Fran tarkenton wikipedia

Fran Tarkenton

American football player (born )

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

American football player

Tarkenton in

Position:Quarterback
Born: () February 3, (age&#;84)
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Height:6&#;ft 0&#;in (&#;m)
Weight:&#;lb (86&#;kg)
High school:Athens
(Athens, Georgia)
College:Georgia (–)
NFL draft:&#;/ round:&#;3&#;/ pick:&#;29
AFL draft:&#;/ round:&#;5&#;/ pick:&#;35

Pro Football Hall of Fame

College Football Hall of Fame

Francis Asbury Tarkenton (born February 3, ), nicknamed "the Scrambler", is an American former professional footballquarterback 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 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 to when he was traded to the New York Giants for five seasons, and then traded back to Minnesota for his last seven seasons from to At the time of his retirement, Tarkenton owned many quarterback records.

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in and the College Football Hall of Fame in

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

Early life and education

Fran Tarkenton was born on February 3, , 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 [7] Tarkenton was a first-team All-SEC selection in both and [8][9]

The expansionMinnesota Vikings selected Tarkenton in the third round (29th overall) of the 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 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota against the Dallas Cowboys (and the Vikings' first ever game as an expansion team.) On September 17 against the Chicago Bears, he came off the bench to lead the Vikings to a 37–13 victory by passing for 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' season opener versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[14]

He played for the Vikings from through 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, yards in his first season.

He rushed for yards on 56 rushes for five touchdowns.[18] The following year, he threw 22 touchdowns and 25 interceptions for 2, yards. He rushed for yards on 41 rushes for two touchdowns.[19]

Tarkenton did not get along with team coach Norm Van Brocklin, who did not like his penchant for scrambling.

For the Week 13 game against Atlanta in , Van Brocklin went as far as benching Tarkenton to put in Bob Berry, a QB more to Van Brocklin's preferences (the Vikings proceeded to lose 20–14 to the expansion team).[20] Tarkenton soon demanded a trade. In February , Van Brocklin announced his resignation.

On March 7, , Tarkenton was traded to the New York Giants for a first and second round pick in , a first-round pick in and a second-round pick in [21][22][23][24][24][25][26] In his first year with the Giants, Tarkenton passed for a then-career high 3, yards and a career high 29 touchdown passes en route to a 7–7 record, a huge improvement for a team that had finished the year before.[27] Tarkenton has stated that that season remains the highlight of his career.

In the season, he helped lead the team to a 7–7 record.

  • Fran tarkenton net worth
  • Fran tarkenton wife
  • How old is fran tarkenton
  • Where does fran tarkenton live

    • He passed for 2, yards, 21 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions to go with 57 carries for rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.[28] In the first game of the 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.[29] 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.[30]

    Tarkenton enjoyed his best season with the Giants in 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 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.[31] The season was the closest the Giants came to making the playoffs during a year drought, from through [32]

    On January 27, , Tarkenton was traded back to the Vikings for quarterback Norm Snead, receiver Bob Grim, running back Vince Clements, a first rounder in (24th overall: Larry Jacobson, defensive lineman) and a second rounder in (40th overall: Brad Van Pelt, linebacker).[33][34][35] Tarkenton led the Vikings to three National Football Conference championships, but the Vikings lost each ensuing Super Bowl.

    In the Super Bowl, Minnesota lost to the Miami Dolphins 24–7 in Houston.[36] They lost the Super Bowl to the Pittsburgh Steelers 16–6 in New Orleans,[37] and (in Minnesota's last Super Bowl to date) lost the Super Bowl to the Oakland Raiders 32–14 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.[38]

    In his 18 NFL seasons, Tarkenton completed 3, of 6, passes for 47, yards and touchdowns, with interceptions, all of which were NFL records at the time of his retirement.

    Tarkenton's 47, career passing yards rank him 14th all time,[39] while his career passing touchdowns is 11th all time in NFL history.[40] He also is eighth on the all-time list of regular-season wins by a starting quarterback with regular season victories. He used his impressive scrambling ability to rack up 3, rushing yards and 32 touchdowns on 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.[41] He is also one of four NFL quarterbacks ever to rush for at least 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 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.[42][43][44][45] He was also a second-team All-Pro in and earned All-NFC selections in and [46][47][48] He was named second-team All-NFC in and [49][50] Tarkenton was selected to play in nine Pro Bowls.[51]

    Tarkenton was indecisive on his retirement during the last seven years of his playing career.

