The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion team, the team began play the following year. They are named after the Vikings of medieval Scandinavia, reflecting the prominent Scandinavian American culture of Minnesota. The team plays its home games at U.S. Bank Stadium in the Downtown East section of Minneapolis.
Richard Joseph Gannon is an American former professional football quarterback who played 18 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Subsequently, he was a sports commentator with CBS Sports for 16 years.
John Anthony Randle is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for eleven seasons for the Minnesota Vikings and three seasons for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was a six-time first-team All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowler. Since becoming an official stat in 1982, his 137.5 sacks rank tenth, tied with Richard Dent, and first among defensive tackles. On February 6, 2010, he was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He played college football for the Trinity Valley Cardinals and the Texas A&I Javelinas, and was signed by the Vikings as an undrafted free agent after the 1990 NFL draft. He is considered one of the greatest undrafted players of all time.
Christopher John Doleman was an American professional football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL). He spent the majority of his career with the Minnesota Vikings, and also played for the Atlanta Falcons and the San Francisco 49ers. Doleman was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and a twice first-team All-Pro, recording 150.5 career sacks. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2012.
Kevin Williams is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings ninth overall in the 2003 NFL draft.
Gary Wayne Zimmerman is an American former professional football player who was a Hall of Fame offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) and United States Football League (USFL). He earned a Super Bowl ring with the Denver Broncos.
Gino Louis Torretta is an American former football player who was a quarterback for five seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1992 and was a member of the national championship teams of 1989 and 1991. He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round of the 1993 NFL draft and was a member of several NFL teams, but never became a regular starter as a pro. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
The 1993 NFL season was the 74th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). It was the only season in league history where all NFL teams were originally scheduled to play their 16-game schedule over a span of 18 weeks and did so, where all of the Week 2 scheduled games were moved to an 18th week and the entire postseason was delayed by 7 days before starting). After the success of expanding the regular season to a period of 17 weeks in 1990, the league hoped this new schedule would generate even more revenue. This was also done to avoid scheduling playoff games on January 1 and competing with college football bowl games. The NFL's teams, however, felt that having two weeks off during the regular season was too disruptive for their weekly routines, and thus the regular season reverted to 17 weeks immediately after the season ended. 2021 marked the first season where an 18-week schedule would include 17 regular-season games.
Steven Christopher Bono is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins and was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the sixth round of the 1985 NFL draft. He played for seven different teams in 15 different seasons, spending the most time with the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs.
Terry Thomas Allen Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Allen played college football for the Clemson Tigers. He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the ninth round of the 1990 NFL draft.
Keith Joseph Millard is an American former professional football player who played as a defensive tackle for nine seasons for the Minnesota Vikings, the Green Bay Packers, the Seattle Seahawks and the Philadelphia Eagles from 1985 to 1993 in the National Football League (NFL).
Everett Eric Lindsay is an American former professional football player who was a guard for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels, earning consensus All-American recognition in 1992. He played professionally for the Minnesota Vikings, Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns of the NFL.
James Otis Graham, better known as Scottie, is an American former professional football player who played running back for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the New York Jets (1992), the Minnesota Vikings (1993–1996), and the Cincinnati Bengals (1997). He is the current running backs coach for the Washington Huskies after serving in the same position at Arizona.
David Lee Palmer is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist for seven seasons with the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Palmer was a member of the 1992 Alabama team that won a national championship, and he earned consensus All-American honors in 1993. He was selected by the Vikings in the second round of the 1994 NFL draft.
Eric Andre Guliford is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He has played five seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and four seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the 1995 NFL Expansion Draft.
The 1961 NFL expansion draft was a National Football League (NFL) draft in which a new expansion team, named the Minnesota Vikings, selected its first players. That selection was provided by the expansion draft, held on January 26, 1961.
Clarence Eugene Love is a former American football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL). Love starred at local Jackson High School and was a member of the Jackson Citizen Patriot's Dream Team. Love attended college at the University of Toledo and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the 1998 NFL draft. He played with the Eagles (1998), the Baltimore Ravens (1999–2000), and the Oakland Raiders (2002–2004). Love won Super Bowl XXXV with the Baltimore Ravens. Love graduated in 1993 at Jackson High School.
Randy Chadwick Baldwin is a former professional American football player who played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) as a running back and kick returner for the Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens.
Ashley Guy Sheppard is an American former professional football linebacker who played three seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars and St. Louis Rams. He was selected by the Vikings in the fourth round of the 1993 NFL draft. He played college football at Clemson University. Sheppard first enrolled at North Pitt High School in Bethel, North Carolina before transferring to Fork Union Military Academy in Fork Union, Virginia.
