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Fran Tarkenton

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For the episode of Weeds named after this person, see Weeds (season 6).

Fran Tarkenton
Tarkenton in January 2010 after a speech by General David Petraeus in Atlanta, Georgia
Tarkenton in 2010
No. 10
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1940-02-03) February 3, 1940 (age 84)
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school:Athens
(Athens, Georgia)
College:Georgia (1958–1960)
NFL draft:1961 / round: 3 / pick: 29
AFL draft:1961 / round: 5 / pick: 35
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Passing attempts:6,467
Passing completions:3,686
Completion percentage:57.0%
TD–INT:342–266
Passer rating:80.4
Passing yards:47,003
Rushing yards:3,674
Rushing touchdowns:32
Stats at Pro Football Reference
Pro Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame

Francis Asbury Tarkenton (born February 3, 1940), nicknamed "the Scrambler", is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He is widely regarded as the first great dual-threat quarterback in the NFL.[1][2][3] He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, where he was recognized as a twice first-team All-SEC, and was selected by the Vikings in the third round of the 1961 NFL draft. After retiring from football, he became a media personality and computer software executive.

Tarkenton's tenure with the Vikings spanned thirteen non-consecutive seasons. He played for Minnesota six seasons from 1961 to 1966 when he was traded to the New York Giants for five seasons, and then traded back to Minnesota for his last seven seasons from 1972 to 1978. At the time of his retirement, Tarkenton owned many quarterback records. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987.

In addition to his football career, Tarkenton served as a commentator on Monday Night Football and a co-host of That's Incredible!. He also founded Tarkenton Software, a computer-program generator company, and he toured the U.S. promoting CASE (computer-aided software engineering) with Albert F. Case Jr. of Nastec Corporation. Tarkenton Software later merged with KnowledgeWare (with Tarkenton as president), until selling the company to Sterling Software in 1994.

Early life and education

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Fran Tarkenton was born on February 3, 1940, in Richmond, Virginia. His father, Dallas Tarkenton, was a Methodist minister.[4][5] Tarkenton went to Athens High School in Athens, Georgia, and later attended the University of Georgia, where he was the quarterback on the Bulldog football team and a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.[6]

Under head coach Wally Butts and with Tarkenton as quarterback, Georgia won the Southeastern Conference championship in 1959.[7] Tarkenton was a first-team All-SEC selection in both 1959 and 1960.[8][9]

Professional football career

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The expansion Minnesota Vikings selected Tarkenton in the third round (29th overall) of the 1961 NFL draft, and he was picked in the fifth round of the AFL draft by the Boston Patriots.[10][11] He signed with the Vikings. Tarkenton, 21, played his first NFL game (and the Vikings' first game) on September 17 against the Chicago Bears, coming off the bench to lead the Vikings to a 37–13 victory by passing for 250 yards and four touchdown passes and running for another.[12][13] He was the only player in NFL history to pass for four touchdowns in his first NFL game, until the feat was repeated by Marcus Mariota in the Tennessee Titans' 2015 season opener versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[14] The next player to tie them with four TDs in an NFL debut would also be a Titan. Will Levis threw four touchdowns against the Atlanta Falcons in his NFL debut in 2023.

He played for the Vikings from 1961 through 1966. His early years with the team were plagued by the trouble expected for a newly created team, with the Vikings winning a total of 10 games combined in their first three seasons, with Tarkenton winning eight of them.[15][16][17] He threw 18 touchdowns and 17 interceptions for 1,997 yards in his first season. He rushed for 308 yards on 56 rushes for five touchdowns.[18] The following year, he threw 22 touchdowns and 25 interceptions for 2,595 yards. He rushed for 361 yards on 41 rushes for two touchdowns.[19]

