Minnesota Vikings By The Numbers: #73

We’re all the way up to the #73 in our Minnesota Vikings By The Numbers series, and this number is one that has been worn by a few notable players in the history of the team. As we’ve seen in some other cases, however, there’s one player that wore the number that appears to be head and shoulders above the rest.

Literally. . .like he has a bust in the Hall of Fame and everything.

The first notable #73 in Vikings history was Errol Linden, who came to the Vikings in 1962. He didn’t play much in his first season with the team, but from 1963 to 1965 started 42 consecutive regular season games at the right tackle position. He then continued his career with the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints before leaving the NFL after the 1970 season.

The Vikings have only picked #1 overall twice in their history. The first time, as an expansion team, they took running back Tommy Mason. The second time, with a pick acquired from the trade of Fran Tarkenton to the New York Giants, they selected offensive tackle Ron Yary. Yary wore the number 73 during his entire tenure as a Viking from 1968 to 1981, and was one of the finest offensive linemen in the history of the franchise. Yary was absolutely dominant at left tackle, being named a six-time first-team All-Pro from 1971 to 1976. He’s one of the eleven players that took part in all four of the Vikings’ Super Bowl appearances, and was an iron man that missed only two games because of injury in his entire Minnesota career. After Yary was selected #1 overall in 1968, it was 29 years before an offensive tackle was selected with the top overall pick again.

The next notable #73 for the Vikings was another offensive tackle that the Vikings drafted from a west coast team. Minnesota selected Todd Steussie with the 19th overall pick in the 1994 NFL Draft, and he too proved to be an iron man. In his seven years with the Vikings, he missed just one game. He was a two-time Pro Bowler and had some very good years in Minnesota, but was dumped as part of the team’s salary purge following the 2000 NFL season.

More recently, Sharrif Floyd has worn the number since switching from the #95 he wore as a rookie. Floyd has been a pretty solid force for the Vikings when he’s been healthy. Unfortunately, he missed all of 2016 with an injury, and his future with the team is now very much in doubt.

Vikings that have worn the number 73:

Bill Bishop (1961)

Errol Linden (1962 - 1965)

Jerry Shay (1966 - 1967)

Ron Yary (1968 - 1981)

Neil Elshire (1982 - 1986)

Joe Stepanek (1987)

Stafford Mays (1987 - 1988)

Craig Wolfley (1990 - 1991)

Todd Steussie (1994 - 2000)

Adam Goldberg (2004 - 2005)

Otis Grigsby (2007 - 2008)

Jimmy Kennedy (2010)

Charlie Johnson (2011)

Demarcus Love (2012)

J’Marcus Webb (2013)

Sharrif Floyd (2014 - present)

So, yeah, this one should be relatively easy. But, just for funsies. . .

On to #72 tomorrow!