Tommy Mason, the first draft pick in Vikings history, died Thursday morning in Newport Beach, Calif., at the age of 75.
No cause of death was released but Mason had been in hospice care.
Mason played six seasons at running back for the Vikings, producing 4,941 yards from scrimmage, earning three Pro Bowl nods and becoming the franchise's first All-Pro selection.
"The entire Minnesota Vikings organization is saddened by the loss of Tommy Mason," Vikings owner and team president Mark Wilf said in a statement. "Tommy played a significant role in the history of the franchise. He remained a part of the Vikings family, appearing at multiple events over the past several decades. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Mason family."
After a standout collegiate career at Tulane, Mason was selected first overall by the expansion Vikings in the 1961 NFL draft.
He spurned offers from the American Football League and the Canadian Football League to sign with the Vikings, who paid him $12,000 his rookie season. With part of the money, he bought a silver Cadillac and adopted a pet monkey, which he named "Dutch" in honor of coach Norm Van Brocklin.
In a 2007 story in the Star Tribune, Mason said he got his large signing bonus because he also had offers from Boston of the AFL and Ottawa of the CFL.
"I wasn't sure the AFL was going to last, and Canada seemed a long way away for a Louisiana boy," he said. "There was some talk about an agent, but my dad, Bill, was a watchman at a chemical plant, and my mom, Mary, was a nurse, and they couldn't believe it ... that this team from Minnesota was willing to pay their boy $12,000 to play football."