1963 Minnesota Vikings season

1963 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach Norm Van Brocklin
General manager Bert Rose
Home field Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record 5–8–1
Division place 4th NFL Western
Playoff finish did not qualify

The 1963 Minnesota Vikings season was the third year of play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 44th regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of five wins, eight losses, and one tie under head coach Norm Van Brocklin. 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
Round Choice Overall
1 3 3 Jim Dunaway Defensive Tackle Mississippi
2 2 16 Bobby Bell Defensive Tackle Minnesota
3 3 31 Ray Poage Running Back Texas
4 2 44 Paul Flatley Wide Receiver Northwestern
5 3 59 Gary Kaltenbach Offensive Tackle Pittsburgh
6 2 72 Traded to the Cleveland Browns[a]
7 3 87 Traded to the New York Giants[b]
8 2 100 Jim O'Mahoney Linebacker Miami (Florida)
9 3 115 Bob Hoover Running Back Florida
10 2 128 Terry Kosens Running Back Hofstra
11 3 143 John Campbell Linebacker Minnesota
12 2 156 John Sklopan Running Back Southern Mississippi
13 3 171 Dave O'Brien Offensive Tackle Boston College
14 2 184 Ralph Ferrisi Running Back Southern Connecticut State
15 3 199 John Murio End Whitworth
16 2 212 Rex Mirich Offensive Tackle Northern Arizona
17 3 227 Tom Munsey Running Back Concord
18 2 240 Tom McIntyre Offensive Tackle St. John's (Minnesota)
19 3 255 Frank Horvath Running Back Youngstown State
20 2 268 Mailon Kent Running Back Auburn
^[a] Minnesota traded their 6th round selection (72nd overall) to Cleveland for CB Tom Franckhauser, OT Errol Linden, TE Charley Ferguson, and PK Fred Cox.
^[b] Minnesota traded their 7th round selection (87th overall) to the New York Giants for DE/LB Jim Leo.

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance Record
1 1963-09-15 at San Francisco 49ers W 24–20 Kezar Stadium 30,781 1–0
2 1963-09-22 Chicago Bears L 7-28 Metropolitan Stadium 33,923 1–1
3 1963-09-29 San Francisco 49ers W 45–14 Metropolitan Stadium 28,567 2–1
4 1963-10-06 St. Louis Cardinals L 14-56 Metropolitan Stadium 30,220 2–2
5 1963-10-13 Green Bay Packers L 28-37 Metropolitan Stadium 42,567 2–3
6 1963-10-20 at Los Angeles Rams L 24-27 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 30,555 2–4
7 1963-10-27 at Detroit Lions L 10-28 Tiger Stadium 44,509 2–5
8 1963-11-03 Los Angeles Rams W 21–13 Metropolitan Stadium 33,567 3–5
9 1963-11-10 at Green Bay Packers L 7-28 City Stadium 42,327 3–6
10 1963-11-17 Baltimore Colts L 34-37 Metropolitan Stadium 33,136 3–7
11 1963-11-24 Detroit Lions W 34–31 Metropolitan Stadium 28,763 4–7
12 1963-12-01 at Chicago Bears T 17–17 Wrigley Field 47,249 4–7–1
13 1963-12-08 at Baltimore Colts L 10-41 Memorial Stadium 54,122 4–8–1
14 1963-12-15 at Philadelphia Eagles W 34–13 Franklin Field 57,403 5–8–1

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 Bears' George Halas.

Wide receiver Paul Flatley, who led the team in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, was named 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 (NEA) and the New York Daily News (NYDN).

Middle linebacker Rip Hawkins was named second-team All-Pro by the UPI.[1]

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.

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

League rankings

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

References

  1. ↑ "1963 All Pro Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  • "1963 Draft". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-04-10. 
  • "1963 National Football League". 
  • "1963 Minnesota Vikings". DatabaseFootball. Archived from the original on 8 April 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-11. 
Franchise
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Division championships (19)
Conference championships (4)
League championships (0†)
Retired numbers
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Seasons (56)
Championship seasons in bold
Bold indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl victory
Italics indicates Super Bowl appearance
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