Rich Stadium, Buffalo - December 21, 1975
The Sports Time Traveler has been following the Minnesota Vikings in the 1975 season. And that meant a trek to Buffalo in the snow on December 20th to see the Vikings play their final regular season game of the season.
The Vikings are having a tremendous year. They’re winning their games by an average score of 28 - 13. They’re on a mission to win their first Super Bowl after having become the only team to ever lose the Super Bowl 3 times when they fell to the Steelers this past January.
It was a somewhat meaningless game in Buffalo, as the Bills were out of playoff contention with an 8 - 5 record, and the Vikings were guaranteed to play a home playoff game in the 1st round, as they were tied with the Rams for the best record in the NFC at 11 - 2.
The game featured several records. Vikings' QB Fran Tarkenton became the NFL's all-time leader in TD passes when he threw the 291st of his career, putting him 1 ahead of the legendary Johnny Unitas.
Later, O.J. Simpson scored his 23rd TD of the season, breaking Gale Sayer's NFL record.
But the oddest thing about the game was that the entire Vikings’ offensive unit left the game and went to the locker room late in the 4th quarter.
Snowballs being thrown onto the field by rowdy Bills' fans made the playing conditions too dangerous for the Vikings’ offense and Vikings’ head coach Bud Grant pulled his offense after running back Chuck Foreman suffered on eye injury when a snowball hit him as he was trying to catch a Tarkenton pass in the end zone.
Fran Tarkenton said he got hit by snowballs 10 or 12 times in the game.
With the offensive unit in the locker room, the Vikings prepared to send defensive players in to play offense.
Free Safety Paul Krause was assigned to play quarterback.
Former MVP defensive lineman Alan Page was set to play tight end.
The Vikings however never got the ball back before the game ended. So the Vikings defense never got to play offense.
Defensive Tackle Bob Lurtsema told Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "Had we got the ball, we could have experienced one of the thrills of our football career - one that you'd have looked back to for years.”
The Vikings won the game by more than their average margin as they pounded the Bills 35 - 13.
Perhaps Lurtsema will experience the greatest thrill of his career if the Vikings can win 3 more times which would give them a Super Bowl Title.
Here's one of the articles I read today about the snowball game in Buffalo that appeared in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune on December 21, 1975:
I remember that game well.
Great post