The 1961 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 expansi ...

' first 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) after being created as an expansion franchise to become the league's fourteenth team. Their inaugural regular season game was a 37–13 victory at home to the Chicago Bears; rookie

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Fran Tarkenton Francis Asbury Tarkenton (born February 3, 1940) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at ...

came off the bench to toss four touchdown passes and run for another. However, 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 Vikings won just two of their remaining 13 games, including a seven-game losing streak, and finished the season with a 3–11 record. The Vikings' defense surrendered 5.41 rushing yards per attempt in 1961, the fifth-most of all time.

Offseason

Although the NFL originally had no interest in expanding, after

Max Winter Max Winter (June 29, 1903 – July 26, 1996) was a Minneapolis businessman and sport executive who helped found the Minnesota Vikings. Biography Winter was born in Ostrava, Austria-Hungary (modern day Czechia). He emigrated with his family an ...

and Bill Boyer agreed to start an American Football League (AFL) franchise in Minnesota, the NFL approached them to change leagues. The "Vikings" name was given to the team by Ole Haugsrud, who had been given a 10% stake in the franchise as a result of having sold the

Duluth Eskimos The Duluth Eskimos were a professional football team from Duluth, Minnesota in the National Football League (NFL). After spending most of their time as a traveling team, they withdrew from the league after the 1927 season. A distinction of the E ...

back to the league in the 1920s.Gruver, ''The American Football League'', pp. 22–23.

1961 Draft

1961 Expansion Draft

Roster

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Chicago Bears

This was the first regular season game in Vikings history. George Shaw started the game at quarterback for the Vikings, but he was soon replaced by rookie

, who threw four touchdown passes and ran for another as the Vikings won 37–13. They were the last expansion team to win their first game until the 2002 Houston Texans.

Week 2: at Dallas Cowboys

Week 3: at Baltimore Colts

Week 4: vs. Dallas Cowboys

Week 5: vs. San Francisco 49ers

Week 6: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week 7: at Green Bay Packers

Week 8: at Los Angeles Rams

Week 9: vs. Baltimore Colts

Week 10: vs. Detroit Lions

Week 11: at San Francisco 49ers

Week 12: vs. Los Angeles Rams

Week 13: at Detroit Lions

Week 14: at Chicago Bears

Standings

Postseason

Both halfback

Hugh McElhenny Hugh Edward McElhenny Jr. (December 31, 1928 – June 17, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a halfback in the National Football League (NFL) from 1952 to 1964 for the San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings, New York ...

and receiver (end) Jerry Reichow were 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 14, 1962, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The coach for the West squad was Vikings

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

. McElhenny scored a third-quarter touchdown on a 10-yard pass from Green Bay Packers quarterback

Bart Starr Bryan Bartlett Starr (January 9, 1934 – May 26, 2019) was an American professional football quarterback and head coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of ...

, and the West won the game 31–30.

Statistics

Team leaders

League rankings

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:1961 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 ...