Vikings veteran Fran Tarkenton speaks at Republican convention

Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton spoke out for Donald Trump on Thursday night from the stage of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

"I've known Donald Trump for 48 years," said Tarkenton, 76. "And like other leaders I've known, he gets stuff done. He's a builder. He understands teams win, individuals don't, and he builds great teams."

Tarkenton, a Virginia native, passed for the Vikings from 1961 to 1966 and again from 1972 to 1978, when he retired. He led the Vikings to three Super Bowls in the 1970s, though they never won one. He won numerous league honors and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986.

Tarkenton told the RNC crowd that as an NFL rookie in 1961, he earned just $12,500. To supplement his income he started a small business, which ultimately became a successful software company that he sold in 1994.

"Small business is succeeding not because of government policy but in spite of it," Tarkenton said.

Tarkenton called out to Vikings fans in Quicken Loans Arena – "Go Vikings!" – before urging support for Trump.

"Let's go and win this game together," Tarkenton said. "Together let's go make America great again."

At top, in a photo by Stephen Crawley of the New York Times, Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton addresses the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland on Thursday.