1965 Minnesota Vikings season

1965 Minnesota Vikings season
1965 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Norm Van Brocklin
General manager	Jim Finks
Home field	Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record	7–7
Division place	5th NFL Western
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
	← 1964; Vikings seasons; 1966 →;

The 1965 season was the Minnesota Vikings' fifth in the National Football League. Under head coach Norm van Brocklin, the team finished with a 7–7 record.

Offseason[]

1965 Draft[]

	Pro Bowler

1965 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order		Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Selection	Player name	Position	College	Notes
1	8	Jack Snow	Wide receiver	Notre Dame
2	15	Archie Sutton	Tackle	Illinois	from Giants^[a]
2	23	Lance Rentzel	Wide receiver	Oklahoma
3	36	Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers^[b]
4	51	Jim Whalen	Wide receiver	Boston College
4	55	Jim Harris	Tackle	Utah State	from Browns^[c]
5	64	Traded to the Detroit Lions^[d]
6	79	Jim Grisham	Running back	Oklahoma
7	92	Traded to the Detroit Lions^[e]
8	100	John Hankinson	Quarterback	Minnesota	from 49ers^[f]
8	107	Jeff Jordon	Running back	Tulsa
9	120	Frank McClendon	Tackle	Alabama
10	135	Jerald Schweiger	Tackle	Wisconsin–Superior
11	148	John Thomas	Wide receiver	USC
12	163	Mike Tilleman	Defensive tackle	Montana
13	176	Dave Osborn	Running back	North Dakota
14	191	Max Leetzow	Defensive end	Idaho
15	204	Phillip Morgan	Running back	East Tennessee State
16	219	Paul Labinski	Tackle	St. John's (Minnesota)
17	232	Veran Smith	Running back	Utah State
18	247	Rich Kotite	Wide receiver	Wagner
19	260	Ellis Johnson	Running back	Southeastern Louisiana
20	271	Cosmo Iacavazzi	Running back	Princeton

^{^[a]} The New York Giants traded their 2nd round selection (15th overall) and 1964 4th round selection (53rd overall) to Minnesota for RB Hugh McElhenny.

^{^[b]} Minnesota traded their 3rd round selection (36th overall) to Pittsburgh for RB Bob Ferguson.

^{^[c]} Cleveland traded their 4th round selection (55th overall) (and by some reports their 1966 6th round selection (90th overall)) to Minnesota for DT Mike Bundra.

^{^[d]} Minnesota traded their 5th round selection (64th overall) to Detroit for WR Tom Hall and HB Bruce Zellmer.

^{^[e]} Minnesota traded their 7th round selection (92nd overall) and 1966 6th round selection (87th overall) to Detroit for DT Mike Bundra and End Larry Vargo.

^{^[f]} San Francisco traded their 8th round selection (100th overall) to Minnesota for DT Roy Williams.

Roster[]

**1965 Minnesota Vikings final roster**

	Quarterbacks 10 Fran Tarkenton 15 Ron Vander Kelen Running backs 30 Bill Brown FB 24 Phil King 20 Tommy Mason 41 Dave Osborn Wide receivers 85 Paul Flatley 82 Red Phillips 19 Lance Rentzel Tight ends 87 Gordon Smith		Offensive linemen 67 Grady Alderman T 61 Larry Bowie G 64 Milt Sunde G 53 Mick Tingelhoff C Defensive linemen 81 Carl Eller DE 70 Jim Marshall DE 79 Jim Prestel DT		Linebackers 58 Rip Hawkins 36 John Kirby 60 Roy Winston Defensive backs 23 Lee Calland CB 29 Karl Kassulke S 45 Ed Sharockman CB 25 Larry Vargo Special teams 14 Fred Cox K		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics , 5 practice squad

Preseason[]

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance [1]
1	August 14	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 31—21	1—0	Atlanta Stadium (Atlanta, GA)	39,240
2	August 20	Philadelphia Eagles	W 35—21	2—0	Metropolitan Stadium	43,125
3	August 28	Washington Redskins	W 20—16	3—0	American Legion Memorial Stadium (Charlotte, NC)	20,426
4	September 3	Dallas Cowboys	W 57—17	4—0	Legion Field (Birmingham, AL)	41,500
5	September 11	New York Giants	W 24—9	5—0	Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium (Omaha, NE)	14,250

