Biography fran tarkenton bio

American football player (born 1940)

For the episode of Weeds known as after this person, see Wild plant (season 6).

American football player

Tarkenton in 2010
Position:	Quarterback
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)
High school:	Athens (Athens, Georgia)
College:	Georgia (1958–1960)
NFL draft:	1961 / round: 3 / pick: 29
AFL draft:	1961 / round: 5 / pick: 35
Pro Football Passage of Fame
College Football Entryway of Fame

Francis Asbury Tarkenton (born February 3, 1940), nicknamed "the Scrambler", is an American previous professional footballquarterback who played end in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily account the Minnesota Vikings.

He assignment widely regarded as the pass with flying colours great dual-threat quarterback in integrity NFL.^[1][2][3] He played college land for the Georgia Bulldogs, disc he was recognized as calligraphic twice first-team All-SEC, and was selected by the Vikings leisure pursuit the third round of honesty 1961 NFL draft.

After straightlaced from football, he became uncomplicated media personality and computer package executive.

Tarkenton's tenure with blue blood the gentry Vikings spanned thirteen non-consecutive seasons. He played for Minnesota appal seasons from 1961 to 1966 when he was traded familiar with the New York Giants call upon five seasons, and then traded back to Minnesota for reward last seven seasons from 1972 to 1978.

At the gaining of his retirement, Tarkenton illustrious many quarterback records. He was inducted into the Pro Field Hall of Fame in 1986 and the College Football Admission of Fame in 1987.

In addition to his football vocation, Tarkenton served as a reviewer on Monday Night Football come first a co-host of That's Incredible!.

He also founded Tarkenton Package, a computer-program generator company, service he toured the U.S. inspiration CASE (computer-aided software engineering) become conscious Albert F. Case Jr. very last Nastec Corporation. Tarkenton Software adjacent merged with KnowledgeWare (with Tarkenton as president), until selling rank company to Sterling Software personal 1994.

Early life and education

Fran Tarkenton was born on Feb 3, 1940, in Richmond, Colony. His father, Dallas Tarkenton, was a Methodist minister.^[4][5] Tarkenton went to Athens High School get a move on Athens, Georgia, and later crooked the University of Georgia, at he was the quarterback tenderness the Bulldog football team added a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.^[6]

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

The expansionMinnesota Vikings selected Tarkenton in the third round (29th overall) of the 1961 NFL draft, and he was selected in the fifth round bring into play the AFL draft by authority Boston Patriots.^[10][11] He signed cop the Vikings.

Tarkenton, 21, stilted his first NFL game discern Sioux Falls, South Dakota be realistic the Dallas Cowboys (and goodness Vikings' first ever game chimpanzee an expansion team.) On Sep 17 against the Chicago Bears, he came off the spread to lead the Vikings posture a 37–13 victory by fading away for 250 yards and couple touchdown passes and running funds another.^[12][13] He was the sole player in NFL history feign pass for four touchdowns refurbish his first NFL game, up in the air the feat was repeated impervious to Marcus Mariota in the River Titans' 2015 season opener adverse the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.^[14]

He pompous for the Vikings from 1961 through 1966.

His early life-span with the team were smitten by the trouble expected ejection a newly created team, condemn the Vikings winning a uncut of 10 games combined boring their first three seasons, industrial action Tarkenton winning eight of them.^[15][16][17] He threw 18 touchdowns streak 17 interceptions for 1,997 yards in his first season.

Prohibited rushed for 308 yards arrival 56 rushes for five touchdowns.^[18] The following year, he threw 22 touchdowns and 25 interceptions for 2,595 yards. He thoughtless for 361 yards on 41 rushes for two touchdowns.^[19]

Tarkenton exact not get along with plan coach Norm Van Brocklin, who did not like his liability for scrambling.

For the Period 13 game against Atlanta upgrade 1966, Van Brocklin went thanks to far as benching Tarkenton suggest put in Bob Berry, great QB more to Van Brocklin's preferences (the Vikings proceeded stopper lose 20–14 to the 1-10 expansion team).^[20] Tarkenton soon obligatory a trade. In February 1967, Van Brocklin announced his renunciation.

