Fran Tarkenton is a quarterback that will never come around again. Tarkenton, one of the most elusive quarterbacks in NFL history, was also a very accurate passer who used his special gift to earn a career in the Hall of Fame.
Tarkenton has a long list of qualifications. In addition to winning the league MVP award and being chosen for nine Pro Bowls, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986. He continues to lead the Minnesota Vikings in passing yards and touchdown passes during his playing career.
In observance of his 84th birthday (he was born on February 3, 1940), here are five quick facts about one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.
At the end of the 1978 season, career passing leader Trenton announced his retirement with the most passing yards in NFL history—47,003—at the time. Before fellow Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino passed him in 1995, he would have held the record.
Johnny Unitas, the quarterback Tarkenton originally overthrew, is regarded as the finest in the NFL’s first fifty years.
Although Unitas played through the 1973 season, his most successful campaign came in 1970, when he guided the Colts to their first-ever Super Bowl victory. Late in their careers, Unitas and fellow Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath experienced knee problems. Such problems did not plague Tarkenton.
When questioned about his longevity, Tarkenton said to Sports Illustrated in 1975, “I stay in fit, if that’s part of the explanation.” “It’s most likely luck. My physical strength is strong. My legs are powerful. Perhaps that has been helpful. Quarterbacks who have stood in the pocket have suffered injuries. I have and I have not scrambled. I’ve never fumbled with a layout. My goal was to propel the team forward by completing a pass. However, it’s fascinating. I’ve run too many out of the pocket to be considered a decent quarterback by the old timers. That only makes me laugh.”
Tarkenton also owned NFL career records at the time of his retirement for attempts, completions, passing yards by a quarterback (more on that later), and victories.
Super Bowl past
Tarkenton’s birthday coincides with the Super Bowl, which makes sense. After all, he is the first quarterback to start three consecutive Super Bowls in a four-year period.
Tarkenton’s three Super Bowl starts, regrettably, were all losses. Although Tarkenton and the Vikings were a fantastic team, they were part of the same era as some of the NFL’s greatest teams of all time, such as the Dolphins, Steelers, Raiders, and Cowboys.
In Tarkenton’s first Super Bowl, Miami overcame Minnesota to continue its back-to-back championship run. A year later, the Vikings suffered their closest Super Bowl loss (10 points) at the hands of the Steelers. Two years later, the Raiders, a team that had also lost in major games over the years, defeated the Vikings in the championship game.
Strangely, the one club that missed out on the Super Bowl during that time may have been the Vikings’ best team of that era. In the divisional round, the Cowboys defeated the ’75 squad thanks to Roger Staubach’s iconic Hail Mary completion to Drew Pearson.
After many years, Tarkenton told ESPN, “That was one of our best squads.” “We lose like that.”
historic NFL debut
Tarkenton’s first NFL game still acts as a standard for others. Tarkenton, who began the game for the Vikings against the Bears on the bench, became the only quarterback in NFL history to toss four touchdowns in his debut. Marcus Mariota (2015) and Will Levis (2023) have since equaled Tarkenton’s score.
The fact that the Vikings won 37–13 was another significant feature of the game.
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