(born
May 20 ,
1927 ) is the longtime former
American Football Head Coach of the
Minnesota Vikings of the
National Football League (NFL) for eighteen seasons. He was the second (1967–83) and fourth (1985) head coach of the team. In addition to coaching the Vikings, Grant was the head coach of the
Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the
Canadian Football League (CFL) for ten seasons. Along with being the winningest coach in Vikings history, Grant is third winningest professional football coach, behind
Don Shula and
George Halas , with a combined 290 wins in the NFL and CFL.
1 Grant was elected to the
Canadian Football Hall Of Fame in 1983 and into the
Pro Football Hall Of Fame in 1994.
Grant attended the
University Of Minnesota and was a three sport athlete in football,
Basketball , and
Baseball . Following college, Grant had a professional playing career for the
Minneapolis Lakers of the
National Basketball Association (NBA),
Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL, and
Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL.
Bud Grant was born on May 20, 1927 in
Superior, Wisconsin to Harry Peter Sr. and Bernice Grant.
2 His mother called him "Buddy Boy", which later became "Bud". As a child, Grant was diagnosed with
Poliomyelitis and a doctor suggested becoming active in sports to strengthen his weakened leg muscles over time. Grant started with baseball then added basketball and football as he got older. Due to a lack of organized school teams, Grant arranged to have football games between neighborhoods and contacted kids from other schools to participate. During the weekends, Grant would spend time outdoors alone hunting
Rabbits . In his late teens and college years, Grant played organized
Baseball in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Bud married Pat in 1950, and they have five children. Bud's son, Mike, has been the football head coach for
Eden Prairie High School in
Eden Prairie, Minnesota since 1992
3 and has won five state championships. Bud's grandson, Ryan, is a
Quarterback ,
Safety , and
Linebacker at Eden Prairie and has committed to play at the
University Of Minnesota in 2008.
4
Grant played football, basketball, and baseball at
Superior High School .
56 Grant graduated from high school in 1945 and enlisted in the
Navy during
World War II . He was assigned to the
Great Lakes Naval Training Station in
Illinois and played on the football team coached by
Paul Brown . Using an acceptance letter from the
University Of Wisconsin-Madison to be discharged from the service, Grant decided to attend the University of Minnesota instead. Grant was a three sport, nine letterman
7 athlete in football, basketball, and baseball for the
Minnesota Golden Gophers , earning All-
Big Ten honors in football twice.
8
After leaving the University of Minnesota, Grant was selected in both the
NFL and
NBA Draft . He was selected in the first round (fourteenth overall) of the
1950 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles
9 and fourth round (forty-second overall) selection of the Minneapolis Lakers in the
1950 NBA Draft .
10 Grant played thirty-five games during the
1949-50 NBA Season 11 and signed with the Lakers for a second season, the
1950–51 NBA Season . Grant chose to continue his basketball career and play for the Lakers because they were local and because he was offered a raise to stay for the season. Grant's friend,
Sid Hartman , was the Laker's
General Manager , which may have influenced Grant's decision. Grant averaged 2.6 points per game in his two seasons as a reserve with the Lakers and was a member of the 1950 championship team.
12
Grant decided that basketball was not his career and contacted the Eagles and agreed to play for the team in 1951. In his first season with the Eagles, Grant played as a
Defensive End and led the team in
Sacks (an unofficial statistic at the time). Grant switched to offense for his second season as a
Wide Receiver and ranked second in the NFL for receiving yardage, with 997 yards on fifty-six catches, including seven touchdowns.
13
Grant's contact expired at the end of the
1952 NFL Season and the Eagles refused to pay him what he thought he was worth. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL had been interested in Grant while in college. Grant left for
Winnipeg, Canada in 1953 and became the first professional player to "play out his option" and leave for another team. Grant played for the Blue Bombers until 1956 as an
Offensive End and was named a
Western Conference all-star three times.
14 Grant led the Western Conference in pass receptions for the
1953 ,
1954 , and
1956 seasons as receiving yards for the 1953 and 1956 seasons. Grant holds the CFL record of five interceptions in a playoff game played
October 28 ,
1953 .
1516 The Blue Bombers played for the
Grey Cup in 1953, but lost to the
Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the
41st Grey Cup Game .
Blue Bombers management decided that they needed a new coach prior to the
1957 Season . On
January 30 ,
1956 , Grant accepted the Blue Bombers head coaching position after impressing management with his ability to make adjustments on offense and defense as a player. Club president, J.T. Russell, thought that Grant could coach even though nobody else did. Grant would remain the head coach of the Blue Bombers until 1966. During his ten seasons as head coach in Winnipeg, Grant led the team to six
Grey Cup appearances, winning the championship four times in
1958 ,
1959 ,
1961 , and
1962 .
17 Grant finished his Blue Bombers coaching career with a regular season record of 105 wins, 53 loses, and two ties and an overall record of 122 wins, 66 loses, and 3 ties. Grant was the
CFL Coach Of The Year in 1965. Grant took on additional responsibilities as a club manager between 1964 and 1966.
Max Winter , the Minnesota Vikings founder, contacted Grant in 1961 and asked Grant to coach the new NFL expansion team. Grant declined the offer and remained in Winnipeg until 1967 when Winter and General Manager
Jim Finks were able to successfully lure Grant to Minnesota on a second attempt.
Grant continued his coaching success in the NFL as he took over from original coach,
Norm Van Brocklin . Over his tenure as Vikings head coach, Grant was known for instilling discipline in his teams and displaying a lack of emotion during games. Grant believed that football is a game of controlled emotion and teams would follow the coach's lead if he were to panic or lose his poise during the course of a game. Grant required his team to stand at attention in a straight line during the entire
National Anthem and even had national anthem practice. Grant required outdoor practice during the winter to get his players used to the cold weather and would not allow heaters on the sidelines during games.
In his second year, Grant led the team to a divisional championship and his first
NFL Playoffs appearance. In 1969, he led the team to its first
NFL Championship and their first appearance in the
Super Bowl . The Vikings lost in
Super Bowl IV to the
American Football League champion
Kansas City Chiefs . During the 1970s, the Vikings would appear in three more Super Bowls (
VIII ,
IX , and
XI ) under Grant and lose each one, but was the first coach to lead a team to four Super Bowls. Bud Grant retired after the 1983 season and was succeeded by
Les Steckel , who led the team through a three win, 13 loss record the following season. Steckel was fired as head coach after the
1984 NFL Season and Grant returned as coach for the Vikings in 1985. At the conclusion of the season, Grant retired for a second time and was succeeded by
Jerry Burns . Grant retired as the eighth most winning coach in NFL history with an overall record of 161 wins, 99 losses, and 5 ties. During his tenure with the Vikings, Grant lead the Vikings to four Super Bowls, eleven division titles, one NFL Championship, and three Conference Championships.
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