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1969 Minnesota Vikings season
Head Coach Bud Grant
Home Field Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record 12-2
Place 1st NFL Central
Playoff Finish Won Divisional Playoffs (Rams) 23-20
Won NFL Championship (1) (Browns) 27-7
Lost Super Bowl IV (Chiefs) 23-7
Timeline
Previous Season Next Season
1968 1970

1969 was the ninth year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 50th regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings again won the NFL Central Division title, as finished with a record of 12 wins and two losses, plus playoff wins over the Los Angeles Rams in the Western Conference Championship Game, as well as the Cleveland Browns in the last NFL Championship Game ever played in the pre-merger era, before losing the Super Bowl to the AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs in the final professional football game played between any two teams before the two leagues merged.

The Vikings are the last team to win the NFL Championship prior to the league's merger with the American Football League. The season was chronicled for America's Game: The Missing Rings, as one of the five greatest NFL teams to never win the Super Bowl.

Offseason[]

NFL Draft[]

Round Overall Player Position School/Club Team
2 39 Ed White Guard California
2 43 Volly Murphy Flanker Texas-El Paso
4 95 Mike McCaffrey Linebacker California
5 106 Jim Barnes Guard Arkansas
5 112 Mike O'Shea Wide Receiver Utah St.
5 121 Cornelius Davis Running Back Kansas State
6 148 Marion Bates Defensive Back Texas Southern
8 199 Harris Wood Flanker Washington
9 225 Tom Fink Guard Minnesota
10 253 Tom McCauley Defensive Back Wisconsin
11 277 Brian Dowling Quarterback Yale
12 303 Noel Jenke Linebacker Minnesota
13 329 Jim Moylan Defensive Tackle Texas Tech
14 355 Tommy Head Center Southwest Texas State
15 381 Eugene Mosley Tight End Jackson State
17 433 Wendell Housley Running Back Texas A&M

[1]

Regular season[]

The Vikings, led by head coach Bud Grant, ended the season with an NFL best 12-2 regular season record, leading the older league in total points scored (379) and fewest points allowed (133). They had scored 50 or more points in three different games. They had 12 straight victories, the longest single-season winning streak in 35 years,[2] and became the first modern NFL expansion team to win an NFL championship. Their defense, considered the most intimidating in the NFL, was anchored by a defensive line nicknamed the "Purple People Eaters", consisting of defensive tackles Gary Larsen and Alan Page, and defensive ends Carl Eller and Jim Marshall. The secondary was led by defensive backs Bobby Bryant (8 interceptions, 97 return yards), Earsell Mackbee (6 interceptions, 100 return yards), and future Pro Football Hall of Famer Paul Krause (5 interceptions, 82 return yards, 1 touchdown).

On offense, quarterback Joe Kapp was known for his superb leadership and his running ability, both throwing on the run and running for extra yards. And when Kapp did take off and run, instead of sliding when he was about to be tackled like most quarterbacks, he lowered his shoulder and went right at the tackler. This style of play earned him the nickname "Indestructible". In the NFL Championship Game against Cleveland Browns, he collided with linebacker Jim Houston while running for a first down, and Houston had to be helped off the field after the play ended. Also, Kapp was known for being an extremely unselfish leader: when he was voted the Vikings' Most Valuable Player, he turned the award down and said that every player on the team was equally valuable.

Running back Dave Osborn was the team's top rusher with 643 yards and 7 touchdowns. He also caught 22 passes for 236 yards and another touchdown. In the passing game, Pro Bowl wide receiver Gene Washington averaged 21.1 yards per catch by recording 821 yards and 9 touchdowns of off just 39 receptions. Wide receiver John Henderson caught 34 passes for 553 yards and 5 touchdowns. The Vikings offensive line was anchored by Pro Bowlers Grady Alderman and Mick Tingelhoff.

