March 13, 1976: Death of Ole Haugsrud, Duluth’s “Mr. Football” and owner of the Minnesota Vikings

On this day in Duluth in 1976, Superior native Ole Haugsrud died in Duluth at the age of 73. He was already well known in the Twin Ports for his team of barnstorming high-school basketball stars before he became nationally famous as the owner of the NFL’s Duluth Eskimos, featuring the biggest star in the league and Haugsrud’s high-school classmate, Ernie Nevers. Haugsrud sold the Eskimos franchise in 1928 for not much money and a piece of paper that said if the NFL ever returned to Minnesota, Haugsrud would be allowed to invest in the team. He cashed in that promissory note to become part owner of the Minnesota Vikings, who many believe were named for his alma mater, Superior Central High, whose sports teams wore purple and gold and called themselves the Vikings. He also recruited Bud Grant to coach the Vikings. Following his death, Grant said: “Ole goes back a long ways; he was literally a friend of the family. My first contact with him was through my father. They were good friends when I was a boy. I think it is kind of ironic that I ended up working for Ole [as Vikings head coach]. My dad always thought a great deal of him and what an honorable man he was. He liked to stay in the background. It was only recently that you could get him to go to a dinner or anything and take a bow. He preferred a table in back. He was just a tremendous man and good friend.” Vikings President Max Winter said, “Certainly we’ll miss Ole as a person, but [we] will also miss his counsel. There’s no question…his death was a blow to the Minnesota Vikings, to all of us.” Read more about Haugsrud here.

Oluf “Uncle Ole” Haugsrud. (Image: Duluth News Tribune)