107 Fun Facts About Minnesota Vikings

Which team did the expansion Vikings upset in their first regular-season game in 1961?

Chicago Bears. Rookie Fran Tarkenton came off the bench to throw four touchdown passes and run for a fifth score in the 37-13 win.

Which team beat the Vikings 23-7 in Super Bowl IV?

Kansas City Chiefs. As the AFL's final champions, they evened the Super Bowl series between the two leagues at two wins each.

Which team beat the Vikings 32-14 in Super Bowl XI in January 1977?

It was played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on January 9, 1977, and gave the Raiders their first title.

Which Vikings defensive lineman ran a recovered fumble 66 yards the wrong way into his own end zone in 1964?

Jim Marshall. His wrong-way run against San Francisco handed the 49ers a safety, but the Vikings still won the game 27-22.

Which Hall of Fame quarterback became the Vikings' first head coach in 1961?

Norm Van Brocklin. He had just quarterbacked Philadelphia past Vince Lombardi's Packers for the 1960 championship, and went straight from the huddle to coaching an expansion team.

Before the Vikings, Bud Grant spent ten seasons as head coach of which Canadian team?

Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Grant went north as a player in 1953 after two NFL seasons, and by 1957 he was the club's head coach.

Before his football career, Vikings coach Bud Grant won the 1950 NBA title playing for which team?

Minneapolis Lakers. An NFL team had drafted Grant in the first round in 1950, but he put football on hold to play two seasons of pro basketball first.

Fran Tarkenton played college football for which school?

Georgia. Tarkenton never had to leave town: he had starred at Athens High School, then led the hometown Bulldogs to the 1959 SEC title.

Which Vikings Hall of Famer went on to serve as a justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court?

Alan Page. He went to law school during his playing days, earning his degree in 1978, and was later elected to the state's highest court.

Whose career passing records did Fran Tarkenton break?

Johnny Unitas. Tarkenton got there his own way, twisting away from pass rushers for 18 seasons and running for more yards than any quarterback before him.

The 1975 Vikings were knocked out of the playoffs by which famous play?

The Hail Mary. Roger Staubach's 50-yard desperation pass to Drew Pearson won it 17-14, and his post-game remark about saying a Hail Mary popularised the name.

Which Vikings receiver caught Tommy Kramer's 'Miracle at the Met' heave against Cleveland in 1980?

Ahmad Rashad caught Tommy Kramer's desperation pass as time expired to beat Cleveland 28-23, a win that put the Vikings in the playoffs.

Which Vikings safety set the NFL career record with 81 interceptions?

Paul Krause. Washington traded him to Minnesota in 1968 for a linebacker and a draft pick, and in 1979, his final season, he passed Emlen Tunnell's record of 79.

Which USC lineman did the Vikings take first overall in the 1968 draft?

Ron Yary. Minnesota owned the top pick only because it had traded quarterback Fran Tarkenton a year earlier, and Yary stayed with the Vikings for 14 seasons.

Which Vikings running back was the 1973 Offensive Rookie of the Year and started three Super Bowls?

Chuck Foreman. His trademark spin move was borrowed from basketball's Earl 'The Pearl' Monroe, whom he grew up watching in Maryland.

In which Minneapolis suburb did Metropolitan Stadium, the Vikings' home from 1961 to 1981, stand?

Bloomington. The stadium was built there in the 1950s to lure a major-league baseball team to Minnesota, and in 1961 it landed both the Twins and the Vikings.

What opened in 1992 on the site of Metropolitan Stadium, the Vikings' first home?

The Mall of America. A plaque in its indoor amusement park marks the spot where the old ballpark's home plate once sat.

The Metrodome's fabric roof was held up by what?

Air pressure. A December 2010 snowstorm ripped the fabric roof open and deflated it, forcing the Vikings to move a home game to Detroit.

Where did the Vikings play their 2014 home games?

TCF Bank Stadium. With their new stadium still being built, the Vikings spent two seasons on the University of Minnesota's outdoor field, which was fitted with a heated playing surface for them.