Tarkenton was traded to the New York Giants in March 1967 for three draft picks (and a player to be named later),[20] at which time he moved to the suburb of New Rochelle, New York.[21] In his first year with the Giants, Tarkenton passed for a then-career high 3,088 yards and a career high 29 touchdown passes en route to a 7–7 record, a huge improvement for a team that had finished 1-12-1 the year before. Tarkenton has stated that that 1967 season remains the highlight of his career. In the first game of the 1969 season, the Giants played the Vikings. After trailing 23–10 in the fourth quarter, Tarkenton threw two touchdown passes to secure a 24–23 comeback victory over his former team.[22] The 24 points allowed by Minnesota's defense were a season-worst for the unit, one more point than the Vikings allowed in losing Super Bowl IV to the Kansas City Chiefs in January.[23]

Tarkenton enjoyed his best season with the Giants in 1970. They overcame an 0–3 start with nine wins in the next ten games and moved into position to win the NFC East division championship in week 14. However, New York was routed 31–3 by the Los Angeles Rams at Yankee Stadium to finish at 9–5, one game behind the division champion Dallas Cowboys and the wild card Detroit Lions.[24] The 1970 season was the closest the Giants came to making the playoffs during a 17-year drought, from 1964 through 1980.[25]

On January 27, 1972, Tarkenton was traded back to the Vikings for quarterback Norm Snead, receiver Bob Grim, running back Vince Clements, a first rounder in 1972 (24th overall: Larry Jacobson, defensive lineman) and a second rounder in 1973 (40th overall: Brad Van Pelt, linebacker).[26][27][28] Tarkenton led the Vikings to three National Football Conference championships, but the Vikings lost each ensuing Super Bowl. In the 1974 Super Bowl, Minnesota lost to the Miami Dolphins 24–7 in Houston.[29] They lost the 1975 Super Bowl to the Pittsburgh Steelers 16–6 in New Orleans,[30] and (in Minnesota's last Super Bowl to date) lost the 1977 Super Bowl to the Oakland Raiders 32–14 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.[31]

Tarkenton calling signals for the Minnesota Vikings

In his 18 NFL seasons, Tarkenton completed 3,686 of 6,467 passes for 47,003 yards and 342 touchdowns, with 266 interceptions, all of which were NFL records at the time of his retirement. Tarkenton's 47,003 career passing yards rank him 14th all time,[32] while his 342 career passing touchdowns is 11th all time in NFL history.[33] He also is eighth on the all-time list of regular-season wins by a starting quarterback with 124 regular season victories. He used his impressive scrambling ability to rack up 3,674 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns on 675 carries. During his career, Tarkenton ran for a touchdown in 15 different seasons, an NFL record among quarterbacks. He ranks seventh in career rushing yards among quarterbacks, behind Randall Cunningham, Lamar Jackson, Steve Young, Michael Vick, Cam Newton, and Russell Wilson.[34] He is also one of four NFL quarterbacks ever to rush for at least 300 yards in seven different seasons; the others are Cam Newton, Michael Vick, and Tobin Rote. When he retired, Tarkenton held NFL career records in pass attempts, completions, yardage, touchdowns, rushing yards by a quarterback, and wins by a starting quarterback.

The Vikings finished the 1975 season with an NFC-best 12–2 record and Tarkenton won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award and the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award while capturing All-Pro honors in the process.[35][36][37][38] He was also a second-team All-Pro in 1973 and earned All-NFC selections in 1972 and 1976.[39][40][41] He was named second-team All-NFC in 1970 and 1974.[42][43] Tarkenton was selected to play in nine Pro Bowls.[44]

Tarkenton was indecisive on his retirement during the last seven years of his playing career.[45][46]

Despite not winning a Super Bowl, he won six playoff games, and in 1999 he was ranked #59 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.

