Former Vikings quarterback Bob Berry dies at 81
Berry, who played two stints with the Vikings as a backup quarterback and was part of three teams that reached Super Bowls, died Wednesday in California. He was 81.
Bob Berry, who played two stints with the Vikings as a backup quarterback and was part of three teams that reached Super Bowls, died Wednesday in California. He was 81.
Berry backed up Fran Tarkenton from 1965-66 and again from 1973-76. After backing up Joe Kapp in 1967, Berry headed to Atlanta and started seven of 10 games in the third Falcons season.
"Bob was just a great person and one of my closest friends as teammates," former Vikings running back Dave Osborn said in a team news release. "He was a great fit for our team at that time."
Berry bounced back from an NFL-high 48 sacks in 1968 with Atlanta to make the Pro Bowl the following season.
He started 50 of the 54 games he played for the Falcons from 1968-72 before returning to Minnesota along with a 1974 first-round pick as compensation for quarterback Bob Lee and linebacker Lonnie Warwick.
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
