History of the Minnesota Vikings

This article details the history of the Minnesota Vikings, an American football club of the National Football League (NFL).

Professional football history in the Twin Cities began in the 1920s; the Minneapolis Marines joined the American Professional Football Association (later to become the National Football League) in 1921, but folded in 1924; they were resurrected as the Minneapolis Red Jackets in 1929 but lasted just two seasons before merging with the Frankford Yellow Jackets. A new professional team in the area did not surface again until August 1959, when three Minneapolis businessmen – Bill Boyer, H. P. Skoglund and Max Winter – were awarded a franchise in the new American Football League. The ownership group, along with Bernie Ridder, forfeited its AFL membership and then were awarded the National Football League's 14th franchise with play to begin in 1961 on January 28, 1960. Ole Haugsrud was added to the NFL team ownership because of an agreement he had with the NFL since the 1920s when he sold his Duluth Eskimos team back to the league. The agreement allowed him 10% of any future Minnesota team.

Bill Boyer served as the team president from 1960 to 1964. Joe Thomas was hired as head scout. Minnesota's first management team was led by general manager Bert Rose, who was appointed as GM on August 5, 1960. In an article on August 6, 1960, in the Minneapolis Tribune, it was reported that the team would use the name "Minnesota" instead of "Minneapolis–St. Paul". The article also stated that several nicknames were suggested for the team, including "Chippewas", "Miners", "Vikings" and "Voyageurs". The team was officially named the Minnesota Vikings on September 27, 1960; the name is partly meant to reflect Minnesota's place as a center of Scandinavian American culture. From the start, the Vikings embraced an energetic marketing program that produced a first-year season ticket sales of nearly 26,000 and an average home attendance of 34,586, about 85 percent of the 40,800-seat capacity of Metropolitan (Met) Stadium in Bloomington. Eventually, Met Stadium capacity was increased to 47,900. On January 18, 1961, the Vikings named Norm Van Brocklin as head coach after Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Bud Grant turned down the job.

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