1963 Minnesota Vikings season
General managerBert Rose
Head coachNorm Van Brocklin
Home fieldMetropolitan Stadium
Results
Record5–8–1
Division place4th (tied) NFL Western
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Uniform

The 1963 season was the Minnesota Vikings' third in the National Football League (NFL). Under head coach Norm Van Brocklin, 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

Main article: 1963 NFL draft
Pro Bowler
Hall of Famer
1963 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
1 3 Jim Dunaway Defensive tackle Mississippi
2 16 Bobby Bell Defensive tackle Minnesota
3 31 Ray Poage Running back Texas
4 44 Paul Flatley Wide receiver Northwestern
5 59 Gary Kaltenbach Offensive tackle Pittsburgh
6 72 Traded to the Cleveland Browns[a]
7 87 Traded to the New York Giants[b]
8 100 Jim O'Mahoney Linebacker Miami (FL)
9 115 Bob Hoover Running back Florida
10 128 Terry Kosens Running back Hofstra
11 143 John Campbell Linebacker Minnesota
12 156 John Sklopan Running back Southern Mississippi
13 171 Dave O'Brien Offensive tackle Boston College
14 184 Ralph Ferrisi Running back Southern Connecticut State
15 199 John Murio End Whitworth
16 212 Rex Mirich Offensive tackle Northern Arizona
17 227 Tom Munsey Running back Concord
18 240 Tom McIntyre Offensive tackle St. John's (MN)
19 255 Frank Horvath Running back Youngstown State
20 268 Mailon Kent Running back Auburn
^[a] The Vikings traded their sixth-round selection (72nd overall) to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for CB Tom Franckhauser, OT Errol Linden, TE Charley Ferguson and K Fred Cox.
^[b] The Vikings traded their seventh-round selection (87th overall) to the New York Giants for DE/LB Jim Leo.

Roster

1963 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Rookies in italics
 , 5 practice squad

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance[1]
1 August 10 San Francisco 49ers W 43–28 1–0 Multnomah Stadium (Portland, OR) 20,837
2 August 17 at Los Angeles Rams W 27–3 2–0 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 42,966
3 August 25 New York Giants W 17–16 3–0 Metropolitan Stadium 29,815
4 August 31 Philadelphia Eagles L 27–34 3–1 Hershey Stadium (Hershey, PA) 15,861
5 September 6 at St. Louis Cardinals W 35–0 4–1 Busch Stadium 30,842

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 15 at San Francisco 49ers W 24–20 1–0 Kezar Stadium 30,781
2 September 22 Chicago Bears L 7–28 1–1 Metropolitan Stadium 33,923
3 September 29 San Francisco 49ers W 45–14 2–1 Metropolitan Stadium 28,567
4 October 6 St. Louis Cardinals L 14–56 2–2 Metropolitan Stadium 30,220
5 October 13 Green Bay Packers L 28–37 2–3 Metropolitan Stadium 42,567
6 October 20 at Los Angeles Rams L 24–27 2–4 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 30,555
7 October 27 at Detroit Lions L 10–28 2–5 Tiger Stadium 44,509
8 November 3 Los Angeles Rams W 21–13 3–5 Metropolitan Stadium 33,567
9 November 10 at Green Bay Packers L 7–28 3–6 City Stadium 42,327
10 November 17 Baltimore Colts L 34–37 3–7 Metropolitan Stadium 33,136
11 November 24 Detroit Lions W 34–31 4–7 Metropolitan Stadium 28,763
12 December 1 at Chicago Bears T 17–17 4–7–1 Wrigley Field 47,249
13 December 8 at Baltimore Colts L 10–41 4–8–1 Memorial Stadium 54,122
14 December 15 at Philadelphia Eagles W 34–13 5–8–1 Franklin Field 57,403

Game summaries

Week 2: vs Chicago Bears

Week 2: Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings
Period 1 2 34Total
Bears 7 7 01428
Vikings 0 7 007

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Game information

Standings

NFL Western Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Chicago Bears 11 1 2 .917 10–1–1 301 144 W2
Green Bay Packers 11 2 1 .846 9–2–1 369 206 W2
Baltimore Colts 8 6 0 .571 7–5 316 285 W3
Detroit Lions 5 8 1 .385 4–7–1 326 265 L1
Minnesota Vikings 5 8 1 .385 4–7–1 309 390 W1
Los Angeles Rams 5 9 0 .357 5–7 210 350 L2
San Francisco 49ers 2 12 0 .143 1–11 198 391 L5

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

Postseason

For the first time, the Vikings had starters in the East–West Pro Bowl, played January 12, 1964, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and won by the West squad. Halfback Tommy Mason, linebacker Rip Hawkins and tackle Grady Alderman each were voted to start on the West team coached by the Chicago Bears' George Halas.

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 (AP), United Press International (UPI) and The Sporting News (TSN).

Halfback Tommy Mason, in his third year, was named first-team All-Pro by the AP, UPI, TSN, the Newspaper Enterprise Association and the New York Daily News.

Middle linebacker Rip Hawkins was named second-team All-Pro by the UPI.[2]

Statistics

Team leaders

Category Player(s) Value
Passing yards Fran Tarkenton 2,311
Passing touchdowns Fran Tarkenton 15
Rushing yards Tommy Mason 763
Rushing touchdowns Tommy Mason 7
Receiving yards Paul Flatley 867
Receiving touchdowns Paul Flatley 4
Points Fred Cox 75
Kickoff return yards Bill Butler 713
Punt return yards Bill Butler 220
Interceptions Ed Sharockman 5
Sacks Don Hultz, Jim Marshall 10.5

Note that sack totals from 1960 to 1981 are considered unofficial by the NFL.[3]

League rankings

Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 14)
Passing offense 2,169 154.9 12th
Rushing offense 1,733 123.8 4th
Total offense 4,011 286.5 11th
Passing defense 2,998 214.1 10th
Rushing defense 1,733 123.8 7th
Total defense 4,731 337.9 9th

References

  1. ^ "1963 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives".
  2. ^ "1963 All Pro Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  3. ^ "Pre-1982 Sacks Added To Pro Football Reference". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
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