Tarkenton was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1977,[47] the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986,[44] the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987,[48] and the Athens, Georgia Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.[49]

Books

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A biography of Tarkenton titled Better Scramble than Lose was published in 1969.[50] This followed Tarkenton's 1967 autobiography No Time for Losing and preceded by several years his 1977 autobiography Tarkenton co-written with Jim Klobuchar. The autobiographies chronicle not only his football career but also his personal evolution from his early football days as a preacher's son. Tarkenton co-wrote with Brock Yates a book in 1971 titled Broken Patterns: The Education of a Quarterback, a chronicle of the 1970 New York Giants season.[51]

In 1986, Tarkenton, with author Herb Resincow, wrote a novel titled Murder at the Super Bowl, the whodunit story of a football coach killed just before his team is to participate in the championship game.[52]

Tarkenton wrote the self-help, motivational books Playing to Win in 1984,[53] and How to Motivate People: The Team Strategy for Success in 1986.[54] He also wrote the motivational self-help business book titled What Losing Taught Me About Winning,[4] and Every Day is Game Day.[55] In 1987, Tarkenton hosted a Think and Grow Rich TV infomercial that sold the book with an audio cassette version (the audio cassettes contained an introduction and conclusion by Tarkenton).[56]

Business ventures and investments

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Mark McCormack helped Tarkenton invest, making him wealthy enough to "retire this week if [he] wanted to", as New York magazine wrote in 1971.[57] Tarkenton was a pioneer in computer software, and founder of Tarkenton Software, a program generator company. He toured the United States promoting CASE or "computer-aided software engineering" with Albert F. Case, Jr. of Nastec Corporation, but ultimately merged his software firm with James Martin's KnowledgeWare, of which Tarkenton was president until selling the company to Sterling Software in 1994.

In 1999, Tarkenton was fined by federal regulators as part of a securities fraud sweep. According to the L.A. Times, "In Tarkenton's case, the Hall of Fame quarterback and 10 other former executives of his computer software and consulting firm, KnowledgeWare Inc., were accused of inflating by millions of dollars the company's earnings in reports for its fiscal year ended June 30, 1994. The former Minnesota Vikings quarterback agreed to pay a $100,000 fine and $54,187 in restitution. He did not admit any wrongdoing".[58]

Since then, Tarkenton has been promoting various products and services including Tony Robbins and 1-800-BAR-NONE. He also founded GoSmallBiz, a small-business consulting website. He also operates an annuity marketing firm called Tarkenton Financial.

Politics

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Tarkenton speaking at the 2016 Republican National Convention

During the 2016 Republican National Convention, Tarkenton gave a speech endorsing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.[59]

NFL career statistics

[edit]
Legend
AP NFL MVP & OPOTY
Led the league
Bold Career high
Year Team Games Passing Rushing
GP GS Cmp Att Pct Yds Avg TD Int Lng Rtg Att Yds Avg Lng TD
1961 MIN 14 10 157 280 56.1 1,997 7.1 18 17 71 74.7 56 308 5.5 52 5
1962 MIN 14 14 163 329 49.5 2,595 7.9 22 25 89 66.9 41 361 8.8 31 2
1963 MIN 14 13 170 297 57.2 2,311 7.8 15 15 67 78.0 28 162 5.8 24 1
1964 MIN 14 14 171 306 55.9 2,506 8.2 22 11 64 91.8 50 330 6.6 31 2
1965 MIN 14 14 171 329 52.0 2,609 7.9 19 11 72 83.8 56 356 6.4 36 1
1966 MIN 14 12 192 358 53.6 2,561 7.2 17 16 68 73.8 62 376 6.1 28 4
1967 NYG 14 14 204 377 54.1 3,088 8.2 29 19 70 85.9 44 306 7.0 22 2
1968 NYG 14 14 182 337 54.0 2,555 7.6 21 12 84 84.6 57 301 5.3 22 3
1969 NYG 14 14 220 409 53.8 2,918 7.1 23 8 65 87.2 37 172 4.6 21 0
1970 NYG 14 14 219 389 56.3 2,777 7.1 19 12 59 82.2 43 236 5.5 20 2
1971 NYG 13 13 226 386 58.5 2,567 6.7 11 21 81 65.4 30 111 3.7 16 3
1972 MIN 14 14 215 378 56.9 2,651 7.0 18 13 76 80.2 27 180 6.7 21 0
1973 MIN 14 14 169 274 61.7 2,113 7.7 15 7 54 93.2 41 202 4.9 16 1
1974 MIN 13 13 199 351 56.7 2,598 7.4 17 12 80 82.1 21 120 5.7 15 2
1975 MIN 14 14 273 425 64.2 2,994 7.0 25 13 46 91.8 16 108 6.8 21 2
1976 MIN 13 13 255 412 61.9 2,961 7.2 17 8 56 89.3 27 45 1.7 20 1
1977 MIN 9 9 155 258 60.1 1,734 6.7 9 14 59 69.2 15 6 0.4 8 0
1978 MIN 16 16 345 572 60.3 3,468 6.1 25 32 58 68.9 24 −6 −0.3 15 1
Career 246 239 3,686 6,467 57.0 47,003 7.3 342 266 89 80.4 675 3,674 5.4 52 32

