Kings of the North: Photographs and History of the Minnesota Vikings

by Chad Israelson

Overview

Get the beautiful book that presents the history of the Minnesota Vikings football team, with full-color photography and fascinating text.

The Minnesota Vikings are a proud and storied franchise. Some of the NFL’s all-time best players—and all-time great teams—have donned the purple and gold. Each season is precious to the fans, whether we won three games or thirteen, because it reminds us of special memories: trips to the stadium with parents and children, watching on TV with neighbors and friends, shared camaraderie with strangers, and more.

Author, historian, and lifelong Vikings fan Chad Israelson presents the perfect gift for Minnesota sports fans. Kings of the North collects the team’s rich history and pairs it with professional, full-color photography to create a stunning book for any coffee table or bookshelf. It presents a season-by-season summary, which includes the team’s schedule, starting lineup, and statistical leaders. Chad also takes a closer look at a few of the best players and greatest wins. The book is rounded out with Chad’s picks for every all-decade team. It truly has it all for anyone who loves Minnesota’s favorite team!

Book Features

• Fascinating summary of every Minnesota football season
• Schedules, starting lineups, and statistical leaders
• The author’s picks for every all-decade team
• Full-color photography from throughout the Vikings’ history

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781940647593
Publisher:	Adventure Publications, Incorporated
Publication date:	09/28/2021
Series:	Favorite Football Teams
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Chad Israelson grew up in La Crescent, Minnesota, and began following the Minnesota Vikings at five years old. He also developed an early love of history. Chad earned a BA from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. In 1995, he graduated with an MA from the University of Nebraska. For the past 25 years, he has been a history instructor at Rochester Community and Technical College in southeast Minnesota, winning Outstanding Educator twice and serving as faculty president for six years. In addition, he taught history courses for Augsburg and Winona State universities. Chad serves as political analyst for KTTC, Rochester’s NBC-affiliated television station, and he was a columnist for the Rochester Post-Bulletin. In 2015, Chad co-authored The Political World of Bob Dylan. He lives in Rochester with his wife of nearly 30 years. They raised two sons together.

Read an Excerpt

Season by Season

1961
Record: 3–11, Seventh Place

Key Additions:

• Grady Alderman (expansion draft)
• Jim Marshall (trade)
• Ed Sharockman (draft)
• Fran Tarkenton (draft)

On September 17, 1961, after dropping all five of their preseason contests, the Minnesota Vikings played and won their first ever regular-season game. No other expansion team had, or would, emerge victorious in their inaugural contest until the 2002 Houston Texans. The Vikings did not merely squeak by; they routed the Chicago Bears, 37–13. George Shaw started at quarterback, but late in the first quarter, head coach Norm Van Brocklin felt the team needed a spark: He replaced Shaw with rookie Fran Tarkenton.

Tarkenton threw four touchdown passes in his debut (the first of 342 on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame). What made the win even more impressive was that Chicago finished the season with a respectable 8–6 record.

After this auspicious beginning, the Vikings promptly dropped their next seven games. They snapped the streak in November with a 28–20 victory against Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts. Three weeks later, the Vikings posted their final victory of the season, a 42–21 thrashing of the Los Angeles Rams. Their season concluded with a 52–35 defeat at the hands of the revenge-hungry Chicago Bears.

Running back Hugh McElhenny and end Jerry Reichow became the Vikings’ first Pro Bowl representatives that year. Respectability remained a few years off, but fans were encouraged by the team’s young talent.

1962
Record: 2–11–1, Sixth Place

Key Additions:

• Bill Brown (trade)
• Mick Tingelhoff (free agent)

The 1962 season began less successfully than 1961, as the Vikings suffered five consecutive losses. In October, they broke out of their doldrums and posted two straight wins, defeating the Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles. Unfortunately for the Purple, they did not taste victory again in 1962. The team sandwiched a 24–24 tie (the first draw in franchise history) versus the Rams between two three-game losing streaks.

Despite the disappointing season, they continued to lay the foundation for future greatness with the addition of undrafted center Mick Tingelhoff (who went on to start 240 consecutive games) and fullback Bill Brown, acquired in a trade with Chicago. Legendary Bears owner and head coach George Halas later called the transaction the worst he ever made.

Tommy Mason made the Pro Bowl squad as a running back. The win total dropped from the previous year, but the nucleus of young talent was undeniable.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1961–1969

All-Decade Team

1970–1979

All-Decade Team

1980–1989

All-Decade Team

1990–1999

All-Decade Team

2000–2009

All-Decade Team

2010–2020

All-Decade Team

References

About the Author