Former Minnesota Vikings running back Tommy Mason passed away yesterday. He was 75.
Mason is a very significant figure in Vikings history. He was the team's first ever draft pick. The Vikings selected Mason out of Tulane with the first overall pick in the 1961 NFL Draft. He highlighted a draft that was further highlighted by Fran Tarkenton in the third round. Both brought some excitement to an otherwise bumbling expansion team.
Mason was a little surprised to be selected by the Minnesota Vikings seeing as he didn't know that they were even an NFL franchise.
"I received an information card from the Vikings during my senior season at Tulane," Mason said. I didn't know anything about NFL expansion. As far as I knew, the Vikings were playing in some seven-man league in the Midwest."
Mason discovered that the Vikings did, in fact, play 11-man football in the NFL. He resisted the temptations and offers to sign with the Boston Patriots of the new AFL and Ottawa of the CFL. He signed a contract with the Vikings that paid him $12,000. He bought a silver Cadillac and adopted a monkey. Both were memorable in Minnesota. Mason played for the Vikings from 1961-66. He rushed for 3,252 and scored 39 touchdowns. He was a three-time Pro Bowler (1962-64). In 1963 he became the first player in team history to be named All-Pro. Mason didn't see a lot of wins with the expansion Vikings. The 8-5-1 season of 1964 was the only one in which player and team saw more wins than losses but he brought a lot of smiles and thrills to those that knew him and watched him run with the football.
Mason was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 1967. The pick that the Vikings received from the Rams was the one that they used to draft Alan Page. Mason played for the Rams from 1967-70. He finished his 11-year NFL career in 1971 with the Washington Redskins.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Mason family.
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