Purple People Eaters

While the Los Angeles Rams featured the Fearsome Foursome--headed by HOF'ers Merlin Olsen and Deacon Jones--further back northeast, the Minnesota Vikings boasted the Purple People Eaters.


The memories are prominent of those late-fall, early-winter Vikes games at old Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, where you could see the breath emit from the faceguards of the game's greats of the day. While it's far more comfortable for fans--and players--to escape the elements through the luxuries of the domed stadium, there remains something special about the visuals and atmosphere of those times.

Regarding Minnesota's football fortunes, they mainly rested squarely on the shoulders of its glorious front four on defense. Alan Page, Carl Eller, Jim Marshall, and Gary Larsen. Vikings fans, but fans of pro football period, knew them well. Their motto: "Meet at the quarterback," and they usually wore out their welcome—often very early—with opposing signal-callers and their coaches.

Unlike the Rams' front, these standouts didn't overwhelm with size and strength (though DE Carl Eller, 6-6, 252, could dominate in that manner at times). Being lighter and quicker, they simply sizzled with speed and tenacity beyond what the opposition could handle. [Alan Page so obliterated offenses he became a rare defensive player to win league MVP in '71]

The bottom line: nightmare for the offense, and even moreso if their own offense grabbed a quick or significant lead.

Minnesota didn't enter the NFL until 1961, and the natural growing pains made winning a relative rarity in their first years. But with the hiring of Bud Grant from the Canadian Football League in 1967, the Vikings began forming into one of pro football's premier programs.

By 1969, the parts had fully bloomed. As usual, the pride came from that front four. Examples against the game’s legends and legendary teams illustrate that.

Bart Starr, Green Bay’s ice man, who had led a handful of NFL championships, rudely felt more of the earth against Minnesota than he had in just about any afternoon of his glorious 14 seasons. Starr was slammed eight times for a whopping 63 yards in losses, and when he did manage to avoid that disagreeable outcome, he was often harried into poor throws. His longest completion—and there weren’t many—went for a harmless 13 yards. The Purple People Eaters also forced two fumbles and an interception, the last of which set up the Vikes only touchdown of the day. No matter, Fred Cox (four field goals) was about all the offense needed. Vikings 19-Packers 7.

Alas, an even more accomplished superstar, Johnny Unitas, fared no better the prior week. Normally blessed with the precision of a top surgeon, Johnny U, harrassed and humiliated, failed to complete even 40% of his tosses (8 for 22). His counterpart, Joe Kapp, hurled an NFL record-tying seven touchdowns in a 52-14 Minnesota blitzkrieg. Unitas, afterward, managed enough energy to proclaim the Purple’s pass rush as the toughest he’d ever seen.

Knowing he’d faced the Rams’ Fearsome Foursome, in addition to viewing his own unruly bunch over the years among many others, that statement alone overrides even all the jaw-dropping statistics that defense accomplished.