In which Minneapolis neighbourhood is U.S. Bank Stadium?

Downtown East. The stadium replaced the Metrodome on the same site, and its roof, inspired by Nordic architecture, is sloped so that snow slides off instead of piling up.

Which cartoonist designed the Vikings' horned helmet and purple-and-gold uniforms?

Karl Hubenthal, a Los Angeles Examiner sports cartoonist, drew the blond Norseman logo and the white helmet horn for the expansion team in 1961.

On what date was the team officially named the Minnesota Vikings?

The Minnesota Vikings name was adopted on September 27, 1960, eight months after the NFL awarded the franchise; general manager Bert Rose proposed it to honour the state's Scandinavian heritage.

The 1989 Herschel Walker trade sent the running back to Minnesota from which team, in exchange for players and draft picks?

Dallas Cowboys. They turned Minnesota's draft picks into Emmitt Smith, Darren Woodson and other players who helped them win multiple Super Bowls in the 1990s.

What was the Vikings' record in the 1998 regular season?

15-1. The 1998 Vikings scored a then-record 556 points, yet they never reached the Super Bowl, falling to Atlanta in overtime in the NFC Championship Game.

Which Vikings kicker, perfect through the 1998 regular season, missed a late field goal in the NFC Championship Game?

Gary Anderson had made all 35 field goals and all 59 extra points that season before the miss, which let Atlanta tie the game and win 30-27 in overtime.

Vikings rookie Randy Moss caught 17 touchdowns in 1998, then a record 23 for which team?

New England Patriots. In 2007, after his previous team had traded him away following two quiet seasons, he broke Jerry Rice's 20-year-old record for touchdown catches.

Which college did Randy Moss play for?

Marshall. Notre Dame withdrew its scholarship offer after an arrest and Florida State dismissed him after a failed drug test, so Moss became a star at a lower-division school instead.

Which team did Cris Carter play for before joining the Vikings in 1990?

Philadelphia Eagles. He showed only flashes in three seasons there before being let go, then became a star in Minnesota, leading the Vikings in catches for ten straight years.

Which undrafted defensive tackle piled up 137.5 career sacks for the Vikings and Seahawks?

John Randle. Scouts thought him too small for a defensive lineman, so no team drafted him, and the Vikings signed him only on condition that he get his weight above 250 pounds.

Which Vikings coach, hired in 1992, was the second Black head coach in modern NFL history?

Dennis Green, hired from Stanford in January 1992, followed Art Shell as the modern NFL's second Black head coach; he reached the playoffs eight times in ten seasons before being let go with one game left in 2001.

In 2012 Adrian Peterson rushed for 2,097 yards, just short of whose single-season record?

Eric Dickerson. Peterson finished eight yards short of his 1984 record of 2,105, in a season that began less than nine months after he tore two ligaments in his left knee.

Against which team did rookie Adrian Peterson rush for a record 296 yards?

San Diego Chargers. They led at halftime after returning a missed field goal 109 yards on the half's last play, before Peterson's 64- and 46-yard touchdown runs turned the game.

Which quarterback threw the Minneapolis Miracle pass?

Case Keenum. Signed as a free agent that year, he took over when starter Sam Bradford was injured in 2017 and won 11 of his 14 starts.

Which receiver caught the Minneapolis Miracle touchdown pass?

Stefon Diggs. The other side had just kicked a go-ahead field goal with 25 seconds left, so his 61-yard score on the final snap turned a 24-23 deficit into a 29-24 win.

On what date was the Minneapolis Miracle?

The Minneapolis Miracle came on January 14, 2018, in the divisional round at U.S. Bank Stadium; a week later the Vikings lost the NFC Championship Game 38-7 in Philadelphia.

In 2020 the Vikings traded a star receiver to which team for a first-round pick?

Buffalo Bills. Minnesota used the pick, 22nd overall, on Justin Jefferson only weeks later.

Which quarterback left Washington in 2018 for a fully guaranteed three-year, $84 million contract with the Vikings?

Kirk Cousins. Washington had used the franchise tag on him two years running instead of agreeing a long-term deal, which sent him to the open market.

