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. The five wins at the time was the most in the franchise's three-year history.

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
7	3	87	Traded to the New York Giants
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

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