SAD NEWS: Ex Vikings Star Player Who Made History Dies

SAD NEWS: Ex Vikings Star Player Who Made History Dies. Campbell, who passed away on October 21 at the age of 86, played for the Vikings, Steelers, and Colts from 1963 to 1969.

As a walk-on at the University of Minnesota, he was part of the 1960 Golden Gophers team that won the national championship and the 1961 squad that triumphed over UCLA in the 1962 Rose Bowl.

 

 

 

 

In 1964, Campbell became the first Golden Gopher drafted by the Vikings, who were in their third year as an NFL team, a year before Carl Eller. Although he briefly shared a college team with Eller, who later became a leader of the famed “Purple People Eaters” defensive line, Campbell did not experience the Vikings’ successful period.

 

 

 

 

 

He started just two games over his two seasons in Minnesota, primarily backing up Roy Winston, before being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers on August 30, 1965, in exchange for center Buzz Nutter. During Campbell’s five seasons in Pittsburgh (1965-69), the Steelers struggled, winning only 14 games and never finishing with a winning record.

 

 

 

 

At one point, an opposing player from the Dallas Cowboys joked that “playing the Steelers was like drawing a bye,” as Campbell recalled in a 1966 interview. However, he consistently found playing time, starting in all but three of his 49 games at linebacker and serving as the Steelers’ player representative for four of those five years. His 1968 season was cut short to eight games due to a broken left elbow. In 1969, he played 11 games split between the Steelers and the Baltimore Colts, but did not start any and did not participate in the playoffs as the Colts advanced to the Super Bowl.

 

 

 

 

 

Campbell majored in speech at the University of Minnesota, aspiring to work in radio and television after retirement. He later joined WCCO, the CBS affiliate in Minneapolis, and worked as a stockbroker. He founded John Campbell and Associates, a media packaging firm, and began serving as a chaplain with the Burnsville (Minn.) police and fire departments in 2004, retiring from that role in June 2021 at the age of 82. He is survived by his wife, Susan; four children; three grandchildren; and two siblings.