Which 2022 award did Justin Jefferson win?

Offensive Player of the Year. Jefferson led the league with 128 catches and 1,809 receiving yards at age 23, though the Vikings' 13-win season ended with a first-round playoff loss.

Which college did Justin Jefferson help win a national title before joining the Vikings?

LSU. Jefferson caught 111 passes for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns for the 2019 champions after going without a catch as a 2017 freshman.

Which 40-year-old quarterback led the 2009 Vikings to the NFC Championship Game in his first season with the team?

Brett Favre, a Green Bay Packer for 16 seasons, threw 33 touchdown passes and only seven interceptions for his old rivals before a narrow loss in the title game.

Which Vikings center played from 1962 to 1978 and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2015?

Mick Tingelhoff. Signed as an undrafted free agent out of Nebraska, he won the starting job as a rookie and never gave it up, starting 240 straight games.

Which Vikings guard, an Arizona State product, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009?

He played in the Sun Devils' first Rose Bowl in 1987 and is in that game's Hall of Fame too.

Which Hall of Fame Vikings defensive lineman played his college football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers?

Carl Eller. Both the Vikings and a rival AFL club drafted the Gophers All-American in the first round in 1964, and he chose to stay in Minnesota.

Which Vikings coach won Super Bowl LVI as the Rams' offensive coordinator before taking the job?

Kevin O'Connell. Minnesota settled on him during the playoffs but had to wait for the Rams' Super Bowl run to end, announcing the hire three days after the game.

Which quarterback, once written off as a bust, led the Vikings to the playoffs and made the Pro Bowl in 2024?

Sam Darnold, the 2018 third overall pick, went 14-3 as the 2024 Vikings starter with 35 touchdown passes and made his first Pro Bowl before leaving for Seattle in 2025.

What is the name of the Vikings' costumed mascot, introduced in 2007?

Viktor. In the team's tongue-in-cheek backstory, the thousand-year-old Norseman tried out for the Vikings, failed to make the roster and was kept on as their mascot instead.

Which quarterback, back from retirement, threw 34 touchdown passes for the 1998 Vikings?

Randall Cunningham began 1998 as the backup, took over when starter Brad Johnson was hurt in the second game, and finished the year a first-team All-Pro.

Which Vikings quarterback earned five Grey Cup rings in the CFL before his NFL career?

Warren Moon. With NFL scouts suggesting he switch positions before the 1978 draft, he signed with Edmonton instead and won five straight Grey Cups.

At which university did the Vikings hold training camp from 1966 until the tradition ended in 2017?

Minnesota State, Mankato hosted 52 Vikings training camps from 1966 to 2017; the team then moved camp to its new Eagan headquarters, built on the former Northwest Airlines campus, in 2018.

Who beat the Vikings 41-0 in the NFC Championship Game after the 2000 season?

New York Giants. Kerry Collins threw five touchdown passes, two of them in the first two and a half minutes, and the Giants led 34-0 by halftime.

Which Vikings quarterback led the NFL with 4,717 passing yards in 2004?

Daunte Culpepper. He also threw 39 touchdown passes that year, but it proved to be his peak: a serious knee injury seven games into the next season ended his time in Minnesota.

Who caught Gus Frerotte's 99-yard touchdown pass in 2008, the longest play from scrimmage in Vikings history?

Bernard Berrian. He had signed from Chicago that March, so the record touchdown came against the team he had just left.

Which German receiver became the first player drafted straight from a European team when the Vikings picked him in 2016?

Moritz Böhringer. He became a Vikings fan at 17 by watching Adrian Peterson highlights online, then was drafted by that very team in the sixth round.

Against which team did the Vikings record their 500th franchise win, in September 2019?

That season ended with an overtime wild-card upset of the Saints before a loss to the 49ers.

The Vikings' 1981 Eden Prairie headquarters was named after which team founder?

Max Winter, team president from 1965 to 1987, was among the investors who first joined the upstart AFL, then gave up that spot when the NFL offered Minnesota a franchise in January 1960.