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 19	at Baltimore Colts	L 16–35	0–1	Memorial Stadium	56,562
2	September 26	Detroit Lions	L 29–31	0–2	Metropolitan Stadium	46,826^[1]
3	October 3	at Los Angeles Rams	W 38–35	1–2	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	36,755
4	October 9	New York Giants	W 40–14	2–2	Metropolitan Stadium	44,283
5	October 17	Chicago Bears	L 37–45	2–3	Metropolitan Stadium	47,426
6	October 24	at San Francisco 49ers	W 42–41	3–3	Kezar Stadium	42,680
7	October 31	at Cleveland Browns	W 27–17	4–3	Cleveland Stadium	83,505
8	November 7	Los Angeles Rams	W 24–13	5–3	Metropolitan Stadium	47,426
9	November 14	Baltimore Colts	L 21–41	5–4	Metropolitan Stadium	47,426
10	November 21	Green Bay Packers	L 13–38	5–5	Metropolitan Stadium	47,426
11	November 28	San Francisco 49ers	L 24–45	5–6	Metropolitan Stadium	40,306
12	December 5	at Green Bay Packers	L 19–24	5–7	Lambeau Field	50,852
13	December 12	at Detroit Lions	W 29–7	6–7	Tiger Stadium	45,420
14	December 19	at Chicago Bears	W 24–17	7–7	Wrigley Field	46,604

Note: The game against the Giants, originally scheduled for Sunday, October 10, was pushed up to Saturday night because of the World Series.

^ This is an opening game attendance record at Metropolitan Stadium.

Standings[]

NFL Western Conference
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Green Bay Packers	10	3	1	.769	8–3–1	316	224	T1
Baltimore Colts	10	3	1	.769	8–3–1	389	284	W1
Chicago Bears	9	5	0	.643	7–5	409	275	L1
San Francisco 49ers	7	6	1	.538	6–5–1	421	402	T1
Minnesota Vikings	7	7	0	.500	5–7	383	403	W2
Detroit Lions	6	7	1	.462	4–7–1	257	295	W1
Los Angeles Rams	4	10	0	.286	2–10	269	328	L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Statistics[]

Team leaders[]

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing yards	Fran Tarkenton	2,609
Passing touchdowns	Fran Tarkenton	19
Rushing yards	Bill Brown	699
Rushing touchdowns	Tommy Mason	10
Receiving yards	Paul Flatley	896
Receiving touchdowns	Paul Flatley	7
Points	Fred Cox	113
Kickoff return yards	Lance Rentzel	602
Punt return yards	Tommy Mason	63
Interceptions	Ed Sharockman	6

League rankings[]

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 14)
Passing offense	2,546	181.9	8th
Rushing offense	2,278	162.7	2nd
Total offense	4,824	344.6	4th
Passing defense	2,493	178.1	6th
Rushing defense	1,755	125.4	9th
Total defense	4,248	303.4	7th

References[]

"1965 Draft". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 19, 2007.
"1965 Minnesota Vikings". DatabaseFootball. Archived from the original on 10 April 2007. Retrieved April 19, 2007.

[1] This is an opening game attendance record at Metropolitan Stadium.

[a]

[b]

[c]

[d]

[e]

[f]

[1]

v t Minnesota Vikings
Founded in 1961 Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota Headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota
Franchise	Franchise History Expansion draft Players First-round draft picks Quarterbacks Head coaches Seasons Statistics Draft Broadcasters
Stadiums	Metropolitan Stadium Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome TCF Bank Stadium U.S. Bank Stadium
Culture	Purple People Eaters "Skol, Vikings" Herschel Walker trade Love Boat scandal How I Met Your Mother "Little Minnesota" "Tailgate" Cheerleaders
Lore	The Wrong Way Run Hail Mary Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy Santa Claus game Miracle at the Met Gary Anderson's missed field goal 2010 Metrodome roof collapse Minneapolis Miracle
Rivalries	Chicago Bears Dallas Cowboys Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers New Orleans Saints
Division championships (20)	1968 1969 1970 1971 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1980 1989 1992 1994 1998 2000 2008 2009 2015 2017
Conference championships (4)	1969 1973 1974 1976
League championships (1)	1969
Retired numbers	10 53 70 77 80 88
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: North Division

v t Minnesota Vikings seasons
1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–) victory Italics indicates Super Bowl (1966–) appearance