Ross Cooper "Rip" Hawkins, one of the members of the Minnesota Vikings' first ever team, passed away earlier this week at the age of 76.
Hawkins was the second player ever drafted by the Minnesota Vikings, with the team selecting him in the second round of the 1961 NFL Draft out of the University of North Carolina. Prior to that, Hawkins had attended the Sewanee Military Academy. He was also selected by the Boston Patriots in the second round of the 1961 AFL Draft, but chose to play his professional football for Minnesota.
As a rookie, head coach Norm van Brocklin named Hawkins as the team's defensive captain, and responded with five interceptions in his rookie season. He manned the middle linebacker spot for the Vikings for the first five seasons in team history, earning a Pro Bowl berth in 1963.
Fred Zamberletti, the Vikings' trainer that has been with the franchise since its inception, shared some memories of Hawkins on Vikings.com.
"He was really smart. Van Brocklin made Rip the captain of the defense for the year and Tarkenton the captain of the offense for the year, and this was a team that was filled with an abundance of old veterans," Zamberletti said. "It was the expansion draft, and we had a lot of players that had been in the league and had success with other teams.
"He was a strong leader, good character, but he had a mean streak in him," Zamberletti said. "He was a middle linebacker and if you came across the middle, you better have your head on a swivel. If you didn't, he would clothesline you. He loved those receivers coming across the middle."
Prior to his death, he had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, the second most common type of progressive dementia.
"Our belief is it's a disease, not a disgrace," Mrs. Hawkins said. "It's so important that this come out of the closet as a disease. It's something we need to find a cure for. Rip is donating his brain to the Sports Legacy Institute and Boston University in order to look at diagnostics and hope that some of that information may contribute one day to a cure."
Mrs. Hawkins said Rip remained active, going on 30-mile per day bike rides as recently as a month ago.
"We kept him moving every day, would go to the health club three times a week and would ride bikes," Mrs. Hawkins said. "That's something for a 76-year old. I kept him moving and he loved it. He wished he could run, but the old right knee wouldn't tolerate that, so he conceded to the bike."
The Hawkins family held a celebration of Rip's life on Saturday.
We at The Daily Norseman send our condolences to the Hawkins family.