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I’m not sure if even Fran Tarkenton could have consoled me as I hid in the closet. Of course, he was at that time on a plane returning from a Vikings loss in Washington. It was in the early evening on Nov. 30, 1975 — a gloomy, wet gloaming outside — and I still had chores to do. But I needed some time. I was incapable of doing anything just then, least of all my rotten watering and feeding job down in the barn.

Offensive coordinator Jerry Burns said Tarkenton had the best performance he’d ever seen from a quarterback that day at RFK Stadium. The Vikings amassed 508 yards in offense,...