article by Nicola Pucci
The year is 1969 and the NFL, the American professional football championship, is about to enter the name of a team in its very prestigious roll of honor that will not be able to grant an encore.
It’s the Minnesota Vikingsa team founded in early 1960 in Miami by a group of five businessmen during a meeting at which the owners of the NFL franchises had agreed to assign two new licenses. And if from that debut season, with the guidance on the bench of the ex-Philadelpha Eagles quarterback Norm Van Brocklin, the team pays the novitiate price by failing to qualify for the post-season for the first six yearsobtaining a positive record only in 1964 (8 wins, 5 defeats and 1 draw), that’s it since 1967, with the handover as head coach to Bud Grantfresh from 4 successes in the Canadian championship with the Winnipeg Bleu Bombers, Minnesota begins to reap the benefits of a long-term project, despite the departure of formidable quarterback Fran Tarkenton to the New York Giantswho with defensive tackle Gary Larsen and defensive ends Jim Marshall and Carl Eller had formed the backbone of the team.
The arrival of offensive tackle Ron Yary in Minneapolis in 1967 was accompanied by the hiring of Joe Kapp to replace Tarkentonwhich does not yet allow us to achieve an acceptable record (3 wins, 8 defeats and 3 draws) but sows the ground for the “Sixty-eight of the Vikings“, That for the first time they lead the Central Division (8 wins and 6 losses), finally guaranteeing the possibility of accessing the post-season. The run ends here, at the hands of the Baltimore Colts who win 24-14, but the best part is really about to arrive.
The addition of guard Ed White to the rosterchosen in the second round of Draft as 39th overall, brings a further leap in quality for the Vikings, who they dominate the season with the best record in the League, 12 wins and only 2 defeatsin his debut against the New York Giants (23-24, with a decisive 14-3 for the opponents in the last quarter of the game) and in the last round against the Atlanta Falcons (3-10), adding, in fact, a streak of 12 consecutive successes. And they do so not only by being the team capable of scoring the most points (379) of all, but above all thanks to the contribution of a defense line so intimidating that it was nicknamed “Purple People Eaters“strong of players of the caliber of Gary Larsen and Alan Page, Jim Marshall and Carl Ellerwho concede only 133 points to their opponents.
The second line consists of defensive backs Bobby Bryant, Earsell Mackbee and Paul Krause (one that will be introduced in 1998 Pro Football Hall of Fame), Joe Kapp is the quarterback, Dave Osborn acts as running backleader in the role for yards (643) covered and touchdowns (7) recorded, a certain Gene Washington (who will play the Pro Bowlthe NFL equivalent ofAll Star Game of the NBA) and John Henderson play the two wide receiver rolese Finally, Grady Alderman and Mick Tingelhoff are in charge of the offensive line. And the mixture is truly explosive, as they have confirmed the challenges that award the 1969 NFL title.
It begins on December 27, 1969 al Metropolitan Stadium of Bloomington, the home of the Vikings, against the Los Angeles Rams, winners of the Coastal Division. The two rivals met 3 weeks earlier, when the Californians were undefeated in the regular season (11-0), and if Minnesota prevailed 20-13, this time too, on a cold and snowy day, it confirmed its superiority and , despite the greater number of turnovers (3-1) and only 20 more yards covered (275-255), guaranteeing the first victory in its history in the post-season, 23-20, overcoming the deficit at halftime in the last two quarters (7-17) thanks to two touchdowns by Osborn and Kapp and a safety touch by Eller and thus obtaining the access to the NFL final.
The appointment with history is set for January 4, 1970always at Metropolitan Stadium of Blooming, and in the presence of 48,000 spectators it’s up to the Cleveland Browns, already defeated the previous year by the Baltimore Colts with a clear 34-0, to try to oppose Bud Grant’s team. But if in the regular season it ended 52-14 for Minnesota, the script of the match that is worth the title is almost identical, with i Vikings a dominareas revealed by the 0 turnovers and the 381 yards covered. AND halfway through the game the final outcome is already certain, with the score at 24-0 thanks to the touchdowns of Kapp, Washington and Osborn and the field goal by Fred Cox, before another 3 points by Cox himself and the consolatory touchdown by Gary Collins sealed the score at 27-7 in the final minutes.
A week later the Minnesota Vikings, although favored in the predictions, will lose the fourth edition of the Super Bowl (first played in 1967) contro i Kansas City Chiefs by Len Dawson (7-23), AFL winners, theAmerican Football League which the following year will merge with the NFL. It would have been the icing on the cake… unaware that since that historic 1969 season in Minneapolis we expect it to happen again.
