| Team: | Minnesota Vikings |
| Year: | 1963 |
| Record: | 5–8–1 |
| Division Place: | 4th (tied) NFL Western |
| Coach: | Norm Van Brocklin |
| General Manager: | Bert Rose |
| Stadium: | Metropolitan Stadium |
| Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers: | RB Tommy Mason T Grady Alderman LB Rip Hawkins |
| Ap All-Pros: | RB Tommy Mason (1st team) LB Rip Hawkins (2nd team) |
| Uniform: | File:Vikings1962-64.png |
| Shortnavlink: | Vikings seasons |
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.
See main article: article and 1963 NFL draft.
| Pro Bowler | ||
| Hall of Famer |
| 1963 Minnesota Vikings Draft | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes | ||
| Round | Selection | |||||
| 3 | bgcolor=lightsteelblue | |||||
| 2 | 16 | |||||
| 3 | 31 | |||||
| 4 | 44 | bgcolor=lightsteelblue | ||||
| 5 | 59 | Gary Kaltenbach | ||||
| 6 | 72 | Traded to the Cleveland Browns | ||||
| 7 | 87 | Traded to the New York Giants | ||||
| 8 | 100 | Jim O'Mahoney | ||||
| 9 | 115 | Bob Hoover | ||||
| 10 | 128 | |||||
| 11 | 143 | bgcolor=lightsteelblue | ||||
| 12 | 156 | John Sklopan | ||||
| 13 | 171 | |||||
| 14 | 184 | Ralph Ferrisi | ||||
| 15 | 199 | John Murio | ||||
| 16 | 212 | |||||
| 17 | 227 | Tom Munsey | ||||
| 18 | 240 | Tom McIntyre | ||||
| 19 | 255 | Frank Horvath | ||||
| 20 | 268 | Mailon Kent | ||||
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.
The Vikings traded their seventh-round selection (87th overall) to the New York Giants for DE/LB Jim Leo.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance[1] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 10 | San Francisco 49ers | W 43–28 | 1–0 | 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 | 15,861 | ||
| 5 | September 6 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 35–0 | 4–1 | Busch Stadium | 30,842 |
| 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 |
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]
| width=150px style="" | Category | width=150px style="" | Player(s) | width=75px style="" | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passing yards | 2,311 | ||||
| Passing touchdowns | 15 | ||||
| Rushing yards | 763 | ||||
| Rushing touchdowns | 7 | ||||
| Receiving yards | 867 | ||||
| Receiving touchdowns | 4 | ||||
| Points | 75 | ||||
| Kickoff return yards | 713 | ||||
| Punt return yards | 220 | ||||
| Interceptions | 5 | ||||
| Sacks | Don Hultz, Jim Marshall | 10.5 |
| width=150px style="" | Category | width=100px style="" | Total yards | width=110px style="" | Yards per game | width=80px style="" | 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 |