<P> Professional football in the Minneapolis--Saint Paul area (the "Twin Cities") began with the Minneapolis Marines / Red Jackets, an NFL team that played intermittently in the 1920s and 1930s . However, a new professional team in the area did not surface again until August 1959, when Minneapolis businessmen Bill Boyer, H.P. Skoglund, and Max Winter were awarded a franchise in the new American Football League (AFL). Five months later, in January 1960, after significant pressure from the NFL, the ownership group, along with Bernard H. Ridder Jr., reneged on its agreement with the AFL and then was awarded the National Football League's 14th franchise, with play to begin in 1961 . Ole Haugsrud was added to the NFL team ownership because, in the 1920s, when he sold his Duluth Eskimos team back to the league, the agreement allowed him 10 percent of any future Minnesota team . Coincidentally or not, the teams from Ole Haugsrud's high school, Central High School in Superior, Wisconsin, were also called the Vikings and also had a similar purple - and - yellow uniform design and color scheme . </P> <P> From the team's first season in 1961 to 1981, the team called Metropolitan Stadium in suburban Bloomington home . The Vikings conducted summer training camp at Bemidji State University from 1961 to 1965 . In 1966, the team moved to their training camp to Minnesota State University in Mankato . The training camp at Minnesota State was one of the longest continuously running training camp events in the NFL and is remembered as part of the golden era history of the team . The Vikings played their home games at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis from 1982 to 2013 . The Vikings played their last game at the Metrodome on December 29, 2013, defeating the Detroit Lions 14--13 to end the season . </P> <P> Since the team's first season in 1961, the Vikings have had one of the highest winning percentages in the NFL . As of 2017, they have won at least three games in every season except in 1962, and are one of only six NFL teams to win at least 15 games in a regular season . The Vikings have won one NFL Championship, in 1969, before the league's merger with the American Football League (AFL). Since the league merger in 1970, they have qualified for the playoffs 27 times, third-most in the league . The team has played in Super Bowls IV, VIII, IX, and XI, though failing to win any of them . In addition, they have lost in their last six NFC Championship Game appearances since 1978 . The team currently has 14 members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame . </P> <P> The team was officially named the Minnesota Vikings on September 27, 1960; the name is partly meant to reflect Minnesota's place as a center of Scandinavian American culture . From the start, the Vikings embraced an energetic marketing program that produced first - year season ticket sales of nearly 26,000 and an average home attendance of 34,586, about 85 percent of Metropolitan Stadium's capacity of 40,800 . Eventually, the capacity of Met Stadium was increased to 47,900 . Bert Rose, former public relations director for the Los Angeles Rams, was appointed the team's first general manager . The search for the first head coach saw the team court then - Northwestern University head coach Ara Parseghian, who, according to Minneapolis Star writer Jim Klobuchar--the Vikings' first beat reporter for that newspaper--visited team management in the Twin Cities under the condition that his visit was to be kept secret from his current employer . His cover was blown by local columnist Sid Hartman, who reported the visit and forced Parseghian to issue denials . Philadelphia Eagles assistant Nick Skorich and a man with Minnesota ties who was working in the CFL, Bud Grant, were also candidates until a different Eagle, quarterback Norm Van Brocklin, was hired on January 18, 1961 . Van Brocklin had just finished his career as a player on a high note, having defeated the Green Bay Packers in the 1960 NFL Championship Game . </P>

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