1963 Minnesota Vikings season

The 1963 season was the Minnesota Vikings' third in the National Football League. 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.

1963 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coachNorm Van Brocklin
General managerBert Rose
Home fieldMetropolitan Stadium
Results
Record5–8–1
Division place4th NFL Western
Playoff finishDid not qualify

Offseason

1963 Draft
Main article: 1963 NFL draft
Pro Bowler
Hall of Famer
1963 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
13 Jim DunawayDefensive tackleMississippi
216 Bobby BellDefensive tackleMinnesota
331 Ray PoageRunning backTexas
444 Paul FlatleyWide receiverNorthwestern
559 Gary KaltenbachOffensive tacklePittsburgh
672 Traded to the Cleveland Browns[a]
787 Traded to the New York Giants[b]
8100 Jim O'MahoneyLinebackerMiami (FL)
9115 Bob HooverRunning backFlorida
10128 Terry KosensRunning backHofstra
11143 John CampbellLinebackerMinnesota
12156 John SklopanRunning backSouthern Mississippi
13171 Dave O'BrienOffensive tackleBoston College
14184 Ralph FerrisiRunning backSouthern Connecticut State
15199 John MurioEndWhitworth
16212 Rex MirichOffensive tackleNorthern Arizona
17227 Tom MunseyRunning backConcord
18240 Tom McIntyreOffensive tackleSt. John's (MN)
19255 Frank HorvathRunning backYoungstown State
20268 Mailon KentRunning backAuburn
^[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

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists



Practice squad



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

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.

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 yardsFran Tarkenton2,311
Passing touchdownsFran Tarkenton15
Rushing yardsTommy Mason763
Rushing touchdownsTommy Mason7
Receiving yardsPaul Flatley867
Receiving touchdownsPaul Flatley4
PointsFred Cox75
Kickoff return yardsBill Butler713
Punt return yardsBill Butler220
InterceptionsEd Sharockman5

League rankings
Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 14)
Passing offense2,169154.912th
Rushing offense1,733123.84th
Total offense4,011286.511th
Passing defense2,998214.110th
Rushing defense1,733123.87th
Total defense4,731337.99th

References
  2. "1963 All Pro Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
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