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

Offseason

1963 draft

Pro Bowler Hall of Famer

1963 Minnesota Vikings Draft Draft order Player name Position College Notes Round Selection 1 3 Jim Dunaway Defensive tackle Ole Miss 2 16 Bobby Bell Defensive tackle Minnesota 3 31 Ray Poage Running back Texas 4 44 Paul Flatley Wide receiver Northwestern 5 59 Gary Kaltenbach Offensive tackle Pittsburgh 6 72 Traded to the Cleveland Browns 7 87 Traded to the New York Giants 8 100 Jim O'Mahoney Linebacker Miami (FL) 9 115 Bob Hoover Running back Florida 10 128 Terry Kosens Running back Hofstra 11 143 John Campbell Linebacker Minnesota 12 156 John Sklopan Running back Southern Miss 13 171 Dave O'Brien Offensive tackle Boston College 14 184 Ralph Ferrisi Running back Southern Connecticut 15 199 John Murio End Whitworth 16 212 Rex Mirich Offensive tackle Arizona State–Flagstaff 17 227 Tom Munsey Running back Concord 18 240 Tom McIntyre Offensive tackle St. John's (MN) 19 255 Frank Horvath Running back Youngstown 20 268 Mailon Kent Running back Auburn

Notes

Roster

Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 August 10 San Francisco 49ers W 43–28 1–0 Multnomah Stadium 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 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

Game summaries

Week 2: vs Chicago Bears

Standings

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.

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 5SacksDon Hultz, Jim Marshall10.5 Note that sack totals from 1960 to 1981 are considered unofficial by the NFL.

League rankings Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank Passing offense 2,169 154.9 12th Rushing offense 1,733 123.8 4th Total offense 4,011 286.5 11th Passing defense 2,998 214.1 10th Rushing defense 1,733 123.8 7th Total defense 4,731 337.9 9th

References