Which northern Minnesota school hosted the Vikings' first five training camps?

Bemidji State University, far to the north of the Twin Cities, hosted the first five camps; the team then switched to a campus much nearer home and stayed there for 52 summers.

Which team did the 1969 Vikings beat 27-7 to win the franchise's only NFL championship?

Cleveland Browns lost 27-7 in Minnesota on 4 January 1970, capping Minnesota's 12-2 season, but the glory was brief: a week later the heavily favoured Vikings were upset in Super Bowl IV.

Which toy did Vikings kicker Fred Cox, the franchise's career scoring leader, help invent in 1972?

The Nerf football earned Cox decades of royalties after he sold his idea for a soft ball to Parker Brothers. Tens of millions have been sold since.

In 1964 a Vikings defensive end ran a recovered fumble 66 yards the wrong way, giving the 49ers what?

A safety went to San Francisco when he flung the ball out of his own end zone in celebration, yet the Vikings still won 27–22.

Which WWE champion spent the 2004 preseason as a Vikings defensive tackle before the team cut him?

Brock Lesnar walked away from WWE to try out even though he had not played football since high school. He had been an NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion instead.

Which Baseball Hall of Famer did the Vikings once draft even though he never played college football?

Dave Winfield was a 17th-round Vikings pick in 1973, when four teams in three different sports drafted him. He chose baseball and the Padres.

Vikings coach Bud Grant won a 1950 league championship as a player in which other professional sport?

Basketball was Grant's first pro sport: he won the 1950 NBA Finals with the Minneapolis Lakers after playing three sports at the University of Minnesota.

Which office did a Hall of Fame Vikings defensive tackle, the 1971 NFL MVP, hold from 1993 to 2015?

State supreme court justice was a post he won at the ballot box in 1992, as the first African American on Minnesota's top court. He had studied law while still playing.

The Vikings' Skol Chant, with its overhead claps, is adapted from the fans of which nation's soccer team?

Iceland's supporters made their Viking war chant famous at Euro 2016, where the tiny nation reached the quarter-finals. Vikings fans clap and shout to a drum beat.

Which music star, a lifelong Vikings fan, recorded a fight song for the team in 2010?

Prince called his song 'Purple and Gold', after the team colours. Following his death in 2016, the Vikings made his chart-topper 'Let's Go Crazy' their touchdown song.

The Vikings' glass-walled U.S. Bank Stadium angered conservation groups because it kills large numbers of what?

Birds fly into its reflective glass because the stadium stands on the Mississippi Flyway migration route. Its toll has been put at double that of any other Minneapolis building.

Which touchdown dance did Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson help carry from college football into the NFL?

The Griddy was invented by a high school footballer and went viral on TikTok. Jefferson learned it from his college teammate Ja'Marr Chase.

Which team did the Vikings beat with the last-play touchdown known as the Minneapolis Miracle?

The New Orleans Saints had wiped out a 17–0 deficit to lead 24–23 with 25 seconds left. No NFL playoff game had ever ended in regulation on a winning touchdown as time expired.

Which sideline comfort did coach Bud Grant deny his Vikings players during frozen outdoor home games?

Heaters, Grant reasoned, would draw players into a huddle around the warmth instead of following the game. He also made the team practise outdoors through the cold months.

Which team stunned the record-scoring 1998 Vikings in overtime to win the NFC Championship Game?

The Atlanta Falcons won 30–27 on a sudden-death field goal as heavy underdogs, reaching the first Super Bowl in their history. They lost it to Denver.

The Metrodome, the Vikings' domed former home, was named in memory of which Minnesota politician?

Hubert Humphrey, once mayor of Minneapolis and later U.S. vice president, died in 1978, the year before construction of the dome began.

After snow collapsed the Metrodome roof in December 2010, the Vikings' home game was moved to which city?

Detroit's Ford Field staged the game a day late, and the Vikings' next home date moved outdoors to the University of Minnesota's stadium.

Which team beat the Vikings 24–7 in the Super Bowl after the 1973 season to claim a second straight title?

