NFL Old School Game of the Week: Vikings' First NFL Game is a Dominant Win over Bears

 

On January 28, 1960 the National Football League announced that they would be added a new franchise in Minneapolis, Minnesota that would begin play in 1961 and become to be known as the Minnesota Vikings.

For their first season, the Vikings hired Norm Van Brocklin as their first head coach despite the fact the former NFL quarterback who had no coaching experience as he had just retired after the 1960 season in which he led the Philadelphia Eagles to the NFL championship.

With the head coach vacancy being fulfilled, the Vikings began to fill out a roster through free agency, the expansion draft and NFL draft as Minnesota would sign quarterback George Shaw, the man Johnny Unitas replaced as starting quarterback in Baltimore, and acquire running back Hugh McElhenny from the San Francisco 49ers, who had run for 4,288 yards and caught 195 passes for 2,666 yards during his nine seasons with the Niners.

In the collegiate draft, the Vikings would easy the #1 overall pick to select running back Tommy Mason from Tulane, the first of a class of 20 players that included in the third round, the selection of quarterback Fran  Tarkenton from the University of Georgia.

Tarkenton would serve as the backup to Shaw as the Vikings prepared to host the Chicago Bears at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota on September 17, 1961 for the first ever NFL game played in the state of Minnesota.

The Bears entered the 1961 season hoping to bounce back from a losing season the year before as they finished with a a 5-6-1 record for only the sixth losing season since their inception back in 1920.

Led by head coach George Halas, the Bears came into the game with the Vikings as a two-touchdown favorite as many experts believed Chicago would easily dispatch of Minnesota to get the '61 season off to a good start for the "Monsters of the Midway".

 The Vikings would begin their first offensive possession in team history at their 24-yard-line with an incomplete pass that would become a 23-yard gain as Bears cornerback J.C. Caroline was called for pass interference to give Minnesota a 1st down at their 47-yard-line.

From there, the Vikings would drive to the Chicago four-yard-line until Mike Mercer came on to kick a 12-yard field goal(The goalposts were at the goal line in 1961)to give Minnesota a 3-0 lead.

The Bears get the ball at their 26-yard-line for their first drive of the game as they drove to the Vikings' 30-yard-line until a comedy of errors would push Chicago backwards.

First, Gallimore fumbled a handoff from Brown which resulted in a fumble which was recovered by the quarterback but not after a loss of 11 yards to set up 2nd & 21 when Brown was sacked for a 10-yard loss which was followed by a two-yard loss by Casares that would force the Bears to punt on 4th & 33 where  center Mike Pyle's snap sailed over the head of punter John Adams and was recovered by the Vikings at the Chicago 14-yard-line, giving Minnesota a golden opportunity to increase their lead.

However, the Vikings could only muster three yards on three plays, forcing them to settle for a 18-yard field goal by Mercer which would sail wide left of the goalposts and no good as the Bears would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line.

But just one play later, the Vikings would have the ball back as linebacker Clancy Osborne intercepted a Brown pass to give Minnesota the ball at the Chicago 20-yard-line to give the Vikings another chance to get into the end zone.

The Vikings would drive to the Bears' one-yard-line where they would face a 4th & goal when Van Brocklin decided to go for the touchdown instead of kicking a field goal as Shaw tried to sneak into the end zone only to be stopped for no gain to keep the score at 3-0 as the first quarter came to an end.

Following a Chicago three-and-out, the Vikings would take over at the Bears' 31-yard-line when Van Brocklin took out Shaw and inserted Tarkenton in as quarterback.

Fran Tarkenton would come off the bench to complete 17 of 23 passes for 250 yards and throw four touchdown passes while running it for another touchdown.

The change at quarterback would pay off as Tarkenton would complete a 15-yard pass to fullback Mel Trippett on 2nd & 8 which was followed by a 14-yard touchdown pass to Bob Schnelker, the first in Vikings history, to increase Minnesota's lead to 10-0 just 87 seconds into the second quarter.

