1962 Minnesota Vikings season

1962 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Norm Van Brocklin
General manager	Bert Rose
Home field	Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record	2–11–1
Division place	6th NFL Western
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1962 Minnesota Vikings season was the second year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 43rd regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of two wins, 11 losses, and one tie under head coach Norm Van Brocklin. The 2-11-1 record still stands as the Vikings' worst season record by terms of winning percentage, both by today's standards (.179) and back then (.154), where ties weren't counted as games played. The Vikings would later win at least three games in every season since.

Offseason

1962 Draft

Main article: 1962 NFL draft

1962 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order			Player name	Position	College
Round	Choice	Overall
1	2	2	Traded to the New York Giants
2	3	17	Traded to the Cleveland Browns
3	2	30	Bill Miller	Wide Receiver	Miami (Florida)
4	3	45	Roy Winston	Guard	LSU
5	2	58	Traded to the New York Giants
6	3	73	Larry Bowie	Offensive Tackle	Purdue
7	2	86	Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles
8	3	101	Paul White	Running Back	Florida
9	2	114	Marshall Shirk	Offensive Tackle	UCLA
10	3	129	Traded to the Cleveland Browns
11	2	142	Traded to the Cleveland Browns
12	3	157	Gary Fallon	Running Back	Syracuse
13	2	170	Roger Van Cleef	Offensive Tackle	Southwestern Oklahoma
14	3	185	Patrick Russ	Offensive Tackle	Purdue
15	2	198	Larry Guilford	End	Pacific
16	3	213	John Contoulis	Offensive Tackle	Connecticut
17	2	226	Ron Staley	End	Wisconsin
18	3	241	Junior Hawthorne	Offensive Tackle	Kentucky
19	2	254	Tommy Minter	Running Back	Baylor
20	3	269	Terry Cagaanan	Running Back	Utah State

^{^[a]} Minnesota traded their 1st round selection (2nd overall) to the New York Giants for QB George Shaw.

^{^[b]} Minnesota traded their 2nd round selection (17th overall) and 11th round selection (142nd overall) to Cleveland for DT Jim Prestel, DE Jim Marshall, LB Dick Grecni, RB Jamie Caleb, RB Billy Gault, and DT Paul Dickson.

^{^[c]} Minnesota traded their 5th round selection (58th overall) to the New York Giants for RB Mel Triplett, TE Bob Schnelker, and OT Bob Schmidt.

^{^[d]} Minnesota traded their 7th round selection (86th overall) to Philadelphia for TE Jerry Reichow.

^{^[e]} Minnesota traded their 10th round selection (129th overall) to Cleveland for DE Bob Denton.

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance	Record
1	1962-09-16	at Green Bay Packers	L 7-34	City Stadium	38,669	0–1
2	1962-09-23	Baltimore Colts	L 7-34	Metropolitan Stadium	30,787	0–2
3	1962-09-30	at San Francisco 49ers	L 7-21	Kezar Stadium	38,407	0–3
4	1962-10-07	Chicago Bears	L 0-13	Metropolitan Stadium	33,141	0–4
5	1962-10-14	Green Bay Packers	L 21-48	Metropolitan Stadium	41,475	0–5
6	1962-10-21	at Los Angeles Rams	W 38–14	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	33,071	1–5
7	1962-10-28	Philadelphia Eagles	W 31–21	Metropolitan Stadium	30,071	2–5
8	1962-11-04	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 31-39	Forbes Field	14,462	2–6
9	1962-11-11	at Chicago Bears	L 30-31	Wrigley Field	46,984	2–7
10	1962-11-18	Detroit Lions	L 6-17	Metropolitan Stadium	31,257	2–8
11	1962-11-25	Los Angeles Rams	T 24–24	Metropolitan Stadium	26,728	2–8–1
12	1962-12-02	San Francisco 49ers	L 12-35	Metropolitan Stadium	33,076	2–9–1
13	1962-12-09	at Detroit Lions	L 23-37	Tiger Stadium	42,256	2–10–1
14	1962-12-16	at Baltimore Colts	L 17-42	Memorial Stadium	53,645	2–11–1

Standings

NFL Western Conference
	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Green Bay Packers	13	1	0	.929	11–1	415	148	W3
Detroit Lions	11	3	0	.786	10–2	315	177	L1
Chicago Bears	9	5	0	.643	8–4	321	287	W2
Baltimore Colts	7	7	0	.500	5–7	293	288	W2
San Francisco 49ers	6	8	0	.429	5–7	282	331	L2
Minnesota Vikings	2	11	1	.154	1–10–1	254	410	L3
Los Angeles Rams	1	12	1	.077	1–10–1	220	334	L3

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

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing Yards	Fran Tarkenton	2,595
Passing Touchdowns	Fran Tarkenton	22
Rushing Yards	Tommy Mason	740
Rushing Touchdowns	Tommy Mason Fran Tarkenton Mel Triplett	2
Receiving Yards	Tommy Mason	603
Receiving Touchdowns	Charley Ferguson Tommy Mason	6
Points	Jim Christopherson	61
Kickoff Return Yards	Bill Butler	588
Punt Return Yards	Bill Butler	169
Interceptions	Ed Sharockman	6

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 14)
Passing Offense	2,216 Yards	158.3 YPG	11th
Rushing Offense	1,864 Yards	133.1 YPG	6th
Total Offense	4,080 Yards	291.4 YPG	12th
Passing Defense	3,123 Yards	223.1 YPG	11th
Rushing Defense	1,978 Yards	141.3 YPG	10th
Total Defense	5,101 Yards	364.4 YPG	12th