Alan Page

Team Number:	88
Birth Date:	08/07/1945
Height:	6'4''
Weight:	245lbs.
Position:	Defensive Tackle

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UPDATE: Alan Page is now a member of the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Alan Cedric Page was born August 7, 1945 in Canton, Ohio. He graduated from a Catholic high school in his hometown and went to college at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Page was not only a great football player he was also book smart and earned a Bachelors Degree in political science from Notre Dame.

Alan Page was a consensus All-America at Notre Dame in 1966 and was the Minnesota Vikings' second pick in the first round of the first combined AFL-NFL draft in 1967. Although he had played a defensive end in college, at 6’4” and 245 pounds, the Vikings moved Page to defensive tackle.

He was an integral part of the famous "Purple People Eaters" defense that helped direct Minnesota to four Super Bowls. In 1969, he started in Super Bowl IV vs. the Kansas City Chiefs and recorded seven tackles. That same season, he took a lateral pitch from a Jim Marshall interception and ran 15 yards for a touchdown. In 1973, he started in Super Bowl VIII vs. the Miami Dolphins and recorded four tackles and the Vikings' only sack. In 1974, he started in Super Bowl IX vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers and recorded 10 tackles and a quarterback sack. In 1976, he started in his fourth Super Bowl XI vs. the Oakland Raiders and recorded 11 tackles and an 11-yard quarterback sack.

He played for the Minnesota Vikings from 1967 until the middle of the 1978 season when he was released by the team. The Chicago Bears quickly signed him and he played with the Bears until the end of the 1981 season never missing a game.

Alan Page was named the NFL's "Most Valuable Player" in 1971. He was the first defensive player to be given that honor since the beginning of the award in 1938. He was joined on this short list in 1986 by New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor. The two men remain the only defensive players to have won the league's top regular season award. Alan Page was also named the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year in 1971 and 1973. He earned All-Pro honors six times and was voted to nine straight Pro Bowls. Alan Page was also named to an all-conference team ten times.

Intelligent and hardworking with amazing speed and quickness, Alan Page accumulated some impressive career statistics. He recovered 23 opponents’ fumbles, and unofficial figures show that he also blocked 28 kicks and recorded 173 sacks. Rather than wait for the ball carrier, he sought him out. “A defensive player should think of himself more as an aggressor, not as a defender,” Alan Page explained.

During Alan Page's tenure, the Minnesota Vikings won the NFL championship game in 1969 and three NFC title games in 1973, 1974 and 1976. Alan Page finished his career in 1981 after playing 238 games, all but three of them as a starter. Included were sixteen total NFL/NFC playoff games and four Super Bowls.

On July 30, 1988, Alan Page was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is the first native of the Hall's home city of Canton to have been inducted. A street in Canton is also named in his honor. In 1979, he became the first NFL player to finish a marathon. In 1993, Alan Page was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He received the NFL Alumni Career Achievement Award in 1995 and in 2002 he was inducted into the International Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame. Alan Page is also a member of the Vikings 40th Anniversary team and a member of the NFL 70's All-Decade Team.

Alan Page furthered his education and received a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1978 while playing full-time professional football. After retiring from pro football, Alan Page became a full-time lawyer in a private practice. In 1985, Alan Page was appointed a Special Assistant Attorney General and was soon promoted to Assistant Attorney General. In 1992, he was elected to an open seat as an Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. He was re-elected in 1998, becoming the biggest vote-getter in Minnesota history. "Justice Purple People Eater" is his nickname due to his fame with the Purple People Eater Minnesota Vikings defense.

Alan Page was a phenomenal football player who was extremely fast and strong with cat-like reflexes. He played in 236 straight games, including four Super Bowls. He continues to be an outstanding citizen. In 1988, he and his wife founded the Page Education Foundation, which helps minorities go to college. Justice Alan Page has also expressed interest in becoming a public school teacher for a year or two upon retirement from the bench. He is truly a Vikings legend to be proud of.