The Bears would begin their next drive at their 34-yard-line where they would advance to the Vikings' 26-yard-line when on 4th & 6, Halas decided to go for the 1st down, which he got when Brown connected with wide receiver Johnny Morris for a 23-yard completion to give Chicago a 1st & goal at the Minnesota three-yard-line.

After he was stopped for no gain on 1st down, Casares would punch it in for a three-yard touchdown to cut the Vikings' lead to 10-6 as the extra point would not be attempted as holder Dick Norman would fumble the snap from center.

Following an exchange of punts, the Vikings would get the ball back at their 42-yard-line as a 26-yard pass from Tarkenton to Jerry Reichow and an nine-yard run by the rookie quarterback put Minnesota at the Bears' 23-yard-line until Tarkenton fumbled the football which was recovered by Chicago linebacker Roger LeClerc to end the drive and allow the Bears to run out the clock in the first half with the Vikings on top 10-6.

The Bears would get the ball to start the second half as they would start their ensuing possession at their 20-yard-line only for Gallimore to lose the football on the first play from scrimmage as Vikings linebacker Rip Hawkins would make the hit that would force the fumble that was recovered by strong safety Rich Mostardi to give Minnesota the ball at the Chicago 27-yard-line.

Tarkenton would complete two passes to McElhenny for 13 yards to give Minnesota a 1st down at the Chicago 14-yard-line when an incomplete pass followed by a quarterback sack by Bears linebacker Joe Fortunato for a 15-yard loss would set up 3rd & 25.

That is when Tarkenton connected with Reichow for a 29-yard touchdown that would increase Minnesota's lead to 17-6 with 12:37 to go in the third quarter.

After forcing the Bears to punt on their ensuing possession, the Vikings got the ball back at their 29-yard-line as four plays took Minnesota into Chicago territory to the Bears' 49-yard-line when Tarkenton hit Reichow again, this time for a 48-yard completion to give the Vikings a 1st & goal at the one-yard-line.

Three running plays that resulted in a cumulative loss of one yard would set up 4th & goal when the Vikings decided to go for the touchdown which they got when Tarkenton completed a swing pass to McElhenny, who was able to get into the end zone for two-yard touchdown to push the Minnesota lead to 24-6 with 3:10 left in the third quarter.

Things would go from bad to worse for the Bears on their next drive as Brown would be intercepted again, this time by Vikings free safety Charlie Sumner to give Minnesota the ball at the Chicago 49-yard-line.

Seven plays later, the Vikings were back in the end zone as Tarkenton ran it in for a three-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter to extend the Vikings' lead to 31-6.

Halas would insert Billy Wade at quarterback on the Bears' next possession which lasted only two plays as Wade would be intercepted by Vikings cornerback Jack Morris, whose 25-yard return gave Minnesota the ball at the Chicago 17-yard-line.

A pass interference penalty would push the Vikings back 15 yards to the Chicago 32-yard-line where they would face a 1st & 25 when Tarkenton found Dave Middleton for a 24-yard completion to set up 2nd & 1 where a three-yard run by Triplett gave Minnesota a 1st & goal at the Bears' five-yard-line.

Two runs by Doug Mayberry for three yards and an incomplete pass would bring up 4th & goal when Van Brocklin again went for the touchdown instead of the field goal as Tarkenton would find Middleton in the back of the end zone for the touchdown to push the Vikings' lead to 37-6 with 10:28 to go in the game.(The extra point was blocked by the way).

The Vikings celebrate in the locker room following their historic upset over the Bears.

The Bears would get into the end zone one more time before the end of the game, a 10-yard touchdown pass from Wade to Gallimore, as the Vikings came away with a stunning 37-13 win in their first game in team history.

The Bears would bounce back from the embarrassing loss to have a winning season as they would finish with an 8-6 record which included a 52-35 win over the Vikings in the final week of the regular season.

As for the Vikings, their win over the Bears would be the highlight of their inaugural season as they would finish with a 3-11 record as Minnesota would have only one winning season during Van Brocklin's tenure as head coach which lasted through the 1966 season.

