Fran Tarkenton enjoyed a Hall of Fame career, most of it in the Twin Cities. He began his career in Minnesota in 1961 and after a brief time with the New York Giants (1967-71), finished it back in the Upper Midwest with seven more years. The 1978 Minnesota Vikings were Fran’s last ride, and while it certainly wasn’t his best year, the 38-year-old vet packed it full of enough key moments to steal one more division title.
The 1977 Minnesota Vikings were a good team that won a division title, their ninth in ten years. They reached the NFC Championship Game. But there were also unmistakable signs of decline setting for the franchise that had been the NFC’s best from 1969-76, reaching four Super Bowls, including three of the past four
The 1976 Minnesota Vikings had a lot of proud veterans who were past their prime. But rather than fading quietly into the night after a devastating playoff loss in 1975, this group of vets put it together for another big run and reached a third Super Bowl in four years.
Fran Tarkenton had the best of year of his career at age 35 for the 1975 Minnesota Vikings. The team might have been the best in the seven-year stretch that Tarkenton played for Bud Grant (1972-78). Tarkenton won the MVP award, the Vikings went 12-2 and were poised to reach the Super Bowl for the third straight year and perhaps this time, finally bring home a championship. Heartbreak caught up with them at the end.
The 1974 Minnesota Vikings weren’t quite as good as their 1973 predecessors in the regular season. But the ’74 Vikes were still plenty good, as they went 10-4. And they were just as good in the playoffs, winning a second straight NFC Championship before finally falling in the Super Bowl.
Fran Tarkenton’s return to the Twin Cities in 1972 had fizzled out. But the 1973 Minnesota Vikings juiced up the weapons around the future Hall of Fame quarterback and started the best four-year stretch in the history of the franchise.
The 1972 Minnesota Vikings had seen potential Super Bowl teams in 1970 and 1971 undone by problems at offense in general and quarterback in particular. Head coach Bud Grant swung a big trade to get Fran Tarkenton from the New York Giants to solve the problem. The deal would ultimately work, but not immediately. In 1972, Fran’s return to Minnesota fizzled.
The 1971 Minnesota Vikings produced a tremendous defense, the kind that could give the franchise its first Super Bowl victory, and did produce a division title. But offensive problems, in particular a train wreck at quarterback, ultimately did them in at playoff time.
The Minnesota Vikings had the best season in the short history of their franchise when they made the Super Bowl in 1969. The following season was the first year of the NFL-AFL merger and the formation of the league structure as we know it today. The 1970 Minnesota Vikings spent much of the season looking like they might not only make it all the way back, but take the final step. But a great regular season gave way to playoff heartbreak in a year when the Super Bowl trophy was theirs for the taking.
Bud Grant came to the Twin Cities in the 1967 season and turned the Minnesota Vikings into a feisty team. In 1968, Grant got the team into the playoffs for the first time. And the 1969 Minnesota Vikings continued the improvement, enjoying a monster season and reaching the Super Bowl.
One thing they were not marked by is winning—after Van Brocklin’s first good year in 1964, the team regressed to 7-7 in 1965 and 4-9-1 in 1966. It was time for new leadership and the change that came would alter the trajectory of franchise history. Bud Grant became the new coach, and while the 1967 Minnesota Vikings did not have a good record, they got the pieces in place for a lot of winning in the years to come.