The Miami Dolphins leaned on fullback Larry Csonka, whose 145 rushing yards made him the first running back to be named Super Bowl MVP.

Which team won its first championship by beating the Vikings 16–6 in the Super Bowl after the 1974 season?

The Pittsburgh Steelers, behind Terry Bradshaw and the Steel Curtain defense, became the last of the NFL's 'Original Eight' teams to win a league title.

Before joining the NFL, the Vikings' founders had first accepted a franchise from which upstart rival?

The American Football League lost Minnesota before it ever played a game: the ownership group reneged on its agreement and took the NFL's 14th franchise instead.

Which New Jersey real estate developer led the group that bought the Vikings from Red McCombs in 2005?

Zygi Wilf and five partners paid a reported $600 million. His parents, Holocaust survivors from Poland, had settled in New Jersey in the early 1950s.

Which human mascot, named for a legendary Norse warrior, rode a motorcycle onto the field for the Vikings until 2015?

Ragnar was played by Joseph Juranitch, who beat 3,000 applicants to the job in 1994 and held a world record for shaving off a beard with an axe.

Which college did Vikings running back Adrian Peterson attend, finishing second for the 2004 Heisman as a freshman?

Oklahoma got a freshman-record 1,925 rushing yards from Peterson in 2004. No freshman had ever finished as Heisman runner-up before, and he lost only to USC's Matt Leinart.

Vikings Hall of Fame receiver Cris Carter was a consensus All-American at which Big Ten school?

Ohio State had never produced an All-American wide receiver before Carter, who left holding the Buckeyes' record for career receptions.

The draft pick the Vikings used on Justin Jefferson in 2020 came from which team in the Stefon Diggs trade?

The Buffalo Bills gave up the 22nd overall selection to land Diggs. With both receivers thriving, the swap has been called one of the best win-win deals ever.

The Vikings erased a 33–0 half-time deficit in December 2022 to beat which team in overtime?

The Indianapolis Colts lost 39–36 after leading by 33 points at the break, the largest comeback the NFL had ever seen.

Which Vikings quarterback tied an NFL record by throwing seven touchdown passes in one 1969 game?

Joe Kapp is also the only quarterback to have started a Super Bowl, a Rose Bowl and Canada's Grey Cup final.

Which mullet-wearing Vikings defensive end set a franchise record with 22 sacks in the 2011 season?

Jared Allen finished half a sack short of what was then the NFL record. He once credited a fast start to his mullet, shaving a racing stripe into it for his sacks.

Which former Bengals defensive coordinator was the Vikings' head coach from 2014 to 2021?

Mike Zimmer had waited decades as an assistant for his first head-coaching job. In his second season the Vikings won their first division title since 2009.

Which future Super Bowl-winning head coach was the Vikings' defensive coordinator from 1992 to 1995?

Tony Dungy went on to become the first African American head coach to win a Super Bowl. As a player he had been the University of Minnesota's quarterback.

Which former Vikings tight end became the first ex-player to serve as the team's head coach, in 2002?

Mike Tice joined the Vikings' staff as soon as he retired as a player, and first took charge as interim coach for the final game of 2001.

After Teddy Bridgewater's knee injury in 2016, the Vikings traded a first-round pick for which quarterback?

Sam Bradford arrived eight days before the opener and completed 71.6% of his passes that season, an NFL record at the time.

Which Vikings kicker missed a 27-yard field goal in the final seconds of a frozen playoff loss in January 2016?

Blair Walsh had made all three of his earlier kicks, the Vikings' only points in a 10–9 defeat that was then the third-coldest game in NFL history.

Vikings rookie Cordarrelle Patterson tied the NFL record for longest play in 2013 with a 109-yard score on what?

A kickoff return of 109 yards is the longest play the field allows. Patterson went on to set the NFL career record for touchdowns scored that way.

Which Vikings running back retired at 28, weeks after leading the NFC in rushing in the 2000 season?

Robert Smith ran for a career-best 1,521 yards, then learned he needed knee surgery for the third time and announced his retirement in February 2001.

