I finally located a 2014 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. These little beauties are becoming harder to find as everyone is drifting towards reading everything on a little or big screen. NFL teams are following by making only downloadable versions of their media guide available. It's a real shame. What isn't a shame is the great stuff that one can find in a media guide. Here are a few gems from the Vikings 2014 Media Guide.
Vikings owner Zygi Wilf was awarded the 2013 Tank Younger Award from the Fritz Pollard Alliance. This award is in honor of Wilf's commitment to hiring and promoting minority candidates on the football and business side of the franchise.
Vikings owner Mark Wilf (Zygi's brother) was once the radio voice of the Princeton Tigers football and basketball teams.
Tight end coach Kevin Stefanski is the most tenured Vikings coach. He joined the team with Brad Childress in 2006.
When Bert Rose was hired as the Vikings' first General Manager, one of the first steps he took was to recommend to the Board of Directors that the club be nicknamed the "Vikings."
Current General Manager Rick Spielman and Assistant General Manager George Paton have worked together since the late 1990s with three different teams (Lions, Dolphins, and Vikings).
Scott Studwell has been with the Vikings for the past 38 seasons. From 1977-90, he played middle linebacker for the Vikings. Upon retirement as a player, he stepped into the the Vikings front office as the Assistant to the President/Player Relations. From 1992-2001, he was the Player Personnel Coordinator. From 2002-13, he was the Director of College Scouting. He semi-retired after the 2014 NFL Draft. Now, he works as a regional scout for the team. Studwell was one of the linebackers named to the University of Illinois' All-Century Team. The other linebackers on that team are Ray Nitschke and Dick Butkus. That's a real nice group of linebackers.
Paul Wiggin has done a bit of everything in football. He's also seen a bit of everything. He was an All-American lineman at Stanford in the 1950s. He played for Paul Brown and Blanton Collier with the Cleveland Browns from 1957-67. He was the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs from 1975-77. He was the head coach at Stanford from 1980-83. So, he was on the sideline, watching stunned, as Cal shocked the college football world with "the Play" in the 1982 Big Game. He started his Vikings days in 1985 as the defensive line coach for Bud Grant. He remained as the defensive line coach with Jerry Burns until 1991. He has been involved with the Vikings scouting department ever since. Now, as a consultant.
Jerry Reichow played for the Vikings from 1961-64. He and Hugh McElhenny were the Vikings first ever Pro Bowl players in that inaugural season of 1961. In 1966, Reichow joined the Vikings scouting department. He's been a part of that department ever since. Like Wiggin, now as a consultant.
Linebacker Audie Cole was a Golden Gloves fighter as a youth.
Guard Vladimir Ducasse was born in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. He moved to the U.S. when he was 15.
Tight end Rhett Ellison is the son of former San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders linebacker Riki Ellison. Senior Ellison won two Super Bowls with the 49ers. Junior Ellison spent three years in his father's homeland of New Zealand attending school and playing rugby and cricket.
Fullback Jerome Felton's mother was a professional gymnast.
Guard Brandon Fusco was high school teammates with Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Don Barclay at Seneca Valley High in Harmony, PA.
Defensive end Everson Griffen attended the same high school, Agua Fria in Avondale, AZ, as Vikings Hall of Famer Randall McDaniel.
Receiver Greg Jennings attended the same high school, Kalamazoo Central High, as Derek Jeter.
Guard Charlie Johnson has blocked for the NFL MVP in three of his seasons. Peyton Manning twice and Adrian Peterson.
Defensive tackle Tom Johnson played in NFL Europe, the Arena Football League, and the Canadian Football League before earning a roster spot with the New Orleans Saints in 2011.
Defensive tackle Linval Joseph was born in the Virgin Islands. He moved to the U.S. when he was 10.
Long snapper Cullen Loeffler is the longest-tenured Vikings player. He's been with the team since 2004.
Corner Captain Munnerlyn's real name is Captain Munnerlyn. He's named for his great grandfather Captain Moore. The current Captaiin has saddled his son with the name.
Defensive end Brian Robison was the last ever Vikings player to sack Brett Favre.
Tight end Kyle Rudolph was named conference basketball player of the year three times while playing for Cincinnati's Elder High.
Center John Sullivan posted a 138-6 record as a heavyweight wrestler at Greenwich High. He won three Connecticut State Championships.
Defensive ends Corey Wooton and Justin Trattou were high school teammates at Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey.
Football Media Guides are fun!
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