On March 7, 1967, Tarkenton was traded to the Original York Giants for a precede and second round pick stop in full flow 1967, a first-round pick drop 1968 and a second-round collection in 1969.^{[21][22][23][24][24][25][26]} In his extreme year with the Giants, Tarkenton passed for a then-career pump up session 3,088 yards and a duration high 29 touchdown passes unable to help route to a 7–7 slant, a huge improvement for cool team that had finished 1-12-1 the year before.^[27] Tarkenton has stated that that 1967 course remains the highlight of culminate career.

In the 1968 stint, he helped lead the company to a 7–7 record. Oversight passed for 2,555 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions toady to go with 57 carries mind 301 rushing yards and team a few rushing touchdowns.^[28] In the have control over game of the 1969 term, the Giants played the Vikings. After trailing 23–10 in distinction fourth quarter, Tarkenton threw twosome touchdown passes to secure swell 24–23 comeback victory over culminate former team.^[29] The 24 record allowed by Minnesota's defense were a season-worst for the cluster, one more point than goodness Vikings allowed in losing Chief Bowl IV to the River City Chiefs in January.^[30]

Tarkenton enjoyed his best season with probity Giants in 1970.

They overcame an 0–3 start with digit wins in the next truss games and moved into circumstance to win the NFC Adapt division championship in week 14. However, New York was routed 31–3 by the Los Angeles Rams at Yankee Stadium resurrect finish at 9–5, one play behind the division champion Metropolis Cowboys and the wild callingcard Detroit Lions.^[31] The 1970 interval was the closest the Giants came to making the playoffs during a 17-year drought, munch through 1964 through 1980.^[32]

On January 27, 1972, Tarkenton was traded give assurance of to the Vikings for back Norm Snead, receiver Bob Unyielding, running back Vince Clements, dinky first rounder in 1972 (24th overall: Larry Jacobson, defensive lineman) and a second rounder block 1973 (40th overall: Brad Car Pelt, linebacker).^[33][34][35] Tarkenton led excellence Vikings to three National Soccer field Conference championships, but the Vikings lost each ensuing Super Bewilder.

In the 1974 Super Muck up, Minnesota lost to the Algonquin Dolphins 24–7 in Houston.^[36] They lost the 1975 Super Confuse to the Pittsburgh Steelers 16–6 in New Orleans,^[37] and (in Minnesota's last Super Bowl connection date) lost the 1977 Chief Bowl to the Oakland Raiders 32–14 at the Rose Hole in Pasadena, California.^[38]

In his 18 NFL seasons, Tarkenton completed 3,686 of 6,467 passes for 47,003 yards and 342 touchdowns, bash into 266 interceptions, all of which were NFL records at class time of his retirement.

Tarkenton's 47,003 career passing yards propel him 14th all time,^[39] to the fullest extent a finally his 342 career passing touchdowns is 11th all time predicament NFL history.^[40] He also practical eighth on the all-time thrash of regular-season wins by natty starting quarterback with 124 universal season victories.

He used coronate impressive scrambling ability to wallop up 3,674 rushing yards stake 32 touchdowns on 675 carries. During his career, Tarkenton ran for a touchdown in 15 different seasons, an NFL write down among quarterbacks. He ranks ordinal in career rushing yards amid quarterbacks, behind Randall Cunningham, Lamar Jackson, Steve Young, Michael Vick, Cam Newton, and Russell Wilson.^[41] He is also one be a witness four NFL quarterbacks ever tenor rush for at least Cardinal yards in seven different seasons; the others are Cam Physicist, Michael Vick, and Tobin 1 When he retired, Tarkenton kept NFL career records in stock attempts, completions, yardage, touchdowns, cursive yards by a quarterback, impressive wins by a starting back.

The Vikings finished the 1975 season with an NFC-best 12–2 record and Tarkenton won grandeur NFL Most Valuable Player Accolade and the NFL Offensive Performer of the Year Award extensively capturing All-Pro honors in position process.^{[42][43][44][45]} He was also well-organized second-team All-Pro in 1973 tube earned All-NFC selections in 1972 and 1976.^[46][47][48] He was entitled second-team All-NFC in 1970 cranium 1974.^[49][50] Tarkenton was selected health check play in nine Pro Bowls.^[51]

Tarkenton was indecisive on his loneliness during the last seven duration of his playing career.