Van Brocklin would be replaced by Bud Grant, who in his 19 seasons in Minnesota, would lead the Vikings 11 division titles and four trips to the Super Bowl, with Tarkenton as the quarterback for three of those four Super Bowl appearances.

College Football Old School Game of the Week: Iowa State Beats Iowa in Triple Overtime Thriller

Iowa State players hold up the CyHawk trophy after their win over Iowa in 2011.

While most college football rivalries often have their annual meeting towards the end of the season, the rivalry between the Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones occurs at the beginning of the season as the two schools separated by 127 miles have met annually in September since the renewal of the series back in 1977(They played in November in 2001 because of the 9/11 attacks and did not play in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic).

Their game on September 10, 2011 is regarded as one of the best in the series as the Cyclones played host to their intrastate rival at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames with the winner set to receive the CyHawk trophy.

Iowa came into the game on a three-year winning streak in the rivalry having held the Cyclones to just 15 points over the previous three meetings.

Iowa was led by head coach Kirk Ferentz, who was in his 13th season as the Hawkeyes' head coach having led the Hawkeyes to bowl games in nine of his 12 seasons in Iowa City after taking over for the legendary Hayden Fry before the 1999 season.

The Hawkeyes were looking to improve off a 8-5 season the previous year as they returned running back Marcus Coker who had run for 219 yards in Iowa's 27-24 win over Missouri in the 2010 Insight Bowl, along with wide receiver Marvin McNutt, who lead the team with 54 catches and 861 yards in 2010 to go along with new starting quarterback James Vanderburg.

The Hawkeyes easily dispatched of Tennessee Tech 34-7 in their regular season opener before traveling to Ames to take on the Cyclones who looking to beat their intrastate rival for the first time since 2007.

Iowa State was led by head coach Paul Rhoads, who was in his third season as the Cyclones' head coach having led Iowa State to a bowl game in his first season in 2009 only to go 5-7 in 2010 and not make it to the postseason.

Like the Hawkeyes, the Cyclones had a new starting quarterback in junior Steele Jantz, who led Iowa State a narrow 20-19 win over Northern Iowa as he scored the game-winning touchdown with a one-yard run with 40 seconds left in the game.

If Iowa State was going to beat Iowa, they would need a better performance from Jantz, who overcome three interceptions to lead the Cyclones to victory the previous week.

The Cyclones got the ball to start the game as they would drive from their 26-yard-line to the Hawkeyes' five-yard-line in 10 plays to set up a 1st & goal when center Tom Farniok's shotgun snap went over Jantz's head and was recovered by Iowa defensive end Broderick Binns at the 18-yard-line to end Iowa State's first drive of the game.

The Hawkeyes would then put together a 12-play, 82-yard drive that over six minutes to complete as Vanderburg completed passes of 32 yards to Keenan Davis and 12 yards to Marvin McNutt that would move Iowa down into Cyclone territory where Vanderburg found Kevon Martin-Manley for a six-yard touchdown to give Iowa a 7-0 lead.

Following an Iowa State three-and-out, the Hawkeyes got the ball back at their 25-yard-line as their second drive of the game began with a 24-yard pass from Vanderburg to tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz  which was followed by five straight runs by Coker for 24 yards to put Iowa at the Cyclones' 27-yard-line as the first quarter came to an end.

As the second quarter began, Vanderburg would throw the ball on three straight plays, only completing one of those passes for four yards, forcing the Hawkeyes to settle for a 42-yard field goal by Mike Meyer to extend their lead to 10-0.

Iowa running back Marcus Coker(34) would carry the ball 35 times for 140 yards two touchdowns.

After an exchange of punts, the Cyclones drove to the Iowa 12-yard-line only to turn it over again as running back Shontrelle Johnson fumbled the football after a hit by Hawkeyes defensive lineman Thomas Nardo which was recovered by linebacker Tyler Nelsen Iowa the ball back at their five-yard-line.

