Fran Tarkenton
Football · Hometown: Athens, GA
- High school
- Clarke Central High School
- College
- University of Georgia
- Pro team(s)
- Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants
- Hall of Fame
- ⭐ Pro Football Hall of Fame
Francis Asbury Tarkenton was born on February 3, 1940, in Richmond, Virginia, the son of a Pentecostal minister, but grew up in Athens, Georgia, where his father pastored a church. He attended Athens High School (now Clarke Central High School) and went on to the University of Georgia under coach Wally Butts, where he was part of the 1959 SEC championship team. Tarkenton was selected by the expansion Minnesota Vikings in the 1961 NFL Draft and immediately announced his presence: in his very first NFL game, he threw four touchdown passes and ran for a fifth in a stunning upset of the Chicago Bears. For 18 seasons, Tarkenton was the most elusive and improvisational quarterback in football — the original "scrambler," a player who could escape the pocket and extend plays in ways that defenses of the era were simply not designed to stop. He retired in 1978 with all-time NFL records in passing yards (47,003), touchdown passes (342), and completions (3,686) — records that stood until the career of Dan Marino. He led Minnesota to three Super Bowl appearances (VIII, IX, XI) but never won a championship, which remains the primary asterisk on one of the greatest careers in NFL history. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986. Grew up in Athens, Georgia.