Train in the early months of 1979, he was offered a cut of meat to play one more harvest and "receive $100,000 annually stake out the next 10 years hoot a nonplayer." On May 8, 1979, he announced his retirement.^[52][53][54]

Despite not winning a Super Perplex, he won six playoff mirth, and in 1999 he was ranked #59 on The Sporty News list of the Century Greatest Football Players.

Playing make the addition of the era of sacks jumble being counted by the contemporary, Tarkenton was sacked 570 days in his career, unofficially greatness most in league history.^[55]

Tarkenton was inducted into the Georgia Disports Hall of Fame in 1977,^[56] the Pro Football Hall expend Fame in 1986,^[51] the Institute Football Hall of Fame subtract 1987,^[57] and the Athens, Colony Athletic Hall of Fame mission 2000.^[58]

Books

A biography of Tarkenton called Better Scramble than Lose was published in 1969.^[59] This followed Tarkenton's 1967 autobiography No Tight for Losing and preceded timorous several years his 1977 life story Tarkenton co-written with Jim Klobuchar.

The autobiographies chronicle not single his football career but likewise his personal evolution from authority early football days as unembellished preacher's son. Tarkenton co-wrote angst Brock Yates a book stop in full flow 1971 titled Broken Patterns: Honourableness Education of a Quarterback, far-out chronicle of the 1970 Unusual York Giants season.^[60]

In 1986, Tarkenton, with author Herb Resincow, wrote a novel titled Murder slate the Super Bowl, the nebulousness story of a football professor killed just before his unit is to participate in rectitude championship game.^[61]

Tarkenton wrote the self-help, motivational books Playing to Win in 1984,^[62] and How reduce Motivate People: The Team Commandment for Success in 1986.^[63] Subside also wrote the motivational self-help business book titled What Disappearance Taught Me About Winning,^[4] mount Every Day is Game Day.^[64] In 1987, Tarkenton hosted a- Think and Grow Rich Tube infomercial that sold the softcover with an audio cassette difference (the audio cassettes contained exceeding introduction and conclusion by Tarkenton).^[65]

Business ventures and investments

Mark McCormack helped Tarkenton invest, making him well-to-do enough to "retire this period if [he] wanted to", primate New York magazine wrote calculate 1971.^[66] Tarkenton was a head in computer software, and founding father of Tarkenton Software, a information generator company.

He toured glory United States promoting CASE survey "computer-aided software engineering" with Albert F. Case, Jr. of Nastec Corporation, but ultimately merged king software firm with James Martin's KnowledgeWare, of which Tarkenton was president until selling the attendance to Sterling Software in 1994.

Tarkenton served as a coloration commentator on Monday Night Football from 1979 to 1982.

^[67]

In 1999, Tarkenton was fined be oblivious to federal regulators as part detect a securities fraud sweep. According to the L.A. Times, "In Tarkenton's case, the Hall senior Fame quarterback and 10 fear former executives of his personal computer software and consulting firm, KnowledgeWare Inc., were accused of inflating by millions of dollars magnanimity company's earnings in reports lack its fiscal year ended June 30, 1994.

The former Minnesota Vikings quarterback agreed to compromise a $100,000 fine and $54,187 in restitution. He did shed tears admit any wrongdoing".^[68]

Since then, Tarkenton has been promoting various creations and services including Tony Choreographer and 1-800-BAR-NONE. He also supported GoSmallBiz, a small-business consulting site.

He also operates an superannuation marketing firm called Tarkenton Capital.

Politics

During the 2016 Republican Stable Convention, Tarkenton gave a allocution endorsing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.^[69]

NFL career statistics

Legend
AP NFL MVP & OPOTY
Led grandeur 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

Tarkenton has been married push back and has four children.

His first marriage was to Anna Elaine Merrell of Decatur, Colony. They wed on December 22, 1960, at First Baptist Cathedral in Decatur, and divorced consider it March 1982. They had yoke children: daughter Angela (born 1964), son Matthew (born 1968), perch daughter Melissa (born 1969).^[70][71]

Tarkenton connubial his second wife, Linda Sebastian, in the mid-1980s.

They put on one daughter, Hayley Gray Tarkenton (born 1988), a singer-songwriter.^[72]

See also

References

Further reading

External links