The 1963 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 ...

' third 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 ...

(NFL). 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 Ang ...

, the team finished with a 5–8–1 record. Five wins in a season represented the most in the franchise's three-year history. 22-year-old Paul Flatley of Northwestern University was named the NFL's Rookie of the Year, a first for the fledgling franchise.

Offseason

1963 Draft

: The Vikings traded their sixth-round selection (72nd overall) to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

in exchange for CB

Tom Franckhauser Thomas Anthony Franckhauser (May 26, 1937 – April 17, 1997) was an American football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Minnesota Vikings. He played college f ...

, OT

Errol Linden Errol Joseph Linden (October 21, 1937 – March 10, 1983) was a National Football League (NFL) offensive tackle. Linden was selected in the tenth round by the Detroit Lions out of the University of Houston in the 1961 NFL Draft and played t ...

, TE

Charley Ferguson Charles Edward Ferguson (November 13, 1939 – February 14, 2023) was an American professional football player who was a tight end in the American Football League (AFL) with the Buffalo Bills. He was in playoff games with the Bills in four ...

and K

Fred Cox Frederick William Cox (December 11, 1938 – November 20, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a kicker for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings. After playing college football for ...

. : The Vikings traded their seventh-round selection (87th 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. ...

for DE/LB Jim Leo.

Roster

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Standings

Game summaries

Week 2: vs Chicago Bears

Postseason

For the first time, the Vikings had starters in 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 ...

, played January 12, 1964, 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 West squad. 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 ...

, linebacker

Rip Hawkins Ross Cooper "Rip" Hawkins (April 21, 1939 – July 28, 2015) was a professional American football player. He played five seasons in the National Football League with the Minnesota Vikings. He died in 2015; at the time of his death, he had Lewy bo ...

and tackle

Grady Alderman Grady Alderman (December 10, 1938 – April 5, 2018) was an American football player and executive. He played professionally as an offensive tackle for 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), mostly with the Minnesota Vikings. Career ...

each were voted to start on the West team coached by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

George Halas George Stanley Halas Sr. (; February 2, 1895October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was an American professional football player, coach, and team owner. He was the founder and owner of the National Football League's Chic ...

. Wide receiver Paul Flatley, who led the team in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, was named as the 1963 Rookie of the Year by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

(AP),

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

(UPI) and

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

(TSN). Halfback Tommy Mason, in his third year, was named first-team

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...

by the AP, UPI, TSN, the

Newspaper Enterprise Association The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) is an editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1902. The oldest syndicate still in operation, the NEA was originally a secondary news ...

and the

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

. Middle linebacker Rip Hawkins was named second-team

by the UPI.

Statistics

Team leaders

League rankings

References

* * {{1963 NFL season by team

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

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 ...