But two plays later, the Hawkeyes would give it right back to the Cyclones as Coker would be stripped of the football by cornerback Leonard Johnson as linebacker Jake Knott would recover the fumble to give Iowa State the ball at the Iowa 12-yard-line.

Two runs by running back James White gained only one yard to set up 3rd & 9 when Jantz found wide receiver Darius Reynolds for a 11-yard touchdown to put the Cyclones on the board and the cut the Iowa lead to 10-7 midway through the second quarter.

The Iowa State defense would force the Hawkeyes to punt on their ensuing possession to give their offense the ball back at their 43-yard-line as Jantz completed three of four passes for 23 yards while running for 13 yards on four carries to set up a 54-yard field goal by Grant Mahoney, the fifth time he had made a field goal of more than 50 yards in his collegiate career, to tie the game at 10 with 41 seconds left in the first half.

The Hawkeyes would go three-and-out to start the second half but would pin the Cyclones back to their five-yard-line thanks to a 59-yard punt by Eric Guthrie as Iowa State would make it to its 18-yard-line until the Cyclones fumbled the football for the third time in the game as tight end Reid Branderhorst would lose the football following a jarring hit by Iowa linebacker Christian Kirksey, who would also make the recovery at the Iowa State 21-yard-line.

Iowa would move to the Iowa State two-yard-line thanks to passes of 12 yards to Davis and eight yards to Martin-Manley to help set up a 20-yard field goal by Meyer to give the Hawkeyes a 13-10 lead.

The Cyclones would get great field position to start their next drive as Josh Lenz returned the ensuing kickoff 51 yards to the Hawkeyes' 44-yard-line as Iowa State would drive 20 yards in six plays to set up a 42-yard field goal attempt by Mahoney, only for the kick to sail wide left and no good to keep the score at 13-10 in favor of Iowa.

From there, the Hawkeyes would drive to the Cyclones' 32-yard-line thanks to two passes from Vanderburg to Davis that totaled 28-yards and a 15-yard face mask penalty on Iowa State cornerback Jeremy Reeves, which would lead to a 50-yard field goal by Meyer which increased Iowa's lead to 16-10 with 3:58 left in the third quarter.

The Cyclones would begin their next drive at their 27-yard-line as a 57-yard pass from Jantz to wide receiver Aaron Horne, the longest pass play for Iowa State in six years, would help set up Jantz's eight-yard touchdown pass to Lenz that with the extra point gave the Cyclones their first lead of the game at 17-16 with 1:52 to go in the third quarter.

Following an Iowa three-and-out, the Cyclones would get the ball back at their nine-yard-line as Iowa State would take five minutes off the clock as they drove to the Hawkeyes' 20-yard-line when Zach Guyer would come on to attempt a 38-yard field goal.

However, Guyer's kick would sail wide right to keep the score at 17-16 as the Hawkeyes would take over at their 20-yard-line.

The Hawkeyes would drive 80 yards in 11 plays as Vanderburg connected with McNutt for 14 yards to start the drive and later in the drive for 29 yards to set up an one-yard touchdown run by Coker that with a two-point conversion where Vanderburg completed a pass to Davis in the end zone, gave Iowa a 24-17 lead with 5:50 left in regulation.

Iowa State quarterback Steele Jantz would complete 25 of 37 passes for 279 yards and throw four touchdown passes to go along with 42 yards on 16 carries.

Another long kickoff return, this time by Johnson for 40 yards, gave the Cyclones great field position as they begin their next drive at their 41-yard-line.

A false start penalty followed by two plays that picked up zero yards would set up 3rd & 15 from the Iowa State 36-yard-line when Jantz hit Horne for 19 yards and a 1st down at the Iowa 45-yard-line.

Two plays later, the Cyclones were faced with a 3rd & 10 when Jantz scrambled long enough for him to fire an apparent 45-yard touchdown pass to Chris Young only for a holding penalty to be called which negated the touchdown and pushed Iowa State 10 yards back to its 45-yard-line where they would face a 3rd & 20 situation.

