Minnesota Vikings · Franchise era 1 of 7
The expansion Vikings: the Minnesota Vikings story
Franchise era
1961—1966
The expansion Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The story in one sentence
Tarkenton threw four touchdowns off the bench in the franchise's first game while the line of a future contender began taking shape.
Tarkenton improvises from the beginning
Fran Tarkenton, Jim Marshall and Mick Tingelhoff gave the era its recognizable core.
Its ending created the conditions for the purple people eaters.
Timeline
How it unfolded
The foundation
The franchise context
Minnesota's history combines one of football's great defenses, four Super Bowl trips, Moss's vertical revolution, Peterson's rushing force and repeated brushes with the final game.
1961—1966
The expansion Vikings
Tarkenton threw four touchdowns off the bench in the franchise's first game while the line of a future contender began taking shape.
After 1966
What came next
Bud Grant's disciplined teams and a historic defensive front reached four Super Bowls and made Minnesota a permanent contender.
The core