RIP Mick Tingelhoff

The Minnesota Vikings lost one of the greatest, most reliable players in franchise history on Saturday. Mick Tingelhoff passed away at the age of 81.

When I fell for the Vikings as a California kid in the early 1970s, the team had many constants. Bud Grant was a statue on the sideline. Jim Marshall, Alan Page, and Carl Eller manned the defensive line and ripped apart opposing offenses. Paul Krause roamed around the defensive backfield. And Mick Tingelhoff snapped the ball to and protected Fran Tarkenton with all that he had. 17 seasons. 240 consecutive starts. Anything his team needed. He did. Anytime they needed him. He was there. He never missed a start. He never missed a practice. He came to the Vikings as a linebacker. He was soon playing center. At 6’2” 237 pounds, he was undersized for the position. He was a little undersized in the 1960s. He was very undersized in the 1970s. He did all that he could to protect his teammates behind and beside him. He was always at the front of his team. His position naturally put him there. So did his play. So did his leadership. 

It was real easy to like Mick Tingelhoff. 

When Bud Grant arrived as the Vikings head coach in 1967, his team leaders were already in place. Jim Marshall was the defensive leader. Mick Tingelhoff was the offense leader. It was a rock-solid combination. Tingelhoff wasn’t just an undersized, reliable, inspirational leader. He was a terrific football player. Somehow, his level of play was always much greater than his abilities. Six Pro Bowls. Five All-Pros. He was one of the game’s best centers throughout his 17-year career. That made him one of the best to ever play the position. The Pro Football Hall of Fame voters eventually saw it that way as well. He was finally inducted in 2015. It might’ve taken longer than it should’ve but at least he was able to be in Canton to live it. 

It was real easy to like Mick Tingelhoff. 

Mick Tingelhoff is the only one of the Vikings 13 Hall of Fame players to play the entirety of his NFL career in Minnesota. He may have been the most Viking of all of those early Vikings. He was a great team leader. A great team player. A Hall of Famer. A friend to everyone that played with him. It was real easy to like Mick Tingelhoff.

My condolences to Mick Tingelhoff’s family, friends, and all that knew him.