    In the early months of , he was offered a contract to play one more year and "receive $, annually for the next 10 years as a nonplayer." On May 8, , he announced his retirement.[52][53][54]

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

    Playing in the era of sacks not being counted by the league, Tarkenton was sacked times in his career, unofficially the most in league history.[55]

    Tarkenton was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in ,[56] the Pro Football Hall of Fame in ,[51] the College Football Hall of Fame in ,[57] and the Athens, Georgia Athletic Hall of Fame in [58]

    Books

    A biography of Tarkenton titled Better Scramble than Lose was published in [59] This followed Tarkenton's autobiography No Time for Losing and preceded by several years his 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 titled Broken Patterns: The Education of a Quarterback, a chronicle of the New York Giants season.[60]

    In , 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.[61]

    Tarkenton wrote the self-help, motivational books Playing to Win in ,[62] and How to Motivate People: The Team Strategy for Success in [63] He also wrote the motivational self-help business book titled What Losing Taught Me About Winning,[4] and Every Day is Game Day.[64] In , 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).[65]

    Business ventures and investments

    Mark McCormack helped Tarkenton invest, making him wealthy enough to "retire this week if [he] wanted to", as New York magazine wrote in [66] 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

    Tarkenton served as a color commentator on Monday Night Football from to [67]

    In , 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, The former Minnesota Vikings quarterback agreed to pay a $, fine and $54, in restitution.

    He did not admit any wrongdoing".[68]

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

    Politics

    During the Republican National Convention, Tarkenton gave a speech endorsing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.[69]

    NFL career statistics

    Legend
    AP NFL MVP & OPOTY
    Led the league
    BoldCareer high
    Year Team Games Passing Rushing
    GPGSCmpAttPctYdsAvgTDIntLngRtgAttYdsAvgLngTD
    MIN14101,18177156525
    MIN14142,22258941312
    MIN14132,15156728241
    MIN14142,22116450312
    MIN14142,19117256361
    MIN14122,17166862284
    NYG14143,29197044222
    NYG14142,21128457223
    NYG14142,2386537210
    NYG14142,19125943202
    NYG13132,11218130163
    MIN14142,18137627210
    MIN14142,1575441161
    MIN13132,17128021152
    MIN14142,25134616212
    MIN13132,178562745201
    MIN991,9145915680
    MIN16163,25325824−6−151
    Career 3,6,47,893,5232

    Personal life

    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, , at First Baptist Church in Decatur, and divorced in March They had three children: daughter Angela (born ), son Matthew (born ), and daughter Melissa (born ).[70][71]

    Tarkenton married his second wife, Linda Sebastian, in the mids.

    They have one daughter, Hayley Gray Tarkenton (born ), a singer-songwriter.[72]

    See also

    References

    1. ^Keefer, Zak (July 11, ). "NFL At No. 95, Fran Tarkenton proved QBs could run long before Young, Vick and Lamar". The New York Times. Retrieved September 5,
    2. ^Reid, Jason ().

      The Rise of the Black Quarterback. Disney Book Group. ISBN&#; &#; via Google Books.

    3. ^Long, Howie; Czarnecki, John (). Football For Dummies, USA Edition. Wiley. p.&#; ISBN&#;.
    4. ^ abTarkenton, Fran ().

      What Losing Taught Me About Winning: The Ultimate Guide for Success in Small and Home-Based Businesses. Fireside Books.

      Steve young: In the golden days of the NFL, quarterbacks were expected to pass the ball and run only if their life depended on it. And he would do it. Smith Sprinkle Stautner Strahan Ja. Framingham State College: Tabular Data.

      ISBN&#;.

    5. ^"Father of Tarkenton Dies During Telecast". New York Times. December 29, Archived from the original on September 20, Retrieved September 20,
    6. ^"Sigma Alpha Epsilon". . Retrieved September 20,
    7. ^Bratton, Michael Wayne (July ). "History of all-time SEC football championships entering ".

      Saturday Down South. Archived from the original on September 20, Retrieved September 20,

    8. ^Moffit, David M. (November 25, ). "Auburn Lands 3 Lineman On All-Star Team". The Monroe News-Star. p.&#; Archived from the original on June 12, Retrieved June 11, &#; via
    9. ^"Gibbs and Tarkenton Named on UPI All-SEC".

      The Delta Democrat-Times. November 22, p.&#;7. Archived from the original on September 20, Retrieved September 20,

    10. ^" NFL Draft Listing". . Retrieved June 5,
    11. ^" AFL Draft Listing". . Retrieved June 5,
    12. ^"Countdown to the NFL Draft". National Football League.

      Archived from the original on April 6, Retrieved April 2,

    13. ^"Vikings, 49ers, Colts, Eagles win openers". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 18, p.&#;3B.
    14. ^"A Look at Marcus Mariota's Rookie AccomplishmentsArchived August 21, , at the Wayback Machine" by Jim Wyatt, Titans online, December 31,
    15. ^" Minnesota Vikings Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees".

