REFLECTIONS

More than 50 years have passed for three Minnesota Vikings football fans, but they still say Fran Tarkenton (10) is their favorite football player.

Why?

Let me tell you a story. It’s a true story about Tarkenton and his fans.

This columnist recently found a photo in his desk drawer of Tarkenton, my son, and two brothers-in-law (son Troy’s uncles). I thought: “Wouldn’t it be cool to send copies of that photo to Tarkenton and ask him to autograph them.”

I did just that.

I found Fran’s address (business) and sent off three photos and a note indicating how to sign for each recipient. I also sent a $50 check to be used for Fran’s favorite charity. The one I sent, unfortunately, was to a charity Fran no longer recognizes.

I went to the mailbox about two weeks after I sent this request. I found the self-addressed envelope with the three photos inside.

Fran personalized each of the three signatures and wrote HOF (Hall of Fame) 1986. I was surprised and floored. His executives said he got a big kick (no pun intended) out of the letter.

Fran has an investment group he leads at age 83. What a classy guy he is. Thanks, Fran.

The following is written by NFL handicapper Loot:

In his 18 National Football League seasons, Tarkenton completed 3,686 of 6,467 passes for 47,003 yards and 342 touchdowns, with 266 interceptions.

Tarkenton's 47,003 career passing yards rank him 6th all time, while his 342 career passing touchdowns is 4th all time in NFL history. He also is fifth on the all-time list of wins by a starting quarterback with 124 regular season victories.

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.