Fran Tarkenton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Fran Tarkenton | |
|---|---|
 College Football Hall of Fame photo. |
|
| Date of birth | February 3, 1940 (age 67) |
| Place of birth |  Blacksburg, Virginia |
| Position(s) | Quarterback |
| College | Georgia |
| NFL Draft | 1961 / Round 3/ Pick 29 |
| Career Highlights | |
| Pro Bowls | 9 |
| Awards | 1975 AP NFL MVP, 1975 NFL Offensive POY, 1975 UPI NFC POY, 1975 Bert Bell Award, 1964 Pro Bowl MVP |
| Retired #s | Minnesota Vikings #10 |
| Records | *Minnesota Vikings Career Passing Yards (33,098), *Minnesota Vikings Career Passing TDs (239) |
| Stats | |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 1961-1966 1967-1971 1972-1978 |
Minnesota Vikings New York Giants Minnesota Vikings |
| College Hall of Fame | |
| Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1986 | |
Francis Asbury Tarkenton (born February 3, 1940) is American football player, TV personality, and computer software executive.
He is probably best known for his years with the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants, as well as a commentator on Monday Night Football and a co-host of That's Incredible!.
Tarkenton 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.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Fran Tarkenton was born in Blacksburg, Virginia, USA, and later attended the University of Georgia where he was the quarterback on the Bulldog football team.
[edit] Pro football career
The Minnesota Vikings drafted him in 1961 in the third round. Tarkenton came into his first National Football League game (also the first game for the Vikings) against the Chicago Bears and led the Vikings to a victory by passing for 250 yards as the upstarts stunned the Bears 37-13.
Tarkenton played for the Vikings from 1961 to 1966, during this time he developed the nickname "Fran the Scrambler" as he ran around the backfield to avoid being sacked by the opposition (this behavior also led to the nickname "Frantic Fran" and the "Wee One"). Tarkenton was traded to the New York Giants in 1967 and played there until 1972 when he was traded back to Minnesota. He led the Vikings to three Super Bowls in the 1970s, but lost them all.
Tarkenton won the NFL's MVP award after the 1975 season, capturing All-Pro honors in the process. Tarkenton was also 2nd Team All-Pro in 1973 and earned All-NFC selection in 1972 & 1976. Fran was named 2nd Team All-NFC in 1970 and 1974. Tarkenton was selected to play in nine Pro Bowls.
In his 18 NFL seasons, Tarkenton completed 3,686 of 6,467 passes for 47,003 yards and 342 touchdowns, with 266 interceptions. He also 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 fourth in career rushing yards among QB's, behind Randall Cunningham, Steve Young and Mike Vick. He is also one of two NFL quarterbacks ever to rush for at least 300 yards in seven different seasons; the other is Tobin Rote. Voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986, Tarkenton is widely considered one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time due to his running and passing ability.
However, Tarkenton's poor performance in three Super Bowls and his inability to win a championship ring in 18 seasons prevents many people from considering him as great as other famous quarterbacks. Despite not winning a championship, in 1999, he was ranked number 59 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.
The worst loss of Tarkenton's career occurred during the 1975 NFC Divisional Playoffs. With what was widely considered the best team of their Purple People Eater era, the Vikings lost to the Dallas Cowboys 17-14 on a controversial touchdown pass from Dallas' Roger Staubach to Drew Pearson. The controversy sprung from the appearance that Pearson interfered with defender Nate Wright while running his route. The call so incensed fans that one fan fired a whiskey bottle from the stands, striking official Armen Terzian in the head. This was partially responsible for the banning of glass bottles at arenas around the country. Tarkenton also lost his father while he was watching that infamous playoff game. It had been rumored that the "Hail Mary Pass" caused the cardiac arrest, but in fact, Mr. Tarkenton died during the middle of the fourth quarter. It was a disappointing end to a spectacular season for the Vikings. They had finished the season with an NFC best 12-2 record and Tarkenton had won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award, and the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award.
- For more details on this topic, see The Hail Mary (American football game).
[edit] Post-football life
Fran Tarkenton was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1977, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987.
Tarkenton later appeared on the television show That's Incredible! and also worked part time on Monday Night Football.
Tarkenton wrote a book titled Better Scramble than Lose in 1969. The book is autobiographical and seeks to dispel a lot of pervading myths about himself and pro football at the time.
It is not widely known that Tarkenton was also 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 Fran was president until selling the company to Sterling Software in 1994.
Since then, Tarkenton has been seen promoting various products and services including Tony Robbins and 1-800-BAR-NONE. He also founded GoSmallBiz.com[1], a small business consulting website, which also offers its services through Pre-paid Legal Services, Inc. His most current company is an annuity marketing firm called Tarkenton Financial[2].
Tarkenton, his wife Linda, and daughter Hayley currently reside in the Buckhead area of Atlanta, Georgia
[edit] Further reading
- Olsen, Jack (1969). Better Scramble Than Lose. Four Winds Press. Book-length biography of Fran Tarkenton.
[edit] External links
- Official web site
- Pro-Football-Reference.com - career statistics.
- Fran Tarkenton at the Pro Football Hall of Fame
- Fran Tarkenton at the Internet Movie Database
- Fran Tarkenton at the Notable Names Database
- Fran Tarkenton at TV.com
- College Football Hall of Fame
- Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
- Fran Tarkenton (entry in the New Georgia Encyclopedia)
| Preceded by Ken Stabler |
NFL Most Valuable Player 1975 season |
Succeeded by Bert Jones |
| Preceded by first quarterback |
Minnesota Vikings Starting Quarterback 1961-66 |
Succeeded by Joe Kapp |
| Preceded by Gary Wood |
New York Giants Starting Quarterback 1967-71 |
Succeeded by Norm Snead |
| Preceded by Gary Cuozzo Norm Snead |
Minnesota Vikings Starting Quarterback 1972-78 |
Succeeded by Tommy Kramer |
Categories: American football quarterbacks | College Football Hall of Fame | Georgia Bulldogs football players | Minnesota Vikings players | New York Giants players | Pro Football Hall of Fame | National Football League announcers | People from Blacksburg, Virginia | American television personalities | Living people | 1940 births | AP NFL MVP Award winners