That is when Jantz fired a deep back-shoulder pass that was caught by Reynolds for 40-yard gain to give Iowa State a fresh set of downs at the Iowa 15-yard-line.

An incomplete pass followed by a nine-yard pass to Darius Darks followed by a run by Jantz for no gain would set up a 4th & 1 when Jantz was able to run for two yards to pick up the 1st down and give the Cyclones a fresh set of downs at the Iowa four-yard-line.

Following two straight incomplete passes, Jantz would scramble around in the pocket before firing a four-yard touchdown pass to Darks that with the extra point tied the game at 24 with 1:17 remaining in regulation.

The Hawkeyes would take over at their 20-yard-line with two timeouts in their pocket 77 seconds to drive into Iowa State territory and maybe attempt a game-winning field goal in the final seconds.

Instead, Coker would run the ball twice for six yards to run out the clock and send the game into overtime, the first time in CyHawk series history that the game had gone into overtime.

Iowa would get the ball to start the overtime period as Vanderburg completed a six-yard pass to McNutt on the Hawkeyes' first play of the extra period which was followed by four straight runs by Coker with the last run being for four yards and a touchdown to give Iowa a 31-24 lead.

Needing a touchdown to extend the game, the Cyclones' overtime drive would begin with a 14-yard run by Johnson that along with a horse collar tackle on Hawkeyes free safety Micah Hyde gave Iowa State a 1st & goal at the Iowa five-yard-line.

But after two runs by Jantz gained only one yard followed by an incomplete pass, the Cyclones were faced with a do-or-die 4th & goal at the Iowa four-yard-line.

That is when Jantz would find Reynolds in the back corner of the end zone for a four-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at 31 and send it into a second overtime period.

It would take the Cyclones seven plays to get back into the end zone as a 13-yard run by Jantz on a 3rd & 9 at the 14-yard-line would set up an one-yard touchdown run by White which would give Iowa State a 38-31 lead.

It would only take the Hawkeyes two plays to get back into the end zone as Vanderburg connected with Davis for a 23-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at 38 and sent it to a third overtime period.

Iowa would be unable to move the football on their third overtime possession as Vanderburg completed only one of three passes for four yards leading to Ferentz to send in the field goal unit to attempt a 39-yard field goal only for Iowa State get called for an illegal substitution penalty that moved ball yards forward to make it 4th & 1.

Instead of gambling to try and convert the 1st down, Ferentz sent in the field goal unit as Meyer would go on to kick a 34-yard field goal to give Iowa a 41-38 lead but giving the Cyclones a chance to win the game if they could score a touchdown on their ensuing possession.

Iowa State running back James White scores the game-winning touchdown.

A five-yard pass from Jantz to Lenz followed by a three-yard run by White would set up 3rd & 2 at the Iowa 17-yard-line when Jantz found Darks for nine yards to give the Cyclones a 1st down at the Hawkeyes' eight-yard-line.

Jantz would keep the ball and run for four yards on 1st & goal to put Iowa State at the four-yard-line when Steele tossed the ball to White on a quarterback option play to the right side as the sophomore running back who would run it for the game-winning touchdown to give the Cyclones a 44-41 triple overtime victory and the CyHawk trophy to Iowa State for the first time in four years.

The loss to Iowa State would begin up-and-down season for the Hawkeyes as they could never gain consistency during the regular season as they wound up going 7-5 and back to the Insight Bowl where they would play the Oklahoma Sooners where Bob Stoops, a former Iowa defensive back, would lead the Sooners to a 31-14 victory over his alma mater.

As for the Cyclones, they would win their next game over UConn to improve their record to 3-0 only to go on a four-game losing streak to fall behind .500.

Iowa State would then win its next three games, including a 37-31 overtime upset over #2 Oklahoma State to improve to 6-4, which was followed by two straight losses to end the regular season with a 6-6 record as the Cyclones would be invited to play Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl where they would fall 27-13 to end the season with a 6-7 record.