Did You Know Sioux Falls Once Hosted an NFL Game?

If you're a fan of the NFL, today is the day you've been waiting on for several months, the 2024 NFL season kicks off tonight when the Baltimore Ravens visit Arrowhead to take on the defending Superbowl Champs the Kansas City Chiefs.

Barring any catastrophic injuries, both teams should be in the mix for yet another Superbowl appearance by the end of the season.

Speaking of the NFL, here's a little-known fact that probably not too many folks are aware of, unless, you're a die-hard football fan. An NFL game was actually played right here in Sioux Falls several decades ago.

Believe it or not, the Minnesota Vikings played their first-ever preseason game in franchise history in Sioux Falls at Howard Wood Field.

The Vikings hosted the Dallas Cowboys on August, 5th 1961 right here in the Sioux Empire.

A guy by the name of Max Winter, along with another group of businessmen owned the Minnesota Vikings at that time.

Winter's group was awarded an NFL franchise in 1960, and the following year the Vikings held their inaugural season.

At that time the Vikings were playing ball in the old Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota, which is now where the Mall of America is located.

According to an article from South Dakota Public Broadcasting, former O'Gorman High School football coach Bob Burns was the driving force behind convincing the Vikings to play their first-ever pre-season game here in Sioux Falls. Burns reached out to Winter's investment group to take their temperature on playing a game in South Dakota's largest city.

Initially, the group didn't think Sioux Falls was big enough to handle it, but Burns proved them wrong by helping to raise the $40,000 necessary to host the game. By the way, the $40,000 he helped to raise to facilitate the deal equates to slightly over $350,000 by today's standards. Crazy, right?

The South Dakota Public Broadcasting article reports that nearly 5,000 fans attended the game on that August day. Not too bad, considering the population of Sioux Falls back in the early 60s was well under 100,000.

Who was the Viking QB in those days? The man slinging the rock was none other than rookie sensation, and future Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton.

Unfortunately, the Vikings didn't fair that well in their first-ever contest, the Cowboys ended up winning the exhibition game 38-13.

While it's true the Vikings might have experienced a loss that day, the city of Sioux Falls racked up a huge victory!

It's a day the NFL, Minnesota Vikings franchise and the city of Sioux Falls will never forget.

Source: South Dakota Public Broadcasting