Personal life

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Tarkenton has been married twice and has four children.

His first marriage was to Anna Elaine Merrell of Decatur, Georgia. They wed on December 22, 1960, at First Baptist Church in Decatur, and divorced in March 1982. They had three children: daughter Angela (born 1964), son Matthew (born 1968), and daughter Melissa (born 1969).[60][61]

Tarkenton married his second wife, Linda Sebastian, in the mid-1980s. They have one daughter, Hayley Gray Tarkenton (born 1988), a singer-songwriter.[62]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ Keefer, Zak (July 11, 2021). "NFL 100: At No. 95, Fran Tarkenton proved QBs could run long before Young, Vick and Lamar". The New York Times. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  2. ^ Reid, Jason (2022). The Rise of the Black Quarterback. Disney Book Group. ISBN 978-1-368-08217-4 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Long, Howie; Czarnecki, John (2023). Football For Dummies, USA Edition. Wiley. p. 349. ISBN 978-1-394-18127-8.
  4. ^ a b Tarkenton, Fran (1997). What Losing Taught Me About Winning: The Ultimate Guide for Success in Small and Home-Based Businesses. Fireside Books. ISBN 0-684-83879-6.
  5. ^ "Father of Tarkenton Dies During Telecast". New York Times. December 29, 1975. Archived from the original on September 20, 2019. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  6. ^ "Sigma Alpha Epsilon". omegafi.com. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  7. ^ Bratton, Michael Wayne (July 2019). "History of all-time SEC football championships entering 2019". Saturday Down South. Archived from the original on September 20, 2019. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  8. ^ Moffit, David M. (November 25, 1959). "Auburn Lands 3 Lineman On All-Star Team". The Monroe News-Star. p. 23. Archived from the original on June 12, 2015. Retrieved June 11, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  9. ^ "Gibbs and Tarkenton Named on UPI All-SEC". The Delta Democrat-Times. November 22, 1960. p. 7. Archived from the original on September 20, 2019. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  10. ^ "1961 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  11. ^ "1961 AFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  12. ^ "Countdown to the 2013 NFL Draft". National Football League. Archived from the original on April 6, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
  13. ^ "Vikings, 49ers, Colts, Eagles win openers". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 18, 1961. p. 3B.
  14. ^ "A Look at Marcus Mariota's Rookie Accomplishments Archived August 21, 2016, at the Wayback Machine" by Jim Wyatt, Titans online, December 31, 2015
  15. ^ "1961 Minnesota Vikings Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  16. ^ "1962 Minnesota Vikings Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  17. ^ "1963 Minnesota Vikings Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  18. ^ "Fran Tarkenton 1961 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  19. ^ "Fran Tarkenton 1962 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  20. ^ Grimsley, Will (March 8, 1967). "Fran Tarkenton is the Giants' answer to rival Jets' Joe Namath". The Day. (New London, Connecticut). Associated Press. p. 41.
  21. ^ Kriegel, Mark (2005). Namath: A Biography. Penguin Books. p. 210. ISBN 978-0143035350.
  22. ^ "Minnesota Vikings at New York Giants – September 21st, 1969". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on June 20, 2017.
  23. ^ "1969 Minnesota Vikings". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2018.
  24. ^ "1970 New York Giants Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  25. ^ "New York Giants Team Records, Leaders, and League Ranks". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  26. ^ Lowitt, Bruce (January 28, 1972). "Fran Tarkenton traded to Minnesota". The Day. (New London, Connecticut). Associated Press. p. 16.
