1963 Minnesota Vikings season

NFL team season

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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

	Pro Bowler
	Hall of Famer

1963 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order		Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Selection	Player name	Position	College	Notes
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 10 Fran Tarkenton 11 Ron Vander Kelen Running backs 30 Bill Brown FB 35 Bob Ferguson FB 20 Tommy Mason 27 Bobby Reed 24 Tommy Wilson Wide receivers 80 Jim Boylan 81 Leon Clarke 85 Paul Flatley 89 Jerry Reichow Tight ends 86 Ray Poage 87 Gordon Smith		Offensive linemen 67 Grady Alderman T 63 Jim Battle G 61 Larry Bowie G 65 Gerry Huth G 73 Errol Linden T 74 Dave O'Brien T 53 Mick Tingelhoff C Defensive linemen 62 Bob Denton DE 76 Paul Dickson DT 83 Don Hultz DE 70 Jim Marshall DE 79 Jim Prestel DT 75 Pat Russ DT		Linebackers 55 John Campbell 58 Rip Hawkins 57 Bill Jobko 82 Steve Stonebreaker 60 Roy Winston Defensive backs 22 Bill Butler S 23 Lee Calland 25 Terry Dillon 40 Tom Franckhauser 29 Karl Kassulke S 26 Terry Kosens 21 Chuck Lamson 45 Ed Sharockman CB Special teams 14 Fred Cox K/P		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	3	4	Total
Bears	7	7	0	14	28
Vikings	0	7	0	0	7

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Date: September 22
Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C)
Game attendance: 33,923
Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

First quarter

CHI – Ronnie Bull 24-yard pass from Bill Wade (Bob Jencks kick). Bears 7–0.

Second quarter

MIN – Jerry Reichow 24-yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Fred Cox kick). Tie 7–7.
CHI – Mike Ditka 36-yard pass from Bill Wade (Bob Jencks kick). Bears 14–7.

Third quarter

No scoring plays.

Fourth quarter

CHI – Bill Wade 1-yard run (Bob Jencks kick). Bears 21–7.
CHI – Mike Ditka 10-yard pass from Bill Wade (Bob Jencks kick). Bears 28–7.

Top passers

CHI – Bill Wade – 23/32, 253 yards, 3 TD
MIN – Fran Tarkenton – 13/22, 167 yards, TD, 3 INT

Top rushers

CHI – Rick Casares – 7 rushes, 53 yards
MIN – Tommy Mason – 11 rushes, 60 yards

Top receivers

CHI – Mike Ditka – 8 receptions, 124 yards, 2 TD
MIN – Ray Poage – 5 receptions, 67 yards

Standings

NFL Western Conference
view talk edit	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

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

"1963 Draft". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 10, 2007.
"1963 Minnesota Vikings". DatabaseFootball. Archived from the original on April 8, 2007. Retrieved April 11, 2007.

v t e Minnesota Vikings
Founded in 1961 Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota Headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota
Franchise	Franchise History Expansion draft Players First-round draft picks Quarterbacks Head coaches Seasons Statistics Draft Broadcasters Ownership Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center
Stadiums	Metropolitan Stadium Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome TCF Bank Stadium U.S. Bank Stadium
Culture	Purple People Eaters "Skol, Vikings" Herschel Walker trade Love Boat scandal How I Met Your Mother "Little Minnesota" "Tailgate" Cheerleaders Alan Roach Truth Hurts (song) Quarterback "Higher" (Creed song)
Lore	The Wrong Way Run Hail Mary Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy Santa Claus game Miracle at the Met Gary Anderson's missed field goal Minneapolis Miracle Minneapolis Miracle II
Rivalries	Chicago Bears Dallas Cowboys Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Los Angeles Rams New Orleans Saints
Division championships (21)	1968 1969 1970 1971 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1980 1989 1992 1994 1998 2000 2008 2009 2015 2017 2022
Conference championships (4)	1969 1973 1974 1976
League championships (1)	1969
Retired numbers	10 53 70 77 80 88
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: North Division

v t e Minnesota Vikings seasons
1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–) victory Italics indicates Super Bowl (1966–) appearance

1963 NFL season

Eastern Conference	Cleveland	Pittsburgh	Baltimore	Los Angeles	Western Conference
	Dallas	St. Louis	Chicago	Minnesota
	New York	Washington	Detroit	San Francisco
	Philadelphia		Green Bay