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Mick Tingelhoff

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Mick Tingelhoff
No. 53
Position:Center
Personal information
Born:(1940-05-22)May 22, 1940
Lexington, Nebraska, U.S.
Died:September 11, 2021(2021-09-11) (aged 81)
Lakeville, Minnesota, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:237 lb (108 kg)
Career information
High school:Lexington
(Lexington, Nebraska)
College:Nebraska (1958–1961)
Undrafted:1962
Career history
Career highlights and awards
NFL record
  • Most consecutive starts by an offensive lineman: 240[a]
Career NFL statistics
Games played:240
Games started:240
Fumbles recovered:13
Stats at Pro Football Reference
Pro Football Hall of Fame

Henry Michael Tingelhoff (May 22, 1940 – September 11, 2021) was an American professional football center who played for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL) from 1962 to 1978. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.

Early life

[edit]

Tingelhoff was born in Lexington, Nebraska on May 22, 1940, where he grew up on his family's farm. He was the sixth and youngest child of German immigrants Henry and Clara (Ortmeier) Tingelhoff. The family did not get electricity until he was a senior in high school. He attended Lexington High School, playing center and linebacker for the football team. His parents did not think much of football and preferred that he stay on the farm rather than attend college.[1][2]

College career

[edit]

Tingelhoff attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln on a scholarship, where he played center and linebacker. He earned three letters during his football career there, but did not become a starter until his senior season in 1961. He was a co-captain of that 1961 team, earning all conference and all-state honors, on a team which had its biggest offensive output in over five seasons.[3][1][4] Tingelhoff participated in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, and in the All-American Bowl after the regular season was over.[4]

Professional career

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After graduating from Nebraska, Tingelhoff entered the 1962 NFL draft but was not drafted and instead signed with the Minnesota Vikings as a free agent in 1962. He became their starting center during his rookie season and held that spot until he retired in 1978. He never missed a game, starting 240 regular season games and 19 playoff games.[5][1]

The Vikings won 10 division titles from 1968 to 1978 with Tingelhoff at center. Those Viking teams won four of the five NFL/NFC championships in which they participated, and played in Super Bowls IV, VIII, IX, and XI, losing all four games.[5][1]

Beginning in 1964, he was named first-team All-NFL seven consecutive seasons. He was also elected to the Pro Bowl six consecutive years from 1965 to 1970. He was named first team All Pro five times in the 1960s. In 1969, he was named to the 1,000-yard Club as the NFL’s top blocker.[5][1][6]

Tingelhoff was selected All Pro by the Associated Press (AP) from 1964-1966 and 1968-1969; United Press International (UPI) from 1964-1969; the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) from 1965-1966, and 1968-1969; and was selected ALL-NFC by the AP in 1970.[7] In 1967, he was named First-team All-Pro by the NEA and UPI and Second-team All-Pro by the AP. In 1970, he was named First-team All-Pro by both the PFWA and Pro Football Weekly. He was also named Second-team All-Pro by the NEA.

Tingelhoff was one of 11 players to have played in all four Vikings Super Bowl appearances in the 1970s,[8] and is generally considered to have been the premier center of his era. At the time of his retirement he had started in the 2nd most consecutive games (240 games) in NFL history behind teammate Jim Marshall (270), and was tied for third as of 2020.[1][6] He was inducted into the Vikings Ring of Honor in 2001,[5] and has had his #53 retired by the franchise.[4][9] In 2003, he was named to the Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in the association's inaugural HOVG class.[6]

He is also a member of the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame (class of 1980),[4][10] and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.[11][5][1]

In 2011, Tingelhoff was named as that year's recipient of the Gerald R. Ford Legends Award. The award was presented to him during the 12th Annual Rimington Trophy Presentation banquet on January 14, 2012, at the Rococo Theatre in Lincoln, Nebraska.[12][4]

The notoriously rugged hall of fame linebacker Dick Butkus (and member of the NFL's 100th Anniversary Team),[13] said Tingelhoff was the “'toughest center I ever played against.'”[4]

Death

[edit]

He died on September 11, 2021, from complications of Parkinson's disease and dementia.[1] Tingelhoff had been among the first group of former players filing a concussion lawsuit against the NFL, alleging they were misled about the long-term effects of head injuries, which settled in 2013.[14]

Notes and references

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  1. ^ 259 including playoffs
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Goldstein, Richard (September 12, 2021). "Mick Tingelhoff, Vikings Hall of Fame Center, Dies at 81". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 14, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  2. ^ "Mick Tingelhoff a Pro Football Hall-of-Famer?Finally". University of Nebraska - Official Athletics Website. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  3. ^ "Crazy Canton Cuts: MICK TINGELHOFF". February 16, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Durable, Reliable, 'Quick Mick' Tingelhoff: 1940-2021 | Pro Football Hall of Fame". pfhof. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Mick Tingelhoff | Pro Football Hall of Fame". pfhof. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "Hall of Very Good Class of 2003". Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  7. ^ "The Official Site of the Minnesota Vikings". www.vikings.com. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  8. ^ "Yes, Vikings lost four Super Bowls, but '500 million Chinese … don't give a rip'". Twin Cities. February 3, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  9. ^ Gordon, Grant (September 11, 2021). "Vikings legend, Pro Football Hall of Famer Mick Tingelhoff dies at 81". NFL.com. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  10. ^ "Nebraska Football Hall of Fame - T". University of Nebraska - Official Athletics Website. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  11. ^ Craig, M. (January 31, 2015). "Long wait is over: Tingelhoff elected to Pro Football Hall of Fame". StarTribune. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  12. ^ "Mick Tingelhoff to Receive President Gerald R. Ford Legends Award". University of Nebraska.
  13. ^ Goldstein, Richard (October 5, 2023). "Dick Butkus, Fearsome Hall of Fame Linebacker, Is Dead at 80". New York Times.
  14. ^ "Vikings iron man, HOFer Tingelhoff dies at 81". ESPN.com. September 12, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
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