  27. ^ Koppett, Leonard (January 28, 1972). "Vikings Get Tarkenton For Snead and 4 Others". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  28. ^ "1972 NFL Draft Pick Transactions, February 1 (Rounds 1–7) & 2 (Rounds 8–17)". Pro Sports Transactions. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  29. ^ "Super Bowl VIII - Minnesota Vikings vs. Miami Dolphins - January 13th, 1974". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  30. ^ "Super Bowl IX - Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Minnesota Vikings - January 12th, 1975". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  31. ^ "Super Bowl XI - Oakland Raiders vs. Minnesota Vikings - January 9th, 1977". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  32. ^ "NFL Passing Yards Career Leaders". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  33. ^ "NFL Passing Touchdowns Career Leaders". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 30, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  34. ^ "Most Rushing Yards By A Quarterback All-time". StatMuse. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  35. ^ "1975 NFL Standings & Team Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  36. ^ "AP NFL Most Valuable Player Winners". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  37. ^ "AP Offensive Player of the Year Winners". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  38. ^ "1975 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  39. ^ "1972 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  40. ^ "1973 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  41. ^ "1976 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  42. ^ "1970 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  43. ^ "1974 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  44. ^ a b "Fran Tarkenton". Professional Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on August 22, 2016.
  45. ^ "Tarkenton Has Retired, Giants Say Archived October 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine", Chicago Tribune, Αugust 10, 1971
  46. ^ Quote Of The Day Archived November 17, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, The Ledger, March 22, 1978
  47. ^ "Inductees". Georgia Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on January 15, 2019.
  48. ^ "Inductees". College Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016.
  49. ^ "2000 Inductees". Athens Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on August 22, 2016.
  50. ^ Olsen, Jack (1969). Better Scramble Than Lose. Four Winds Press.
  51. ^ Tarkenton, Fran; Yates, Brock W. (1971). Broken Patterns: The Education of a Quarterback. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0671210533.
  52. ^ Tarkenton, Fran; Resincow, Herb (1986). Murder at the Super Bowl (1st ed.). William Morrow & Co. ISBN 978-0688067168.
  53. ^ Tarkenton, Fran, Playing to Win, 1985, Bantam Books ISBN 0-553-25079-5
  54. ^ Tarkenton, Fran and Tuleja, Tad 1986, Harper and Row ISBN 0-06-015543-4
  55. ^ Tarkenton, Fran; Bruton, Jim (2009). Every Day Is Game Day. Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-60078-253-4.
  56. ^ "Partners in Time : Guthy-Renker, Charles Wesley Orton Archived February 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine", Response magazine, May 2001
  57. ^ Axthelm, Pete. ""The Third Annual Permanent Retirement of Joe Namath Archived January 19, 2016, at the Wayback Machine", New York magazine, July 7, 1971, pp.47–49
  58. ^ LA Times, September 29, 1999
  59. ^ Condon, Patrick (July 21, 2016). "Vikings veteran Fran Tarkenton speaks at Republican convention". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  60. ^ Looney, Douglas S. (October 25, 1982). "Fran Tarkenton". People. Meredith Corporation. Archived from the original on September 21, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  61. ^ Martin, Frank (October 4, 1976). "Ping-Pong Ace, Record-Setting Quarterback, Fran Tarkenton Battles a Runner-Up Image". People. Meredith Corporation. Archived from the original on September 21, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  62. ^ "Hayley Gray & the Medicine". ReverbNation. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2019.

Further reading

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