Bobby Bryant had a long Ring of Honor wait. He wrapped up his great, 13-year playing career after the 1980 season. The long wait was rewarded with the much-deserved honor. He wasn’t one of the headliners of the great Vikings defenses from the late 1960s and through much of the 1970s. Some of the best defenses the league has ever seen was fronted by the Purple People Eaters, a defensive line that included Alan Page, Carl Eller, Jim Marshall, and Gary Larsen. Page and Eller are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Marshall has a strong argument that he should join them. If the front line wasn’t getting the attention, it was often all-time interception leader and Pro Football Hall of Fame safety Paul Krause. Bryant was selected by the Vikings out of South Carolina in the seventh round of the 1967 NFL Draft. After a knee injury during the preseason, the Vikings placed him on the team’s practice squad. Bryant spent his rookie season with the Des Moines Warriors of the minor Professional Football League of America. It was a slow start to his great football career. He made the team in 1968. He was the starting right cornerback in 1969. That season, the defense and a rugged offense led by scrappy quarterback Joe Kapp drove the Vikings to their first Super Bowl. Bryant was a defensive mainstay until his retirement after the 1980 season. His career is highlighted by 51 interceptions. That ranks second in team history to Krause’s 53. His four career interception return TDs is tied with Harrison Smith for the franchise record. He was named to the Pro Bowl after the 1975 and 1976 seasons. If postseason accolades included playoff performances, Bryant would have had handfuls of Pro Bowls and All-Pros. He was a big play machine in the playoffs. In the 1973 NFC Championship against the Dallas Cowboys, Bryant intercepted Roger Staubach at the two-yard line to keep the Cowboys out of the end zone. His fourth quarter, 63-yard pick-six iced the 27-10 win. In the 1976 NFC Championship against the Los Angeles Rams, he turned what should’ve been an early 3-0 Rams lead into a 7-0 Vikings lead. After a goal-line stand forced the Rams to attempt a short field goal, Nate Allen blocked the kick and Bryant scooped up the bounding ball and returned it 90 yards for a touchdown. The Rams never seemed to recover from that 10-point swing. Bryant added two interceptions in the game. His three big plays were instrumental in the 24-13 Vikings win. During the video conference, Fran Tarkenton said that Bryant was an unsung hero of those great Vikings teams. It’s true. There were loads of stars on those teams. It was easy to overlook the skinny cornerback. There was no overlooking his out-sized number of big plays. Those big plays and his steady play will put him in a spiffy purple jacket. He’s the first cornerback to receive the team’s top career honor. It’s very much deserved.
Bobby Bryant will be the 28th member of the Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor.
Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor
Fran Tarkenton, QB
Alan Page, DT
Jim Finks, GM
Bud Grant, Coach
Paul Krause, S
Fred Zamberletti, Trainer
Jim Marshall, DE
Ron Yary, OT
Korey Stringer, OT
Mick Tingelhoff, C
Carl Eller, DE
Cris Carter, WR
Bill Brown, RB
Jerry Burns, Coach
Randalll McDaniel, G
Chuck Foreman, RB
John Randle, DT
Scott Studwell, LB
Chris Doleman, DE
Matt Blair, LB
Joey Browner, S
Ahmad Rashad, WR
Randy Moss, WR
Dennis Green, Coach
Steve Jordan, TE
Kevin Williams, DT
Jared Allen, DE
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