      . Retrieved June 5,

    16. ^" Minnesota Vikings Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". . Retrieved June 5,
    17. ^" Minnesota Vikings Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". . Retrieved June 5,
    18. ^"Fran Tarkenton Game Log".

      Biography fran tarkenton vikings quarterback Allen Boselli B. Tarkenton Software later merged with KnowledgeWare with Tarkenton as president , until selling the company to Sterling Software in The hope was that Tarkenton would help New York get out of their losing ways and back to a championship. What also set Tarkenton apart from his peers was his leadership ability and willingness to go the extra mile to bring out the best in his teammates.

      . Retrieved June 5,

    19. ^"Fran Tarkenton Game Log". . Retrieved June 5,
    20. ^"A new slant on an old game in Atlanta". Sports Illustrated Vault &#; .
    21. ^"TBT: A Trade, A Hire & A Draft for the Ages Set up Vikings 50 Years Ago".
    22. ^Grimsley, Will (March 8, ).

      "Fran Tarkenton is the Giants' answer to rival Jets' Joe Namath". The Day. (New London, Connecticut). Associated Press. p.&#;

    23. ^Kriegel, Mark (). Namath: A Biography. Penguin Books. p.&#; ISBN&#;.
    24. ^ ab"Tarkenton will return 'under no circumstances'".

      Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. February 11, p.&#;3B &#; via Google News.

    25. ^"Van Brocklin surprises Viks – resigns".

    26. Steve young
    27. Biography fran tarkenton vikings jersey
    28. Dan marino

      29. Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. February 12, p.&#;3B &#; via Google News.

    29. ^"Giants trade draft picks for Tarkenton". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Florida. Associated Press. March 8, p.&#;18 &#; via Google News.
    30. ^"Fran Tarkenton Game Log". . Retrieved November 7,
    31. ^"Fran Tarkenton Game Log".

      . Retrieved November 7,

    32. ^"Minnesota Vikings at New York Giants – September 21st, ". . Archived from the original on June 20,
    33. ^" Minnesota Vikings". . Archived from the original on July 8,
    34. ^" New York Giants Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees".

      . Retrieved June 5,

    35. ^"New York Giants Team Records, Leaders, and League Ranks". . Retrieved June 5,
    36. ^Lowitt, Bruce (January 28, ). "Fran Tarkenton traded to Minnesota". The Day. (New London, Connecticut). Associated Press. p.&#;
    37. ^Koppett, Leonard (January 28, ).

      "Vikings Get Tarkenton For Snead and 4 Others". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 29, Retrieved November 1,

    38. ^" NFL Draft Pick Transactions, February 1 (Rounds 1–7) & 2 (Rounds 8–17)". Pro Sports Transactions. Archived from the original on October 31, Retrieved November 1,
    39. ^"Super Bowl VIII - Minnesota Vikings vs.

      Miami Dolphins - January 13th, ". . Retrieved June 5,

    40. ^"Super Bowl IX - Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Minnesota Vikings - January 12th, ". . Retrieved June 5,
    41. ^"Super Bowl XI - Oakland Raiders vs. Minnesota Vikings - January 9th, ". . Retrieved June 5,
    42. ^"NFL Passing Yards Career Leaders".

      .

      Biography fran tarkenton vikings card worth Minnesota Vikings inaugural season roster. He took MVP honors at the Pro Bowl when he completed eight of thirteen passes for , leading the West to a win. Thousands of Americans paid handsome fees to hear Tarkenton deliver his messages of inspiration. Framingham State College.

      Archived from the original on November 6, Retrieved August 7,

    43. ^"NFL Passing Touchdowns Career Leaders". . Archived from the original on July 30, Retrieved August 7,
    44. ^"Most Rushing Yards By A Quarterback All-time". StatMuse. Retrieved February 29,
    45. ^" NFL Standings & Team Stats".

      . Retrieved June 5,

    46. ^"AP NFL Most Valuable Player Winners". . Retrieved June 5,
    47. ^"AP Offensive Player of the Year Winners". . Retrieved June 5,
    48. ^" NFL All-Pros". .

      Biography fran tarkenton vikings Brown Covert Creekmur D. Monday Night Football commentators. Fran Tarkenton was born on February 3, , in Richmond, Virginia. If Tarkenton left the game.

      Retrieved June 5,

    49. ^" NFL All-Pros". . Retrieved June 5,
    50. ^" NFL All-Pros". . Retrieved June 5,
    51. ^" NFL All-Pros". . Retrieved June 5,
    52. ^" NFL All-Pros". . Retrieved June 5,
    53. ^" NFL All-Pros".