Schedule[]

Week Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance
1 September 21 at New York Giants L 23-24 Yankee Stadium
62,900
2 September 28 Baltimore Colts W 52-14 Metropolitan Stadium
47,900
3 October 5 Green Bay Packers W 19-7 Memorial Stadium
60,740
4 October 12 at Chicago Bears W 31-0 Wrigley Field
45,757
5 October 19 at St. Louis Cardinals W 27-10 Busch Memorial Stadium
49,430
6 October 26 Detroit Lions W 24-10 Metropolitan Stadium
47,900
7 November 2 Chicago Bears W 31-14 Metropolitan Stadium
47,900
8 November 9 Cleveland Browns W 51-3 Metropolitan Stadium
47,900
9 November 16 at Green Bay Packers W 9-7 Milwaukee County Stadium
48,321
10 November 23 Pittsburgh Steelers W 52-14 Metropolitan Stadium
47,202
11 November 27 at Detroit Lions W 27-0 Tiger Stadium
57,906
12 December 7 at Los Angeles Rams W 20-13 LA Coliseum
80,430
13 December 14 San Francisco 49ers W 10-7 Metropolitan Stadium
43,028
14 December 21 at Atlanta Falcons L 3-10 Atlanta Stadium
52,872

Standings[]

Western Conference
Central Division
Team W L T PCT PF PA
Minnesota Vikings 12 2 0 .857 379 133
Detroit Lions 9 4 1 .692 259 188
Green Bay Packers 8 6 0 .571 269 221
Chicago Bears 1 13 0 .071 210 339

Roster[]

Quarterbacks

Running Backs

  • RB Bill Brown
  • RB Billy Harris
  • RB Clint Jones
  • RB Jim Lindsey
  • RB Dave Osborn
  • RB Oscar Reed

Wide Receivers

  • WR Bob Grim
  • WR/DB Tom Hall
  • WR John Henderson
  • WR Gene Washington

Tight Ends

  • TE John Beasley
  • TE Kent Kramer

Offensive Linemen

  • T/G Grady Alderman
  • G Bookie Bolin
  • T Doug Davis
  • G Milt Sunde
  • C Mick Tingelhoff
  • G Jim Vellone
  • G Ed White
  • T Ron Yary

Defensive Linemen

Linebackers

  • LB Jim Hargrove
  • LB Wally Hilgenberg
  • LB John Kirby
  • LB Mike McGill
  • LB Mike Reilly
  • LB Lonnie Warwick
  • LB Roy Winston

Defensive Backs

  • DB Bobby Bryant
  • DB Dale Hackbart
  • DB Karl Kassulke
  • DB Paul Krause
  • DB Earsell Mackbee
  • DB Ed Sharockman
  • DB Charlie West

Special Teams

  • K Fred Cox
  • P/QB Bob Lee

Postseason[]

Playoffs[]

Week Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance
Western Conference December 27 Los Angeles Rams W 23-20 Metropolitan Stadium
47,900
NFL Championship January 4 Cleveland Browns W 27-7 Metropolitan Stadium
47,900
Super Bowl January 11 N Kansas City Chiefs L 7-23 Tulane Stadium
80,562

NFL Championship Game[]

1 2 3 4 Total
Browns 0 0 0 7 7
Vikings 14 10 3 0 27




Minnesota Vikings 27, Cleveland Browns 7

Scoring

  • MIN - Kapp 7 run (Cox kick)
  • MIN - Washington 75 pass from Kapp (Cox kick)
  • MIN - FG Cox 30
  • MIN - Osborn 20 run (Cox kick)
  • MIN - FG Cox 32
  • CLE - Collins 3 pass from Nelsen (Cockroft kick)

Super Bowl IV[]

Quarter Time Team Drive Scoring Information Score
Length Plays Time MIN KC
1 6:52 KC 42 8 4:06 FG: Jan Stenerud 48 yards 0 3
2 13:20 KC 55 8 4:48 FG: Jan Stenerud 32 yards 0 6
2 7:52 KC 27 4 2:13 FG: Jan Stenerud 25 yards 0 9
2 5:34 KC 19 6 1:47 TD: Mike Garrett 5 yard run (Jan Stenerud kick) 0 16
3 4:32 MIN 69 10 4:34 TD: Dave Osborn 4 yard run (Fred Cox kick) 7 16
3 1:22 KC 82 6 3:10 TD: Otis Taylor 46 yard pass from Len Dawson (Jan Stenerud kick) 7 23

Awards and records[]

  • Led NFL, Points Scored (379)

Milestones[]

References[]

  1. 1969 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2009-07-22. Retrieved on 2009-07-20.
  2. "Super Bowl IV," Super Bowl I-X Collector's Set. NFL Productions, LLC, 2003
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