1964 Minnesota Vikings season

The 1964 season was the Minnesota Vikings' fourth in the National Football League. Under head coach Norm Van Brocklin, the team finished with an 8–5–1 record for their first winning season and a franchise-best until 1969. They tied with the Green Bay Packers for second place in the Western conference, who gained the berth in the third-place Playoff Bowl in Miami on January 3. The two teams had split their season series, with the road teams winning, but the Packers won the tiebreaker on point differential: the Vikings' victory was by just one point, while Green Bay won by over four touchdowns.[1] In the season opener, the Vikings upset eventual Western champion Baltimore.

1964 Minnesota Vikings season
General managerJim Finks
Head coachNorm Van Brocklin
Home fieldMetropolitan Stadium
Results
Record8–5–1
Division placeT-2nd NFL Western
Playoff finishDid not qualify

To date, this is the only season the Vikings wore white jerseys for all their home games. In January 1964, the NFL owners had approved a new rule which allowed home teams to wear the jersey color of their choice.[2]

This was the first season for the forty-man roster, an increase of three.[2]

Offseason

1964 Draft
Main article: 1964 NFL draft
Pro Bowler
Hall of Famer
1964 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
16 Carl EllerDefensive tackleMinnesota
219 Hal BedsoleWide receiverUSC
334 George RoseRunning backAuburn
447 Traded to the Chicago Bears[a]
53 Tom KeatingDefensive tackleMichiganfrom Giants[b]
562 John KirbyLinebackerNebraska
675 Bob LaceyWide receiverNorth Carolina
790 Wes BryantDefensive tackleArkansas
8103 Bill McWattersFullbackNorth Texas State
9118 Darrell LesterFullbackMcNeese State
10131 Traded to the Los Angeles Rams[c]
11146 H. O. EstesGuardEast Central State
12159 Sandy SandsWide receiverTexas
13174 Russ VollmerRunning backMemphis State
14187 Tom MichelRunning backEast Carolina
15202 Monte KiffinDefensive tackleNebraska
16215 Carleton OatsWide receiverFlorida A&M
17230 Jerry McClurgWide receiverColorado
18243 Carl RobinsonDefensive tacklePrairie View A&M
19258 Dick SchottWide receiverLouisville
20271 Milt SundeOffensive tackleMinnesota
^[a] The Vikings traded their fourth-round selection (47th overall) to the Chicago Bears in exchange for RB Bill Brown.
^[b] The Vikings traded RB Hugh McElhenny to the New York Giants in exchange for the Giants' fourth-round selection (53rd overall) and 1965 second-round selection (15th overall).
^[c] The Vikings traded their 10th-round selection (131st overall) to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for RB Tommy Wilson.

Roster
1964 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Rookies in italics

Preseason
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance[3]
1 August 8 New York Giants W 21–7 1–0 Metropolitan Stadium 31,581
2 August 15 St. Louis Cardinals W 24–10 2–0 Cheney Stadium (Atlanta, GA) 10,000
3 August 22 San Francisco 49ers W 24–21 3–0 Ute Stadium (Salt Lake City, UT) 20,207
4 August 29 at Los Angeles Rams W 34–23 4–0 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 39,938
5 September 5 at Philadelphia Eagles W 21–20 5–0 Hershey Stadium (Hershey, PA) 9,212

Regular season
Main article: 1964 NFL season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 13 Baltimore Colts W 34–24 1–0 Metropolitan Stadium  35,563^
2 September 20 Chicago Bears L 28–34 1–1 Metropolitan Stadium 41,387
3 September 27 at Los Angeles Rams L 13–22 1–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 50,009
4 October 4 at Green Bay Packers W 24–23 2–2 City Stadium 42,327
5 October 11 Detroit Lions L 20–24 2–3 Metropolitan Stadium 40,840
6 October 18 Pittsburgh Steelers W 30–10 3–3 Metropolitan Stadium 39,873
7 October 25 at San Francisco 49ers W 27–22 4–3 Kezar Stadium 31,845
8 November 1 Green Bay Packers L 13–42 4–4 Metropolitan Stadium  44,278*
9 November 8 San Francisco 49ers W 24–7 5–4 Metropolitan Stadium 40,408
10 November 15 at Baltimore Colts L 14–17 5–5 Memorial Stadium 60,213
11 November 22 at Detroit Lions T 23–23 5–5–1 Tiger Stadium 48,291
12 November 29 Los Angeles Rams W 34–13 6–5–1 Metropolitan Stadium 31,677
13 December 6 at New York Giants W 30–21 7–5–1 Yankee Stadium 62,802
14 December 13 at Chicago Bears W 41–14 8–5–1 Wrigley Field 46,486
^ Opening day attendance record at Metropolitan Stadium
* Single game attendance record at Metropolitan Stadium

