | HB | Tommy Mason |
| 89 | FL | Jerry Reichow |
| 32 | FB | Ray Hayes |
| Defense | ||
| 59 | LDE | Jim Leo |
| 79 | LDT | Jim Prestel |
| 71 | RDT | Ed Culpepper |
| 70 | RDE | Jim Marshall |
| 31 | LLB | Clancy Osborne |
| 58 | MLB | Rip Hawkins |
| 54 | RLB | Karl Rubke |
| 40 | LCB | Jack Morris |
| 25 | LS | Dean Derby |
| 24 | RS | Rich Mostardi |
| 22 | RCB | Dick Pesonen |
| Detroit Lions | ||
| Offense | ||
| 89 | SE | Gail Cogdill |
| 79 | LOT | John Gonzaga |
| 66 | LOG | Harley Sewell |
| 50 | C | Bob Scholtz |
| 75 | ROG | John Gordy |
| 77 | ROT | Danny LaRose |
| 80 | TE | Jim Gibbons |
| 14 | QB | Earl Morrall |
| 45 | HB | Danny Lewis |
| 41 | FL | Terry Barr |
| 33 | FB | Nick Pietrosante |
| Defense | ||
| 78 | LDE | Darris McCord |
| 71 | LDT | Alex Karras |
| 76 | RDT | Roger Brown |
| 53 | RDE | Bill Glass |
| 57 | LLB | Carl Brettschneider |
| 56 | MLB | Joe Schmidt |
| 55 | RLB | Wayne Walker |
| 81 | LCB | Dick Lane |
| 43 | LS | Gary Lowe |
| 28 | RS | Yale Lary |
| 44 | RCB | Dick LeBeau |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | |||||
| Mel Triplett | 7 | 53 | 7.6 | 16 | 0 |
| Fran Tarkenton | 5 | 42 | 8.4 | 17 | 0 |
| Ray Hayes | 9 | 14 | 1.6 | 6 | 0 |
| Hugh McElhenny | 10 | 12 | 1.2 | 11 | 0 |
| Tommy Mason | 2 | -5 | -2.5 | 2 | 0 |
| Detroit Lions | |||||
| Danny Lewis | 12 | 52 | 4.3 | 13 | 0 |
| Nick Pietrosante | 19 | 48 | 2.5 | 10 | 0 |
| Earl Morrall | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 |
| Jim Ninowski | 4 | 8 | 2.0 | 1 | |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD | TS | YL | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | |||||||||||
| Fran Tarkenton | 34 | 15 | 44.1 | 3 | 141 | 4.1 | 27 | 1 | 6 | 29.2 | |
| Detroit Lions | |||||||||||
| Jim Ninowski | 20 | 8 | 40.0 | 1 | 157 | 7.9 | 55 | 0 | 13 | 47.3 | |
| Earl Morrall | 8 | 2 | 25.0 | 0 | 31 | 3.9 | 0 | 0 | 43.2 | ||
| RECEIVING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | |||||
| Hugh McElhenny | 6 | 12 | 2.0 | 22 | 1 |
| Jerry Reichow | 4 | 69 | 17.3 | 27 | 0 |
| Dave Middleton | 4 | 45 | 11.3 | 14 | 0 |
| Tommy Mason | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 15 | 0 |
| Detroit Lions | |||||
| Jim Gibbons | 6 | 84 | 14.0 | 24 | 0 |
| Gail Cogdill | 2 | 70 | 35.0 | 55 | 0 |
| Nick Pietrosante | 1 | 25 | 25.0 | 25 | 0 |
| Terry Barr | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 9 | 0 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | |||||
| Dean Derby | 1 | 24 | 24.0 | 24 | 0 |
| Detroit Lions | |||||
| Dick Lane | 2 | 39 | 19.5 | 32 | 0 |
| Gary Lowe | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | |||||
| Mike Mercer | 4 | 137 | 34.3 | 36 | 0 |
| Detroit Lions | |||||
| Yale Lary | 3 | 171 | 57.0 | 71 | 0 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | ||||||
| Detroit Lions | ||||||
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | ||||||
| Jamie Caleb | 3 | 52 | 17.3 | 0 | ||
| Detroit Lions | ||||||
| Howard Cassady | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | 17 | 0 | |
| Pat Studstill | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 | |
| In Memoriam |
| NFL Boxscores |
| NFL Game Officials |
| NFL Training Camps |
| NFL Roster Limits |
| Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| Super Bowl |
| Privacy Policy |
| ©2006-2025 Pro Football Archives. All Rights Reserved. |
| Last Updated: November 13, 2025 |