      . Retrieved June 5,

    54. ^ ab"Fran Tarkenton". Professional Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on August 22,
    55. ^"Tarkenton Has Retired, Giants SayArchived October 23, , at the Wayback Machine", Chicago Tribune, Αugust 10,
    56. ^Quote Of The DayArchived November 17, , at the Wayback Machine, The Ledger, March 22,
    57. ^Wallace, William N.

      (May 13, ). "An Appreciation: The Tarkenton Legacy". The New York Times.

    58. ^"NFL Sacked Career Leaders (Since )". .
    59. ^"Inductees". Georgia Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on January 15,
    60. ^"Inductees". College Football Hall of Fame.

      Archived from the original on August 17,

    61. ^" Inductees". Athens Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on August 22,
    62. ^Olsen, Jack (). Better Scramble Than Lose. Four Winds Press.
    63. ^Tarkenton, Fran; Yates, Brock W. (). Broken Patterns: The Education of a Quarterback.

      Simon and Schuster. ISBN&#;.

    64. ^Tarkenton, Fran; Resincow, Herb (). Murder at the Super Bowl (1st&#;ed.). William Morrow & Co. ISBN&#;.
    65. ^Tarkenton, Fran, Playing to Win, , Bantam Books ISBN&#;
    66. ^Tarkenton, Fran and Tuleja, Tad , Harper and Row ISBN&#;
    67. ^Tarkenton, Fran; Bruton, Jim ().

      Every Day Is Game Day. Triumph Books. ISBN&#;.

    68. ^"Partners in Time&#;: Guthy-Renker, Charles Wesley OrtonArchived February 25, , at the Wayback Machine", Response magazine, May
    69. ^Axthelm, Pete. ""The Third Annual Permanent Retirement of Joe NamathArchived January 19, , at the Wayback Machine", New York magazine, July 7, , pp–49
    70. ^"Monday Night Football All-Time Commentators (present)".
    71. ^LA Times, September 29,
    72. ^Condon, Patrick (July 21, ).

      "Vikings veteran Fran Tarkenton speaks at Republican convention".

      Thats incredible Tarkenton enjoyed his best season with the Giants in Butts launched a new career in the insurance business. Archived from the original on June 12, In , The Giants finished the NFL season with the worst record in franchise history, going , and making coach Allie Sherman and New York itself look bad in the process.

      Star Tribune. Archived from the original on August 9, Retrieved August 4,

    73. ^Looney, Douglas S. (October 25, ). "Fran Tarkenton". People. Meredith Corporation. Archived from the original on September 21, Retrieved September 21,
    74. ^Martin, Frank (October 4, ). "Ping-Pong Ace, Record-Setting Quarterback, Fran Tarkenton Battles a Runner-Up Image".

      People. Meredith Corporation. Archived from the original on September 21, Retrieved September 21,

    75. ^"Hayley Gray & the Medicine". ReverbNation. Archived from the original on April 23, Retrieved October 19,

    Further reading

    External links

    Links to related articles

    Minnesota Vikings starting quarterbacks

    • George Shaw ()
    • Fran Tarkenton (&#;, &#;)
    • Ron Vander Kelen (, &#;)
    • Bob Berry (, )
    • Joe Kapp (&#;)
    • Gary Cuozzo (&#;)
    • Bob Lee (&#;, &#;)
    • Norm Snead ()
    • Tommy Kramer (, &#;)
    • Steve Dils (&#;, )
    • Wade Wilson (&#;)
    • Archie Manning ()
    • Tony Adams ()
    • Rich Gannon (&#;)
    • Sean Salisbury (&#;)
    • Jim McMahon ()
    • Warren Moon (&#;)
    • Brad Johnson (&#;, &#;)
    • Randall Cunningham (&#;)
    • Jeff George ()
    • Daunte Culpepper (&#;)
    • Todd Bouman ()
    • Spergon Wynn ()
    • Gus Frerotte (, )
    • Tarvaris Jackson (&#;, )
    • Kelly Holcomb ()
    • Brooks Bollinger ()
    • Brett Favre (&#;)
    • Joe Webb ()
    • Donovan McNabb ()
    • Christian Ponder (&#;)
    • Matt Cassel (&#;)
    • Josh Freeman ()
    • Teddy Bridgewater (&#;)
    • Shaun Hill ()
    • Sam Bradford (–)
    • Case Keenum ()
    • Kirk Cousins (–)
    • Sean Mannion (, )
    • Jaren Hall ()
    • Joshua Dobbs ()
    • Nick Mullens ()
    • Sam Darnold (–present)