Throwback Thursday: Minnesota Vikings Expansion Draft

The Minnesota Vikings entered the NFL as an expansion team in 1961. They took part in the 1961 NFL Draft that was held December 27-28 1960. That brought 20 rookies to the team. To help the new team be "competitive" with 12 existing teams and the Dallas Cowboys, the NFL allowed the Vikings the opportunity to pluck veterans from established teams through an Expansion Draft. The Cowboys were excluded from the plucking because they were entering their second season after going winless in their first. The 12 established teams listed eight of the 38 players on their roster and the Vikings selected three players from each team's list to fill their roster. Here are the 36 players that the Vikings plucked in the 1961 Expansion Draft.

Player	Position	Original Team
Grady Alderman	OG	Detroit Lions
Tom Barnett	RB	Pittsburgh Steelers
Byron Beams	OT	Pittsburgh Steelers
Ken Beck	DT	Green Bay Packers
Bill Bishop	DT	Chicago Bears
Don Doll	OT	New York Giants
Ed Culpepper	DT	St. Louis Cardinals
Don Ellersick	WR	Los Angele Rams
Dick Haley	DB	Washington Redskins
Jerry Huth	OG	Philadelphia Eagles
Charlie Janerette	OG	Los Angele Rams
Gene Johnson	DB	Philadelphia Eagles
Don Joyce	DE	Baltimore Colts
Bill Kimber	WR	New York Giants
Bill Lapham	C	Philadelphia Eagles
Hugh McElhenny	RB	San Francisco 49ers
Dave Middleton	WR	Detroit Lions
Jack Morris	DB	Pittsburgh Steelers
Rich Mostardo	DB	Cleveland Browns
Fred Murphy	WR	Cleveland Browns
Clancy Osborne	LB	San Francisco 49ers
Dick Pesonen	DB	Green Bay Packers
Mike Rabold	OG	St. Louis Cardinals
Perry Richards	WR	St. Louis Cardinals
Bill Roehnelt	LB	Washington Redskins
Karl Rubke	LB	San Francisco 49ers
Gene Selawski	OT	Cleveland Browns
Glenn Shaw	FB	Chicago Bears
Lebron Shields	DT	Baltimore Colts
Zeke Smith	LB	Baltimore Colts
Jerry Stalcup	LB	Los Angele Rams
Louis "Red" Stephens	OG	Washington Redskins
Charlie Sumner	DB	Chicago Bears
Dave Whitsell	DB	Detroit Lions
Paul Winslow	RB	Green Bay Packers
Frank Youso	OT	New York Giants

Of the 36 players plucked in the 1961 Expansion Draft, the following made the 1961 Vikings' roster:

Grady Alderman
Bill Bishop
Ed Culpepper
Dick Haley
Jerry Huth
Gene Johnson
Don Joyce
Bill Lapham
Hugh McElhenny
Dave Middleton
Jack Morris
Rich Mostardo
Fred Murpy
Clancy Osborne
Dick Pesonen
Mike Rabold
Karl Rubke
Lebron Shields
Charlie Sumner
Frank Youso

1961 starters in bold

20 of the 36 made the team. 15 of the 20 that made the team started.

The entire offensive line:

LT	Grady Alderman
LG	Jerry Huth
C	Bill Lapham
RG	Mike Rabold
RT	Frank Youso

and entire defensive backfield:

CB	Jack Morris
CB	Dick Pesonen
LS	Rich Mostardo
RS	Charlie Sumner

Hugh McElhenny is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for what he did before the Vikings dug him out of the 1961 Expansion Draft heap. He did have a little left in the tank as he made it to his final Pro Bowl in 1961.

Among the expansion draftees, McElhenny might've been the biggest name and made the biggest early impact. The best player, by an incredible margin, was Grady Alderman. In his 14 seasons with the Vikings he was selected to six Pro Bowls and named 1st Team All-Pro once. He ranks behind only Hall of Famers Ron Yary and Gary Zimmerman among the best offensive tackles in franchise history. In 2010, Alderman was named one of 50 Greatest Vikings. He should be in the team's Ring of Honor.

The Vikings were 3-11 in their first season. For good or bad, the 1961 Expansion Draft made up a significant part of the early teams.