The 1962 season was the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

' second in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. Under head coach

Norm Van Brocklin Norman Mack Van Brocklin (March 15, 1926 – May 2, 1983), nicknamed "The Dutchman", was an American football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He spent his first nine seasons with the Los An ...

, the team finished with a 2–11–1 record that still stands as the franchise's worst season record in terms of winning percentage, both by today's method of calculation (.179) and the method used at the time (.154), in which ties were not counted as games played. The Vikings have won at least three games in every season since.

Offseason

1962 Draft

: The Vikings traded their 1st-round selection (2nd overall) to the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

in exchange for QB

George Shaw George Shaw may refer to: * George Shaw (biologist) (1751–1813), English botanist and zoologist * George B. Shaw (1854–1894), U.S. Representative from Wisconsin * George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), Irish playwright * George C. Shaw (1866–196 ...

. : The Vikings traded their 2nd-round selection (17th overall) and 11th-round selection (142nd overall) to

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

for DT

Jim Prestel James Francis Prestel (born June 28, 1937) is a former professional football player, a defensive lineman in the National Football League in the 1960s. Selected in the 1959 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns, he stayed in and joined the team in ...

, DE Jim Marshall, LB Dick Grecni, RB Jamie Caleb, RB Billy Gault and DT Paul Dickson. : The Vikings traded their 5th-round selection (58th overall) to the

for RB

Mel Triplett Melvin C. Triplett (December 24, 1930 – July 26, 2002) was an American football running back in the National Football League who played for eight seasons for the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings. He played high school football at Girard Hi ...

, TE

Bob Schnelker Robert Bernard Schnelker (October 17, 1928 – December 12, 2016) was an American football tight end who played for nine seasons in the National Football League, mainly with the New York Giants. Schnelker played college football at Bowling Gree ...

and OT Bob Schmidt. : The Vikings traded their 7th-round selection (86th overall) to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

for TE

Jerry Reichow Garet Neal Reichow (born May 19, 1934) is a former professional American football player. A , 220 lb tight end from the University of Iowa, Reichow was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the fourth round of the 1956 NFL Draft. He was one of ...

. : The Vikings traded their 10th-round selection (129th overall) to

for DE Bob Denton.

Roster

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Pro Bowl

Second-year halfback

Tommy Mason Thomas Cyril Mason (July 8, 1939 – January 22, 2015) was an American football running back in the National Football League (NFL). College career Mason played college football for Tulane University. *1959: 10 Games – 81 carries for 336 yar ...

was the only Viking voted to the East–West

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

game, played January 13, 1963, at the

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a mem ...

and won by the East 30–20.

Statistics

Team leaders

League rankings

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:1962 Minnesota Vikings Season Minnesota Vikings seasons

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...