Week 7: vs. San Francisco 49ers

The Vikings defeated the 49ers 27–22 on October 25 in San Francisco at Kezar Stadium, but not before defensive end Jim Marshall made one of the most embarrassing errors in NFL history. In the fourth quarter, 49er halfback Billy Kilmer caught a pass from rookie quarterback George Mira and fumbled the ball forward, which was scooped up in stride by Marshall. He unknowingly ran 66 yards with it the wrong way into his own end zone; thinking he scored a touchdown, he tossed the ball in the air throwing it out of bounds, resulting in a safety. The Vikings had a 27–17 lead at the time, and it narrowed the gap to eight points.[4][5]

On the previous possession, Marshall had forced a Mira fumble in the collapsing pocket and defensive end Carl Eller had scooped up the loose ball and ran it back 45 yards for a touchdown. Just before that, Viking linebacker Roy Winston had intercepted a Mira pass early in the fourth quarter and returned it to the 49er eleven-yard line, setting up a touchdown run by quarterback Fran Tarkenton to take the lead.[6][7] Two weeks later in Minnesota, the Vikings defeated the 49ers again, by a score of 24–7.[8]

  • YouTube – NFL Films – Jim Marshall's Wrong Way Run

Standings
NFL Western Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Baltimore Colts 12 2 0 .857 10–2 428 225 W1
Green Bay Packers[lower-alpha 1] 8 5 1 .615 6–5–1 342 245 T1
Minnesota Vikings 8 5 1 .615 6–5–1 355 296 W3
Detroit Lions 7 5 2 .583 6–4–2 280 260 W2
Los Angeles Rams 5 7 2 .417 3–7–2 283 339 T1
Chicago Bears 5 9 0 .357 5–7 260 379 L2
San Francisco 49ers 4 10 0 .286 3–9 236 330 L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

  1. Green Bay was awarded the Playoff Bowl berth from the Western Conference by outscoring Minnesota 65–37 in their two meetings.

Statistics

Team leaders
Category Player(s) Value
Passing yardsFran Tarkenton2,506
Passing touchdownsFran Tarkenton22
Rushing yardsBill Brown866
Rushing touchdownsBill Brown7
Receiving yardsBill Brown703
Receiving touchdownsBill Brown9
PointsFred Cox103
Kickoff return yardsBill Butler597
Punt return yardsBill Butler156
InterceptionsGeorge Rose6

League rankings
Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 14)
Passing offense2,123151.611th
Rushing offense2,183155.92nd
Total offense4,306307.66th
Passing defense2,724194.613th
Rushing defense1,616115.45th
Total defense4,340310.010th

References
  1. Lea, Bud (December 14, 1964). "Packers tie Rams, gain bowl berth". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 5, part 2.
  2. "NFL keeps ties same, ups rosters". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. January 29, 1964. p. 3, part 2.
  3. "1964 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives".
  4. "Marshall runs 60 yards - backwards". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 26, 1964. p. 4B.
  5. "Wrong way run shakes up coach". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. October 26, 1964. p. 4, part 2.
  6. "Wrong way run as Vikes edge 49ers". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. October 26, 1964. p. 3, part 2.
  7. "Viking opportunists rout 49ers by 27-22". Lodi News-Sentinel. (California). UPI. October 26, 1964. p. 12.
  8. "Tarkenton fires 3 TDs in Vike win". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. November 8, 1964. p. 5, part 2.
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