Which defensive tackle did the Vikings draft in 2003 after letting their time expire and being passed by two teams?

Kevin Williams turned the blunder into a bargain, missing only four games in his first 10 seasons and making six Pro Bowls.

Which All-Pro guard did the Vikings pry from Seattle in 2006 with a contract containing a 'poison pill' clause?

Steve Hutchinson's offer guaranteed his whole salary unless he was his team's highest-paid lineman. Seattle already paid tackle Walter Jones more, so it could not match.

Which 1970s Vikings running back later played Officer Joe Coffey on the TV drama Hill Street Blues?

Ed Marinaro had been Heisman runner-up at Cornell in 1971, the highest finish by an Ivy League player since the 1950s, before turning to acting.

Which Tulane running back was the first player the Vikings ever drafted, taken with the first overall pick?

Tommy Mason repaid the expansion team with three straight Pro Bowl seasons and a first-team All-Pro year in 1963.

The Vikings' 'Purple People Eaters' nickname borrowed the title of a 1958 novelty hit by which singer?

Sheb Wooley was also a Western actor, playing an outlaw in High Noon and a cattle-drive scout in the TV series Rawhide.

Which longtime Vikings offensive coordinator took over as head coach in 1986 after Bud Grant's final season?

Jerry Burns had been passed over once before, when Grant first retired. In his second season in charge the Vikings reached the NFC title game.

In which Twin Cities suburb did the Vikings open a new headquarters and training complex in 2018?

Eagan offered the former Northwest Airlines office site, and the move ended a summer training-camp tradition that had lasted 52 years.

Which undrafted Vikings receiver opened the 2018 season with eight straight 100-yard receiving games?

Adam Thielen tied Calvin Johnson's NFL record for consecutive 100-yard games. He had won his place on the roster through a rookie tryout five years earlier.

Kirk Cousins, the Vikings' starting quarterback in 2018, had spent his first six NFL seasons with which team?

The Washington Redskins drafted Cousins in the fourth round and later made him the first NFL quarterback to be given the franchise tag in consecutive years.

Which Florida State product, back from a torn ACL, led the 2018 Vikings in rushing yards?

Dalvin Cook gained 615 yards, more than backup Latavius Murray on fewer carries. A year earlier he had broken Adrian Peterson's team record for a rookie debut.

Which Jamaican-born defensive end led the 2018 Vikings with 14.5 sacks and earned his first Pro Bowl selection?

Danielle Hunter recorded at least one sack in each of the first seven games, months after signing a five-year, $72 million contract extension.

Which college produced both defensive back Harrison Smith and tight end Kyle Rudolph, starters for the 2018 Vikings?

Notre Dame sent Rudolph to Minnesota in the second round in 2011 and Smith in the first round a year later, reuniting the former Fighting Irish teammates.

Which kicker did the 2018 Vikings sign after rookie Daniel Carlson missed three field goals in a Week 2 tie?

Dan Bailey arrived as the second-most accurate kicker in NFL history, with an 88.2% career success rate. Carlson's Vikings career lasted just two games.

Which starting cornerback for the 2018 Vikings was drafted with a first-round pick acquired by trading Percy Harvin?

Xavier Rhodes went 25th overall in 2013 with the selection Seattle paid for Harvin, and by 2017 he was a first-team All-Pro.

Which former Defensive Rookie of the Year started all 16 games at tackle for the 2018 Vikings on a one-year deal?

Sheldon Richardson had won that award with the Jets in 2013. He added 4.5 sacks in purple, left for Cleveland, then came back for a second stint in 2021.

Which rookie second-round pick, a converted college tight end, became the 2018 Vikings' starting right tackle in Week 6?

Brian O'Neill stepped in when an injury to Riley Reiff forced a reshuffle of the line, then held the position for the rest of the season.

Which Vikings assistant became interim offensive coordinator in December 2018 when John DeFilippo was fired?

Kevin Stefanski had joined the Vikings' staff in 2006 and served under three head coaches. He later won NFL Coach of the Year twice in Cleveland.