Minnesota Vikings players

Francis_A._Tarkenton

Francis Asbury Tarkenton (born February 3, 1940) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, where he was recognized as a twice first-team All-SEC, and was selected by the Vikings in the third round of the 1961 NFL draft. After retiring from football, he became a media personality and computer software executive.
Tarkenton's tenure with the Vikings spanned thirteen non-consecutive seasons. He played for Minnesota six seasons from 1961 to 1966 when he was traded to the New York Giants for five seasons, and then traded back to Minnesota for his last seven seasons from 1972 to 1978. At the time of his retirement, Tarkenton owned many quarterback records. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987.
In addition to his football career, Tarkenton served as a commentator on Monday Night Football and a co-host of That's Incredible!. He also founded Tarkenton Software, a computer-program generator company, and he toured the U.S. promoting CASE (computer-aided software engineering) with Albert F. Case Jr. of Nastec Corporation. Tarkenton Software later merged with KnowledgeWare (with Tarkenton as president), until selling the company to Sterling Software in 1994.

Gordon_Smith_(American_football)

Gordon Chilton Smith (born April 9, 1939) is a former American football player and coach. He played professionally as a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) with the Minnesota Vikings for five seasons, from 1961 to 1965. Smith played college football at Arizona State University and the University of Missouri under head coach Dan Devine.
After retiring from playing, Smith became an assistant football coach at the University of Arkansas in 1966. In December 1967, he was hired as an assistant football coach at Iowa State University under new head coach, Johnny Majors with whom Smith worked as an assistant at Arkansas. Smith served as offensive coordinator at Iowa State before resigning after the 1970 season to take a job with the federal government.

Karl_Kassulke

Karl Otto Kassulke (March 20, 1941 – October 27, 2008) was a professional American football player.
Kassulke graduated from Drake, where he starred as a safety. He played 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), all with the Minnesota Vikings. Kassulke started in Super Bowl IV, where he and teammate Earsell Mackbee missed a tackle on Otis Taylor on the final touchdown of the game, late in the third quarter. The next season, he was selected to the Pro Bowl.
On July 24, 1973, Kassulke suffered a motorcycle accident on the way to training camp that left him paralyzed from the waist down.After his playing career, Kassulke worked with Wings Outreach, a Christian Ministry to the disabled.Kassulke was immortalized in NFL lore by NFL Films' official highlight film for Super Bowl IV. Kansas City Chiefs coach Hank Stram, who was wired for sound by NFL Films executive producer Ed Sabol, noted the confusion in the Vikings' defense due to the Chiefs' shifting offense and quipped, "Kassulke was running around there like it was a Chinese fire drill".