Fran Tarkenton
CountryUnited States 
GenderMale
BirthdayFeb. 3, 1940
BiographyFrancis Asbury Tarkenton (born February 3, 1940), nicknamed "the Scrambler", is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He is widely regarded as the first great dual-threat quarterback in the NFL. He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, where he was recognized as a twice first-team All-SEC, and was selected by the Vikings in the third round of the 1961 NFL draft. After retiring from football in 1979, he became a media personality and computer software executive.
Tarkenton's tenure with the Vikings spanned thirteen non-consecutive seasons. He played for Minnesota for six seasons from 1961 to 1966 when he was traded to the New York Giants for five seasons, and then traded back to Minnesota for his last seven seasons from 1972 to 1978. At the time of his retirement, Tarkenton was the all-time NFL career leader in numerous records (including career passing touchdowns, yards, and completions). He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987.
In addition to his football career, Tarkenton served as a commentator on Monday Night Football and a co-host of That's Incredible!. He also founded Tarkenton Software, a computer-program generator company, and he toured the U.S. promoting CASE (computer-aided software engineering) with Albert F. Case Jr. of Nastec Corporation. Tarkenton Software later merged with KnowledgeWare (with Tarkenton as president), until selling the company to Sterling Software in 1994.
Biography from the Wikipedia article Fran Tarkenton. Licensed under CC-BY-SA. Full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Tarkenton's tenure with the Vikings spanned thirteen non-consecutive seasons. He played for Minnesota for six seasons from 1961 to 1966 when he was traded to the New York Giants for five seasons, and then traded back to Minnesota for his last seven seasons from 1972 to 1978. At the time of his retirement, Tarkenton was the all-time NFL career leader in numerous records (including career passing touchdowns, yards, and completions). He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987.
In addition to his football career, Tarkenton served as a commentator on Monday Night Football and a co-host of That's Incredible!. He also founded Tarkenton Software, a computer-program generator company, and he toured the U.S. promoting CASE (computer-aided software engineering) with Albert F. Case Jr. of Nastec Corporation. Tarkenton Software later merged with KnowledgeWare (with Tarkenton as president), until selling the company to Sterling Software in 1994.
Biography from the Wikipedia article Fran Tarkenton. Licensed under CC-BY-SA. Full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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